Businessman Jim Schwartzel defeated former Commerce Department official Catalina Lauf, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, in Tuesday’s ten-candidate GOP primary for a Florida House seat.
Schwartzel narrowly defeated Lauf — who ran for Congress in Illinois twice before — after receiving endorsements from Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and former Southwest Florida lawmakers Connie Mack III and Connie Mack IV. Trump supported Lauf, who worked in his first administration for several months in 2018.
The race to represent Florida’s 19th Congressional District consisted of ten candidates, including former Republican North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn and former Republican New York Rep. Chris Collins. Cawthorn served a single House term from 2021 to 2023 and was the youngest member of Congress at the time.
Schwartzel won 29.2% of the vote in the crowded primary to Lauf’s 21.8%, with both Cawthorn and Collins trailing behind in single digits, according to the Associated Press. A native Floridian, Schwartzel notably defeated five candidates who had previously ran for Congress in other states including Lauf, Cawthorn and Collins.
Due to the district’s strong Republican lean, Schwartzel is the heavy favorite to succeed outgoing Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who won the GOP primary for Florida governor on Tuesday.
During his sole term, Cawthorn was caught bringing a loaded gun to an airport and was cited for driving with a revoked license. Photographers published by Politico showed him wearing lingerie.
Collins served in Congress from 2013 to 2019. He resigned from office one year after the FBI arrested him on charges of insider trading, wire fraud and lying to the Bureau. He was released from federal prison after Trump pardoned him in Dec. 2020.
Polls indicated that either Lauf or Jim Schwartzel, the owner of a conservative talk radio station, would likely win. A Victory Insights poll released Friday found Lauf tied for first place, who both had 19% support. Collins and Cawthorn lagged far behind in the single digits.
Lauf received endorsements from Make America Health Again (MAHA) Action, Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks. The Freedom Caucus Fund and Turning Point Action also announced their support for Lauf’s campaign.
Schwartzel is running to replace Republican Florida Rep. Bryon Donalds, who ran for governor.
Lauf served in the first Trump administration for several months in 2018. She told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Trump’s endorsement would “make or break” the race, considering how strongly the district backed him in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump won the district 64.8% to 34.6% against former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Lauf told the DCNF in an interview that she believed Americans were “so fed up with elitist political class that is not worried about their constituents.” Her opponents, Cawthorn and Collins, faced controversies during their time in Congress.
(DCNF)