Florida media executive Jim Schwartzel won the GOP nomination to succeed Rep. Byron Donalds despite President Donald Trump endorsing his opponent.
President Donald Trump endorsed Catalina Lauf, who served in the Department of Commerce during his first term in office, Aug. 13, upending the race just days before voters headed to the polls in Florida’s 19th Congressional District. Tuesday night’s results bucked a trend of Trump-endorsed candidates fairing well in primary contests.
As of mid-July, 97% of candidates endorsed by the president had won their primaries.
Trump’s endorsement success rate has remained at 93% or higher since 2018, according to Ballotpedia’s election tracker.
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Lauf and Schwartzel weren’t the only candidates to throw their hats into the race to be Donalds’ successor.
The field in Florida’s 19th Congressional District also included former Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who lost his North Carolina seat after a series of scandals in 2022; former Rep. Chris Collins, a former New York congressman convicted of insider trading; and Jim Oberweis, a wealthy former Illinois state senator.
The unusual cast of characters running in the election attracted amusement and ridicule from the national media. Axios dubbed the race „the GOP’s carpetbagger primary“ and wrote that „whoever claws their way through the circus-like primary is almost guaranteed a ticket to Washington.“
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On the campaign trail, Schwartzel attacked Lauf for running for Congress twice in Illinois before recently moving to Florida, arguing that his ties to the state ran deeper than hers.
Lauf responded that she is a „blue state refugee,“ not a „carpetbagger.“
„I came here, I didn’t have a choice to be born and raised in Illinois but I have a choice to live here,“ she said during a July debate.
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Lauf accused Schwartzel of being behind the firing of a popular local meteorologist. Schwartzel responded that although he owns several local media stations, he did not have an ownership stake in the network that fired the meteorologist.
Schwartzel said his supporters expressed anger after Trump endorsed Lauf.
„The president endorsed my opponent tonight. You’re hearing it from me before you hear it anywhere else,“ he said on the night of the endorsement.
„But let’s be precise about where that anger belongs. Not with President Trump. I’ve supported him from the beginning, and I’ll support him after Tuesday.
„It belongs with the operation that worked this for months: the out-of-state super PACs that have poured millions into this district, the Washington consultants who packaged a candidate who ran for Congress twice in Illinois and sold her as Southwest Florida’s choice, the people who decided our seat shouldn’t be settled in a room a thousand miles from here.“
Media executive overcomes Trump endorsement in race to succeed Byron Donalds in ‘circus-like primary’ 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-08-19 01:14:29 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
