11 Republicans Enter Race to Fill Byron Donalds' Congressional Seat

Florida's 19th Congressional District — which stretches along the Gulf Coast and carries outsized weight for Treasure Coast voters watching Southwest Florida's political center of gravity shift — now hosts the most crowded congressional field in the state. Sixteen candidates are chasing the seat Byron Donalds is leaving to run for governor: 11 Republicans, three Democrats, one unaffiliated candidate, and a write-in.

The Republican primary alone reads like a political casting call. Two former congressmen from other states are competing: Madison Cawthorn, who represented North Carolina before a turbulent single term ended in a 2022 primary loss, and Chris Collins, the New York Republican who resigned from Congress in 2019 after a federal insider trading conviction. They join deep-pocketed self-funders including Jim Oberweis, an Illinois dairy farm owner and former state lawmaker, and Jim Schwartzel, president of Sun Broadcasting.

The field broadens further with author and health activist Catalina Lauf, former congressional staffer Ola Hawatmeh, veteran Mike Pedersen, Sarasota County Charter Review Board member Greg "Tex" Bukowski, former National Institutes of Health researcher Linda Sawyer, and Seth Haskin, who identifies as a constitutionalist. John Strand, who received a presidential pardon related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, also qualified for the GOP ballot.

Three candidates made the Democratic ballot: Howard Sapp, a former state House candidate and air traffic controller; Victor Arias, managing attorney of Arias Law Firm; and Robert Neeld, who previously challenged former Republican Reps. Connie Mack IV and Frances Rooney. Alexandra Zakhvatayev qualified as a write-in candidate. Haskin will appear on the November general election ballot regardless of the August primary outcome because he filed without party affiliation.

The sheer size of the field mirrors — and eclipses — the last open race for the seat. In 2020, 10 Republicans competed before Donalds emerged from that primary and defeated Rooney's successor in the general election.

Under the congressional map signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, more than 69% of district voters backed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, compared to 34% for Democrat Kamala Harris. Whoever survives the August primary will be a heavy favorite in November, making the Republican primary the decisive contest in practical terms.

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