Veteran Florida Congressman Stearns Loses GOP Primary

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Twelve-term Florida Congressman Cliff Stearns has conceded a tight Republican primary to a veterinarian with scant political experience.

Stearns conceded Wednesday to Ted Yoho, who in a stunning upset won by slightly more than 800 votes — about 1 percentage point.

Stearns had been a national Republican favorite after spearheading criticism of the Obama administration's energy program and its funding of Planned Parenthood.

But Yoho criticized Stearns for being in office too long and pledged that he would leave the House after eight years. He ran a television ad where actors dressed as politicians in suits ate from a trough alongside pigs and threw mud at each other.

District 3 covers the Gainesville area and other parts of north-central Florida.