Laura Loomer, a conservative activist running as the Republican congressional candidate in President Trump’s home district, lost her long-shot bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Rep. Lois Frankel.
Ms. Frankel, Florida Democrat, defeated Ms. Loomer in Tuesday’s race to represent the state’s 21st Congressional District, which includes Mar-A-Lago, Mr. Trump’s official residence in Palm Beach.
The Associated Press called the race for Ms. Frankel before all ballots were counted, and preliminary results indicated the Democratic incumbent crushed her GOP challenger to win another term.
As of Wednesday morning, the AP reported that Ms. Frankel had beaten Ms. Loomer by more than 78,000 votes, or about 20 percentage points.
Ms. Loomer, 27, gained notoriety prior to running for office as a result of a series of statements and stunts that resulted in her being permanently banned from several major online platforms.
The president congratulated Ms. Loomer upon her becoming the Republican congressional nominee in August, although the White House later claimed ignorance when asked if Mr. Trump endorses her views.
Ms. Loomer made a number of disparaging remarks about Muslims on social media prior to running for office, and she recently compared the Quran, the Islamic holy book, with Adolf Hitler’s manifesto.
She also recently said that she does not believe face masks help stop the spread of COVID-19, the contagious and potentially disease caused by the novel coronavirus, contrary to doctors asserting otherwise.
Mr. Trump voted early in-person last month at a polling place in West Palm Beach, Florida. He told reporters afterward he voted “straight Republican,” indicated he cast a ballot for Ms. Loomer.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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