JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown spoke about her future on Monday, nearly a week after she lost her primary bid to return to Congress and represent the Orlando area.
Brown, 75, finished in fourth place with 9.7% of the vote in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 10. The winner was 25-year-old Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who is expected to be the favorite in the reconfigured district this November.
Frost defeated more experienced Democrats, including former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, state Sen. Randolph Bracy Brown and Brown, who was convicted on conspiracy and tax evasion charges in 2017 but was later overturned and set for retrial. That did not happen because Brown pled guilty to the tax invasion charge in May.
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On Monday, she told News4JAX that she does not believe her conviction played a part in her primary loss.
“I think it played a role with the media but not with the people,” Brown said. “The media, you know, they was, you know, you asked me questions about it.”
Brown, who previously represented the Jacksonville area in Congress for about 24 years, said she was actually happy with her result in the primary last week.
“I feel really good about it, considering that some people have been running for a couple of years, some people spent — a total against me was about $5 million,” she said. “And I ran for two months, and we did really well. I’m pleased with it. And the voters, they reaffirm their support for me.”
As for what’s next, Brown said she is not ruling out a political run in the future.
“Oh, no, and it’s not done with me,” Brown said. “There are so many things that I want to work on.”
She said she plans to remain involved in politics by speaking out on issues and will weigh her options in future elections.
“Well, Corrine Brown is going to stay in the fight, and everybody expects that. I am looking forward to working on a book and a movie. But the question is whether or not I will run again, and basically we’re waiting on seeing what the court is going to do. We have been disenfranchised in this community. You know, we have, don’t have the opportunity to elect a candidate of our choice. Communities of interest are not together. So, you know, whether or not I’ll get involved in a lawsuit, you know, it’s, it’s open there,” Brown said, referring to a federal lawsuit filed over Florida’s redrawn congressional districts — a battle she’s fought before when her old district was changed.
Brown also said she plans to campaign hard for the Democratic Party.