As a Miami native, I celebrate Carl Hiaasen as a journalistic and literary giant who many years ago happened to describe Florida in a memorable way: “The Sunshine State is a paradise of scandals teeming with drifters, deadbeats, and misfits drawn here by some dark primordial calling like demented trout. And you’d be surprised how many of them decide to run for public office.”
Keep this in mind when taking a look at my favorite congressional primary of 2026. The New York Times summarized:
Ah, Florida. It’s a land of retirees, fresh starts and second acts — even, it turns out, for Republicans running for Congress.
Tuesday’s crowded primary to succeed Representative Byron Donalds, an acolyte of President Trump who is running for governor, features candidates who have run for Congress or served in Congress, all in other states.
Donalds, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, appears well positioned to win the GOP’s gubernatorial primary, and he’s favored to succeed incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis in the fall. But it’s the race to replace Donalds in the Fort Myers-area congressional district that’s proving to be so wonderfully Florida in a Hiaasen-esque sort of way.
There are a total of 10 candidates vying for the party’s nomination in the 19th Congressional District, but the leading Republican contenders include:
- Former Republican Rep. Chris Collins of New York, who went to prison for insider trading before receiving a Trump pardon;
- Former Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, who lost a 2022 primary after a rather humiliating single term in Congress;
- Jim Oberweis, a failed Republican candidate in Illinois;
- Catalina Lauf, a different failed Republican candidate in Illinois;
- John Strand, a former underwear model who was sentenced to prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack, before receiving a Trump pardon;
- Ola Hawatmeh, a failed Republican candidate in New York.
With a lineup like this, one observer characterized the primary in Florida’s 19th as a “clown show,” which seems harsh — but fair —given the circumstances.
The post Why the cast of characters in a GOP primary in Florida is being described as ‘zany’ appeared first on MS NOW.
