Corrine Brown loses primary amid indictment

by Lisa Hagen - 08/30/16 9:11 PM ET

Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) is projected to lose her Democratic primary, making her the fifth House incumbent this cycle to be defeated in a primary.

{mosads}Brown, who was indicted last month and whose district was redrawn after court-ordered redistricting, was defeated by former state Sen. Al Lawson in a primary for the Jacksonville-area seat.

With 98 percent of the votes counted Tuesday night, Lawson had 48 percent to Brown’s 39 percent, according to The Associated Press.

In early July, Brown and Chief of Staff Elias “Ronnie” Simmons were charged with 24 counts of fraud in connection with a fake charity. The charges include mail and wire fraud, conspiracy and tax fraud, according to the Department of Justice.

Lawson will likely represent the district next year in Congress, given that the seat is seen as safe for Democrats.

Brown now joins the ranks of Reps. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) and Randy Forbes (R-Va.) as incumbents who have lost primaries this year.

Tags Corrine Brown Randy Forbes