Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Florida on Tuesday. The 12th District falls along the Gulf Coast, just north of Tampa Bay and covers part of the region struck by consecutive hurricanes last month. Bilirakis has served in the House since 2007. Prior to that, he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives and worked in private practice as a lawyer. He defeated Democrat Rock Aboujaoude. The Associated Press declared Bilirakis the winner at 7:05 p.m. EST.