David Jolly has won the special primary election for the District 13 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jolly won the election with 45 percent of the vote. Kathleen Peters came in second with 31 percent, and Mark Bircher received 24 percent of the vote.

Jolly will move on to the special general election in March, where he will face off against Democrat Alex Sink and Libertarian Lucas Overby.

Jolly addressed his supporters at the Marriott in St. Petersburg, referencing his relationship with the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young. He was one of Young's closest aides and his general counsel for over 20 years.

"My mentor, Bill Young, served with a Democratic Speaker of the House by the name of Tip O'Neill," he said. "Tip O'Neill left an indelible legacy on the country with one simple message: 'All politics is local.' He was right. This is a local race. This is a Pinellas County race.  This race is about making sure somebody from Pinellas County is elected to represent Pinellas County in Washington D.C."

Sink's candidacy has been controversial, as she had lived for years in Thonotosassa. She recently established residency in Pinellas County when she moved into a Clearwater condo.

Jolly referenced one of his main campaign promises, which is to fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

"The voters have decided that Obamacare is going to be the number one issue in this race, not the candidates," he said. "Mr. President, with all due respect, Obamacare has hurt people in Pinellas County, Florida. I will work to repeal Obamacare right away. I will work to replace it with a private sector solution that actually does fulfill that now famous promise: if you like your insurance, you can keep it."

Jolly also talked about his stance on economic policies, particularly federal spending.

"The greatest threat to our national security is not some young man who wants to blow up his shoe on an airplane," he said. "It's irresponsible and reckless fiscal policies out of Washington D.C. that will cripple our economy and ensure that we are no longer the world's lone super power."

Peters, Bircher offer concession speeches

Kathleen Peters, a state representative, stood in front of her supporters at Bascom's Chop House and thanked them for their support.

"Some of the strongest leaders we have in Pinellas County are on our Little League fields, in our neighborhood watch programs, in our neighborhood associations," she said. "Those really and truly are our leaders. And so what I would say to you, whoever it is who takes our beloved congressman's place is that we stand up and we hold them accountable to knowing what Pinellas County's needs are and making sure they represent us well."

Peters said she offered Jolly congratulations on his victory.

"I did congratulate Mr. Jolly, and I did wish him luck in the future of his campaign, and I'm very very excited about this race and who our next Congressional leader is going to be," she said.

Peters is a 30-year Pinellas County resident who started her political career with the South Pasadena's planning and zoning board, the city commission and then served as mayor of South Pasadena.

Bircher, who came in third in the election, gave his concession speech in front of his supporters at Seminole Lanes in Seminole.

"Each of you has been here and contributed," he said. "You poured your hearts out. I think we made a great showing, and I really want to express my appreciation for my family, the new friends that I've made, all these volunteers. This has been well worth it, and we'll continue to explore other opportunities."

Sink issues statement on primary night

Sink, who went into the general election unopposed, spent the day with volunteers and supporters at a phone bank at her campaign headquarters.

After the election results came out, her campaign released a statement.

“Our campaign is about one important message: bringing Republicans and Democrats together to focus on challenges that matter most to Pinellas. Congress’s gridlock is standing in the way of tackling challenges that impact our lives -- like helping businesses create jobs, protecting our seniors and veterans, and stopping flood insurance rate spikes that hurt homeowners.

"As Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and a business leader, my life has always been guided by bipartisan, results-oriented values. As our campaign continues, I look forward to continuing our conversation with Pinellas residents about bringing these values to Congress.” 

The 13th district was redrawn in 2012 so that now it is entirely located within Pinellas County. The district includes an area from Dunedin to western and northern St. Petersburg.

For a general election, Pinellas County has 455,000 registered voters that could potentially cast a ballot, but only about 170,000 registered Republicans will have the opportunity to vote.

Earlier on Tuesday, Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark said turnout for the special primary was surprisingly high.

"The average turnout for special primaries is about 10 percent," Clark said. "And we’re almost at 19 percent turnout already, between early voting and mail-in ballots returned.

"So I think our voters are showing more interest than maybe voters usually show in a situation like this. There’s been a lot more participation, and I think those numbers will go up a few points."