The 13th and its predecessors had been in Republican hands since William Cramer won the seat in the 1954 election; he was succeeded by Young in 1971. It had been one of the earliest districts in the South to turn Republican. It was widely thought that Sink had a chance of winning; Obama had carried the district twice, and Sink had carried the district in her gubernatorial campaign against Scott. The race was close, with Sink taking 46.6 percent of the vote to Jolly's 48.4 percent.