Three Republican candidates in a sprawling new South Florida congressional district have poured millions of dollars of their own money into the abbreviated campaign for their party’s nomination.

Just before the final sprint to the Aug. 18 primary, campaign reports show:

—Belinda Keiser loaned her campaign $3 million. In addition to her own money, Keiser raised $197,600 in contributions.

—Casey Askar loaned his campaign $2.5 million. Other than his own money, Askar’s campaign report shows he raised $1,510 from contributors.

—Michael Carbonara loaned his campaign $1.47 million. He raised $9,700 in contributions.

With no incumbent and no well-known candidate, the creation of the 22nd Congressional District is a tantalizing opportunity for those who want to go to Washington, D.C. It’s especially enticing for Republicans, because the newly crafted Florida congressional map makes the 22nd District lean Republican.

Though money doesn’t ensure victory, it’s enormously helpful in a compressed campaign, as candidates seek to get known quickly. Most of the candidates in District 22, including Keiser and Askar, didn’t launch their campaigns until the new congressional districts were finalized in May.

The snapshot of the campaigns’ finances comes from reports filed in mid-July with the Federal Election Commission, covering money raised and spent from April 1 through June 30. Some figures are rounded.

Opportunity

An open congressional seat, with no incumbent, is a rare opportunity.

The 22nd District — which takes in parts of Broward, Palm Beach, Collier and Hendry counties — came about this spring.

Republicans who control the Florida Legislature adopted the map crafted by an aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Normally, congressional boundaries are redrawn every 10 years to reflect population changes uncovered in the decennial census.

This year, mid-decade redistrictings have taken place across the country after President Donald Trump told Republican-controlled states to change their districts in ways designed to elect more Republicans and fewer Democrats in November.

South Florida saw dramatic changes, with the new map packing Democrats in a handful of districts, which makes the adjacent districts more favorable to Republican candidates.

Candidates responded quickly. Some launched congressional campaigns for the first time. Others who had been running in other areas, such as Carbonara and Democrat Pia Dandiya, switched their candidacies to the new 22nd District.

The partisan voting index from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as R+4, which means it performed 4 points more Republican than the nation during the last two presidential contests. Trump won the territory in the new 22nd District by about 11 percentage points in 2024. Democrat Joe Biden won it by about 3 points in 2020.

Major independent, nonpartisan ratings show the district favors Republicans, but not heavily. Cook, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics rate it lean or tilt Republican.

National interest

Candidates won’t be the only ones spending money to try to influence the district’s voters.

With control of the House hotly contested, both parties’ congressional campaign arms have targeted the 22nd District.

On July 9, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made the 22nd one of its “Districts in Play,” which are Republican held or open seats where the outcome will determine which party controls the House after the November midterm elections.

“Republicans’ cynical attempt to subvert the will of Florida voters continues to backfire,” U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, chair of the Democratic campaign committee, said in a statement. “Democrats are keeping South Florida blue.”

On Monday, the National Republican Congressional Committee added the Florida district to its “target list.”

“Florida is ground zero for Republicans to grow our House majority in November,” Republican spokesperson Maureen O’Toole said in a statement, predicting that voters in the territory Trump won in 2024 “are ready to elect common-sense Republican leadership.”

Republicans

Seven Republican candidates are seeking their party’s nomination.

—Askar is a Naples businessman whose interests include franchising, commercial real estate, energy and construction.

He began his campaign during the quarter, raised $1,510, loaned the campaign $2.5 million and spent $265,300. The Askar campaign had $2.2 million in its account on June 30.

—Carbonara, of Southwest Ranches, is the former CEO of the digital banking platform Ibanera.

His campaign had $633,200 cash on April 1, brought in $9,700 in contributions, and reported $1.3 million in its account on June 30.

Carbonara’s campaign finances are more complex than those of some other candidates. Reports show several six-figure disbursements to Ibanera crypto wallets as well as six-figure receipts from Ibanera crypto wallets.

The campaign showed a debt of $750,000 for cable and broadcast television ads, in addition to other advertising spending it reported as paid.

The Carbonara campaign reported a total of $3.8 million in outstanding loans from the candidate as of June 30, including $1.47 million in the most recent quarter. The previous loans were made when Carbonara was a candidate seeking the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Broward Democrat, in a different district.

—Keiser, of Parkland, is vice chancellor of community relations and student advancement at Keiser University and has served on multiple government boards and commissions.

She began her campaign during the quarter, raised $197,600, loaned herself $3 million, contributed $16,300 to the campaign and spent $1.3 million. The Keiser campaign had $1.9 million in its account on June 30.

—David Burck, of West Palm Beach, is a real estate agent and former West Palm Beach police detective. Burck’s campaign had $110,800 cash on April 1, raised $74,000 and reported spending $105,400. His campaign had $79,400 in its account on June 30.

—Terri Hasdorff, a Loxahatchee business owner, began the campaign during the quarter, and reported raising $17,400 plus a $15,000 loan from the candidate and spending $13,900. The campaign reported a cash balance of $18,500 on June 30.

—Michael Thompson, a Belle Glade real estate broker, former Lee County Republican Party chair, and ally of Michael Flynn, who was briefly national security adviser in Trump’s first term, began the campaign during the quarter, raised $18,400, spent $15,400, and had a $3,000 balance on June 30.

—Richard Evans, of Ave Maria, is an accountant. The FEC website doesn’t show a campaign finance report from Evans.

Democrats

Two Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination.

Pia Dandiya, of Palm Beach Gardens, is a former teacher who founded a school, became a White House Fellow and then an executive at Apple.

Her campaign had $1.2 million cash on hand April 1. She raised $470,500, loaned her campaign $50,000, and spent $326,700. Dandiya’s campaign reported $1.37 million in its account on June 30.

In addition to the most recent $50,000 loan, Dandiya had previously loaned her campaign $197,000 when she was still running for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican who represents northern Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

Kaysia Earley, of Parkland, is a lawyer who founded her own law firm and has worked as a public defender. She is the founder of an organization that helps families in Florida and Jamaica.

Earley entered the race after the start of the quarter, raised $4,500, loaned $11,200 to her campaign, and spent $12,500. She reported $3,200 in the campaign’s bank account on June 30.

Geography

The new 22nd District includes parts of western Broward and Palm Beach counties and extends west to Marco Island and the Gulf of Mexico.

About 45% of its residents live in Broward, 27% in Palm Beach County, 23% in Collier County, and 5% in Hendry County.

In Broward, the new 22nd District includes all of Parkland and Weston and parts of Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Davie, Plantation and Sunrise.

In Palm Beach County, the district includes all of Belle Glade, Loxahatchee Groves, Pahokee, South Bay, Wellington and Westlake, and part of Royal Palm Beach.

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(This report includes information from South Florida Sun Sentinel archives.)

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