Daniel Webster's retirement leads to packed race for his congressional seat

ORLANDO, Fla. — After long-time Congress member Daniel Webster announced in April that he is retiring, candidates rushed to enter the race for the open seat.

The field includes one familiar face in Central Florida politics, as well as political newcomers. Five Republicans and three Democrats are vying to represent congressional District 11, a deep red district that takes in much of Lake County, as well as part of Orange County and all of Sumter County.

While Florida’s Republican leadership’s redistricting efforts this year dramatically reshaped several Central Florida districts, District 11 remains mostly intact, though it no longer includes part of northern Polk County.

Notably, two candidates, Carey Baker and Joe Strada, live outside the district, according to their election paperwork. That’s allowed, according to the U.S. Constitution, which requires members of Congress to live in the states where their districts are located once they are elected, but not within their districts’ boundaries.

Who they are

Five Republicans will appear on the Aug. 18 primary ballot.

Baker is likely the most familiar to Central Florida voters, especially those who live in Lake County. He is the former property appraiser for the county and also served in the state House and Senate. Baker also spent 31 years in the Florida Army National Guard and owns a gun shop. Webster has endorsed Baker to replace him.

He lives in a sliver of northern Lake that is just outside the district’s boundaries but told the Orlando Sentinel in June that his roots “run deep” in in the district. He and his wife are considering moving to Tavares, which is inside district lines.

Ivette Palomo describes herself as an educator, farmer and whistleblower who exposed corruption at the Florida Department of Children and Families. She lives in Bushnell.

Nizam Razack is a neurosurgeon and attorney who teaches healthcare law at Florida A&M University. He has been endorsed by former Congress member Sandy Adams, former Orlando mayor Bill Frederick and Jackie Siegel, widow of Westgate Resorts owner David Siegel. Razack was born in India and emigrated to the United States when he was 3. He lives in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando.

Strada owns a billion-dollar home services company, Strada Services. He and the company were the subjects of a lawsuit filed last week in Osceola County Circuit Court by a group of homeowners who accusing the firm of installing subpar components in thousands of new houses that didn’t meet state and federal safety codes and put residents at risk.

The Lake Mary businessman has been endorsed by a number of Central Florida elected officials, including Congressman Randy Fine, State Attorney Bill Gladson, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma and state Senator Keith Truenow. He also has the support of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Strada was the only candidate from either party running for District 11 who did not respond to interview requests from the Orlando Sentinel for this story.

Tim Wilkins is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, former professional comedian and production company owner who helped establish a private school. The Windermere resident has been endorsed by Osceola County Sheriff Chris Blackmon, former acting U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Peter O’Rourke and Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan.

All of the Republican candidates have expressed strong support for President Donald Trump, though his approval rating has dipped below 40%. The four who did phone interviews also said they agreed with the decision to go to war with Iran, though Razack expressed concern about the cost of the conflict and said the U.S. should avoid “endless wars.”

Democrats will choose among three candidates on the primary ballot.

James Pericola is a Central Florida native with extensive Washington D.C. experience as a political operative who worked for former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. More recently, he was the founder of a D.C.-based government relations and consulting firm. He has the support of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis, state Reps. Rita Harris and RaShon Young, and Orlando City Commissioner Tom Keen.

Pericola listed his mother’s residence in Volusia County, which is not in District 11, on his election filing documents. He said last week he has moved to a home in Winter Garden, inside the district.

Royal Webster, who is not related to the retiring U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster, is a U.S. Army veteran and public school teacher who lives in Winter Garden. He has been endorsed by the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida and the Orange County Democratic Environmental Caucus.

Dan Williams is a professor at Full Sail University. He has been endorsed by Lake County Indivisibles and American People’s Compact, which advocates for lower health care and housing costs; higher wages; strong schools; and clean energy. He lives in west Orange.

The winners of the two major parties’ primaries will face off in November against one third-party candidate, Libertarian Ralph Groves.

Fundraising

The campaigns in this race are largely self-funded: Most of the candidates who have reported six-digit fundraising totals have gotten there by making significant loans to themselves. And the Republicans have far more money to spend on their campaigns than the Democrats.

One candidate, Strada, has a clear fundraising advantage, loaning his campaign $5 million, according to a report he filed with the Federal Election Commission. As a result, the Seminole County businessman has raised more than seven times as much as the second best-funded candidate in this race and has more money to spend on the race than most congressional candidates across the country. He had $4 million left in his war chest as of June 30, when the most recent reporting period ended.

Razack, the second-highest fundraiser, lags far behind Strada at $676,652. He loaned his own campaign $560,000.

Wilkins’ campaign has received $318,362, including a $236,000 loan from the candidate.

Baker has raised $167,570. He gave his own campaign a loan of $12,000.

Pericola is the best-funded Democrat, with $116,424 raised, including a $64,965 loan from himself.

Webster has raised just shy of $16,000, including a $2,660 loan to himself.

Williams and Palomo haven’t reported any fundraising, according to the most recent reports available.

Affordability

The Orlando Sentinel asked all of the candidates from both parties about what types of actions, if any, they supported that would make necessities like housing, groceries and gas more affordable for Americans.

Baker said he thinks decisions made by elected leaders, including running up the federal deficit, have contributed to inflation. He also said he supported policies that would promote energy independence, such as drilling for natural gas and building nuclear power plants.

Though it’s not a federal issue, Baker said he also supports the initiative that Florida voters will see on the November ballot, which would drastically cut property taxes for homeowners.

Palomo said she would like to put Congress in charge of writing all regulations enforced by government agencies. She also said she would “expose every seizure of your property.”

Razack said he favored cutting federal spending and reducing regulations that he said drive up the expense of gas and electricity. He also said he favored keeping Trump-era tax cuts in place and increasing domestic manufacturing. And as a practicing doctor for 35 years, Razack said he wanted to make the price of healthcare, including prescription drugs and hospital services, more transparent.

Wilkins said undocumented immigrants have driven up housing prices, pointing to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He also said he would like to cut government waste and fraud and implement additional tax cuts.

Pericola said he grew up experiencing food insecurity and the government should redirect money it is currently spending on other programs, such as the $1.5 trillion defense budget, toward aid for groups like children and senior citizens.

Webster said he supports a form of universal basic income that would guarantee a minimum level of financial and food support for Americans earning below specific income thresholds.

Williams praised the recent legislation passed by Congress that is aimed at making housing more affordable by streamlining federal reviews and restricting single-family home purchases by large corporate entities. He said he would also like Congress to tackle other expenses like health care through single-issue bills.

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