Grayson marries candidate seeking to replace him

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) this weekend married a candidate who wants to replace him. 

Grayson, who is leaving the U.S. House to run for Senate, married Dena Minning, who is seeking to replace him in the race for Florida’s 9th Congressional District, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

{mosads}Minning changed her last name on Twitter and Facebook. She is listed on Facebook at “Dena Grayson (Minning)” and her Twitter handle is “@DenaForCongress” where she is named as “Dr. Dena Grayson.”

{mosads}“My handsome, brilliant, and amazing husband, Alan Grayson!!” she said Monday on her Facebook page in the caption of a picture of her and Grayson.

Minning is a medical doctor and biochemist who describes herself as a “biotechnology entrepreneur.” Through her consulting firm, MedExpert Consulting, Inc., she has been a federal lobbyist for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which says it develops drugs for rare diseases.

Reports surfaced last year about their relationship. The Orlando Sentinel reported last July, at the time she filed to run for election to his seat in Congress, that Minning had been romantically linked to Grayson for months. 

“Rep. Alan Grayson and his wife Dr. Dena Grayson had a small, private wedding ceremony Sunday evening, with friends and family in attendance to celebrate their union, in the Florida beach town where Dena grew up,” spokeswoman Brook Hines said.

Her opponents in the Aug. 30 primary include Susannah Randolph and state Sen. Darren Soto.

Grayson is running a fierce primary against Rep. Patrick Murphy for the Democratic nomination to replace Republican Marco Rubio in the Senate.