{"id":2645184,"date":"2026-08-14T14:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T18:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-cast-of-characters-running-for-floridas-19th-district\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T14:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T18:26:07","slug":"meet-the-cast-of-characters-running-for-floridas-19th-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-cast-of-characters-running-for-floridas-19th-district\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the cast of characters running for Florida&#8217;s 19th District"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmeet-the-cast-of-characters-running-for-floridas-19th-district%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2645184&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The competition to replace Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) in florida&#8217;s 19th Congressional District is highly competitive, featuring a diverse group of candidates including former members of Congress and newcomers from various parts of the country. The race has gained attention due to its unpredictable nature, with notable contenders such as Catalina Lauf, a former Trump management official endorsed by President Trump; Madison Cawthorn, a former North Carolina congressman seeking a political reset in Florida; Jim Oberweis, a former Illinois state senator; and Chris Collins, a former New York congressman with a controversial history. Other candidates include Ola Hawatmeh and John Strand, the latter a convicted Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump. Trump\u2019s endorsement of lauf has considerably impacted the race, which is set to be decided in the heavily Republican district that Trump carried by 30 points in 2024. The primary field includes ten candidates competing for a seat that is virtually certain to favor the Republican nominee in the upcoming general election.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race to replace Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/byron-donalds\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"6250\">Byron Donalds<\/a> (R-FL) has become one of the most competitive, crowded primaries this cycle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s just that few of the leading contenders in the Republican primary are from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"159\">Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4687660\/florida-19th-congressional-district-candidates-carpetbagger-primary\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>The carpetbagger primary: Meet the cast of characters running for this Florida House seat<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4687721\/russell-fry-endorses-darline-graham-nordone-south-caronlina-gop-senate-runoff\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Darline Graham Nordone nabs Senate runoff endorsement from ex-primary rival Russell Fry<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4687614\/rashida-tlaib-backed-socialism-nonprofit-venue-cancels-event-security-claimed-were-silenced\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Tlaib-backed socialists cry foul after venue cancels event, citing security concerns<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race to replace Donalds features an eclectic array of candidates, including former members of Congress and congressional candidates from other parts of the country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a chance that the headline is not going to read, \u2018Florida man wins primary,\u2019\u201d GOP strategist Dennis Lennox told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a wild and crazy race featuring a whole cast of characters, including also-rans and disgraced has-been carpetbaggers, and yet, in some ways, it\u2019s kind of representative of Florida writ large,\u201d Lennox continued. \u201cHow many people from around the country have moved to Florida, for whatever reason, to turn the page and start a new life?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> shook up the race Thursday night when he endorsed Catalina Lauf, who has two previous congressional bids in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illinois\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"206\">Illinois<\/a>, all but sealing the fate of the other candidates. Lauf has polled close to Jim Schwartzel, a native of Florida who owns a radio station in the area, in the limited polling available for this race.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The House seat for Florida\u2019s 19th Congressional District opened up after Donalds launched a bid for governor, where he\u2019s favored in the Sunshine State and endorsed by Trump. The coastal district includes Naples and Fort Myers Beach, making it an ideal location for transplants. The deep Republican district went for Trump by 30 points in 2024, making the victor of Tuesday\u2019s primary all but certain to win the general election.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-catalina-lauf-nbsp-nbsp\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Catalina Lauf  <\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lauf, a former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a> official and businesswoman, is the likely front-runner in the race after securing the president\u2019s endorsement. She also has support from Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Kat Cammack (R-FL), and Greg Stuebe (R-FL).<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs a former Presidential Appointee at the U.S. Department of Commerce in my First Administration, Catalina has proven she has the Courage and Wisdom to deliver strong results for the incredible people of her State and Nation \u2014 She has truly been with us from the beginning!\u201d Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/117090504981894603\">wrote on TruthSocial<\/a>. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lauf had two unsuccessful bids for Congress in Illinois in 2020 and 2022 before moving to Florida. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her congressional primary comes just nearly two weeks after she <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4683661\/catalina-lauf-new-book-congress\/\">released her book<\/a>, <em>A Time to Choose<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-madison-cawthorn\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Madison Cawthorn<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Madison Cawthorn, a former one-term North Carolina congressman, launched his bid in Florida after moving to the area following his primary loss to Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) in 2022. He lost reelection due to a spate of controversies, including racking up speeding tickets and being stopped with a gun at the Asheville, North Carolina, airport.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His Florida bid could have offered a political reset of sorts after he cleared a crowded primary at age 24 and secured a runoff victory against Trump\u2019s endorsed candidate in 2020. He joined the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/house\/\" data-type=\"category\" data-id=\"1250\">House<\/a> only five months after meeting the constitutional minimum age requirement of 25.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cawthorn drew attention back in 2020 for his life story: He was involved in a near-fatal 2014 car crash at age 18, which left him partially paralyzed. Cawthorn launched a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-da-now-looking-into-loans-given-for-trump-properties-over-the-years\/\" title=\"New York DA Now Looking Into Loans Given For ... Properties Over The Years\">real estate investment firm<\/a> before winning his congressional seat. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-jim-oberweis-nbsp\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jim Oberweis <\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another former Illinois resident is in the race, along with Lauf, who were opponents previously in Illinois. Jim Oberweis, a former state senator in Illinois, beat Lauf and others in a 2020 Republican House primary.\u00a0Oberweis lost that general election to Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) by fewer than 2 points, about 5,000 votes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-chris-collins\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chris Collins <\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of New York fame, former Rep. Chris Collins resigned in 2019 from his Buffalo-area seat after an insider-trading guilty plea. He began a 26-month prison sentence in October 2020 and was later pardoned by Trump in December 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins, 75, is a mechanical engineer by trade and started several successful businesses in New York. In 2012, Collins beat Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), then a representative, for the congressional seat. Hochul had the backing of the National Rifle Association in that race, which Collins won by about 2 points.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-ola-hawatmeh\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ola Hawatmeh<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Businesswoman Ola Hawatmeh lost a 2020 congressional primary in New York and then became a policy adviser to Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) in Washington before entering this race. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-john-strand\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">John Strand<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Strand is a convicted Jan. 6 rioter who received a pardon from Trump in January 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4685103\/anna-paulina-luna-political-muscle-gop-races-across-country\/\">ANNA PAULINA LUNA FLEXES POLITICAL MUSCLE IN GOP RACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn 2022, he made a deliberate decision to leave California and move to Florida,\u201d Strand\u2019s campaign website reads. \u201cHe chose Florida because it defended constitutional governance and personal responsibility while other states embraced mandates and government overreach. He didn\u2019t just relocate \u2014 he recommitted himself to defending liberty, morality, and American culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A handful of other candidates are also running, bringing the field to 10 ahead of the Tuesday primary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Competitive GOP primary to replace Rep. Donalds, few Florida contenders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2645185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-collage-p0azh33ew-1786723080729-e1786728123795.jpg?1786713930&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[84185,34059,52676,43492,32983],"class_list":["post-2645184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-19th-district-candidates","tag-election-2024","tag-florida-elections","tag-florida-politics","tag-political-candidates"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-collage-p0azh33ew-1786723080729-e1786728123795.jpg?1786713930&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2645184"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2645188,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645184\/revisions\/2645188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2645185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2645184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2645184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2645184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}