There was no Massachusetts Miracle in South Florida Tuesday. Democrat Ted Deutch won the nation's first congressional election of 2010, allowing his party to retain the overwhelmingly Democratic Palm Beach-Broward District 19 seat that "fire-breathing liberal" Robert Wexler represented for 13 years.
Incomplete returns late Tuesday showed Deutch with a sizeable lead over Republican Ed Lynch and no-party candidate Jim McCormick. Lynch conceded the race before 10 p.m.
"This is a victory for the community and it's a victory about issues," Deutch told hundreds of supporters who chanted "Ted! Ted! Ted!" at a party in Boca Raton.
"We've heard for months that tonight and today is a referendum," Deutch said. "What we learned today is that in Broward County and Palm Beach County Florida, the Democratic Party is alive and well."
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