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Randy Perkins wins Democratic nomination for House District 18 race

Posted at 11:54 PM, Aug 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-31 04:06:11-04

Randy Perkins and his supporters are celebrating a big win following Tuesday's primary election.

Perkins beat two other Democratic candidates, Jonathan Chane and John Xuna, vying to become the Democratic nominee to represent District 18 in Congress.

RELATED: Full Election Results

Perkins will face Republican nominee Brian Mast in the General Election.

Patrick Murphy, the former Democratic Congressman for District 18, is running for U.S Senate.

Perkins is hoping to keep a Democrat in the office.

At his watch party and celebration Tuesday, he reassured his supporters that they are getting behind the right guy. "We will win in November," he said.

Dozens of people packed into Big Apple Pizza in Fort Pierce to support Perkins, including other local office holders and politicians.

Perkins is a multimillionaire and founder of one of the largest disaster relief companies in the country.

He is a man with deep pockets, but not deep ties to the area he would be representing. He moved to northern Palm Beach County shortly before entering the congressional race.

His critics also said he dodged debates with his Democratic opponents leading up to the primary.

He said he is willing to participate in debates leading up to the general election, under certain terms.

"If people are going to talk about substantive issues, they can count me in. If they're going to attack and attack and not get anything done, then you can count me out," Perkins said.

Perkins spent Tuesday getting a haircut, visiting polling locations and spending time with family before casting his own vote.

He called this election a humbling experience.

"I went to vote this afternoon and I saw my name on the ballot. It was very humbling for me to see my name on a ballot, potentially being honored to represent District 18 in Congress," Perkins said.

He says his campaign team will be celebrating their hard work so far at a breakfast in the morning, but then immediately getting to work to map out new plans to attract more votes before November.