Former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn is one of 14 candidates competing for Florida’s open 19th Congressional District seat, a Republican-dominated South Florida district where no clear frontrunner has emerged less than two weeks before the primary.
Ten Republicans, three Democrats, one non-party-affiliated candidate and a write-in are seeking the seat being vacated by Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor rather than seek reelection. The winner of the Aug. 18 GOP primary is heavily favored to win the general election in November in a district that has never elected a Democrat to Congress.
The Republican field has loaned itself more than $9.5 million as of the last reporting deadline, June 30, with former Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweis leading in self-funding at $4.9 million. Candidates have also raised roughly $2.9 million in individual donations, led by former Trump administration official Catalina Lauf’s $1.4 million.
Public polling has been sparse and inconclusive. An independent Victory Insights poll taken June 21-23 showed Jim Schwartzel, president of Sun Broadcasting, leading Mr. Oberweis 13% to 12%, with no other candidate reaching double digits and 54% of respondents undecided. A separate internal poll for candidate Ola Hawatmeh showed her leading at 13%, with Mr. Schwartzel second at 10%.
Bethany Conrad, an assistant professor of political science at Florida Gulf Coast University, said much of the uncertainty traces back to one absent voice.
“People are waiting on either Trump’s endorsement or someone like Byron Donalds’ endorsement to kind of figure out where they are going to throw their support,” Ms. Conrad said.
President Trump has not signaled which candidate he favors and has endorsed only one Florida House candidate this cycle, Sydney Gruters in District 16. Every major CD-19 candidate has nonetheless featured images with Mr. Trump in campaign ads and mailers.
Cawthorn’s comeback bid
Mr. Cawthorn, 31, was the youngest member of Congress in modern history when he won North Carolina’s 11th District at age 25 in 2020. He lost renomination in 2022 to Chuck Edwards after a term marked by controversy, then relocated to Cape Coral, where he purchased a $1.1 million home.
He has described his entry into the Florida race as motivated in part by the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Mr. Cawthorn, who survived a 2014 car accident that left him partially paralyzed, has campaigned as an “America First” ally of Mr. Trump, emphasizing border security, tax cuts and opposition to what he calls “woke indoctrination.”
His return has not been free of legal entanglements. Court records reviewed by Ballotpedia show Mr. Cawthorn was arrested in September 2025 after failing to appear for a court hearing tied to an August 2025 citation for driving without a valid license, following an earlier April 2024 citation for failing to yield that resulted in a crash and minor injuries.
A field of transplants
Mr. Cawthorn is far from the only candidate with out-of-state political history. An Axios analysis found that five of the Republican candidates have previously run for Congress in other states, including former New York Rep. Chris Collins, who resigned from Congress the day he pleaded guilty to insider trading and was later pardoned by Mr. Trump, and Ms. Hawatmeh, a onetime New York congressional candidate now running in Florida.
CNN reported this week that the sprawling, transplant-heavy field has drawn comparisons within the party to a circus, with Florida GOP chairman Evan Power telling the network that the district has become a landing spot for people seeking a new political start.
Ms. Conrad said the candidates have differentiated themselves less on policy — most oppose illegal immigration and back tax cuts and environmental funding for the Everglades — than on résumé and bankroll.
“It kind of comes down to which candidate can sell themselves the best to the voters,” Ms. Conrad said.
Early voting in the primary begins Saturday. Democrats Victor Arias, Robert Neeld and Howard Sapp are competing for their party’s nomination, though no Democrat has ever won the seat.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.