A former candidate for a South Florida congressional seat is throwing his hat into a race for another slot for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republican Dan Franzese formally announced his candidacy for the CD 25 seat in South Florida currently held by Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Franzese is joining another five Republicans seeking the party nomination in the Primary Election ballot set for Aug. 18 preceding the General Election Nov. 3.
In his campaign announcement Sunday, Franzese promised a Republican “America First” approach based on President Donald Trump to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives if he’s elected.
“Florida families have been betrayed by career politicians far too many times. “As a political outsider from the business world, President Trump has been draining the swamp, delivering secure borders, and an America First agenda,” Franzese said in a news release Sunday.
“In Congress, I’ll use that same experience to back him up, make life more affordable again, and hold career politicians accountable. The people of CD 25 deserve a fighter who shows up, tells the truth, and delivers — not another ladder climber cutting deals behind closed doors.”
For Franzese, it’s another campaign against an entrenched Democratic congressional Representative. He ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel for the 22md Congressional District largely representing Palm Beach County in 2024 and in 2022. He originally announced he was running for the CD 22 seat earlier this year but has switched to CD 25 election.
Frankel’s switch to CD 25 represents its own challenges in the seat that used to center on the southern areas of Broward County into Miami-Dade. But the seat was part of the redistricting plan approved by the Florida Legislature in a Special Session earlier this month. And Wasserman Schultz was well entrenched there.
But the new congressional district geographic area runs along the Southeast Florida coast from Delray Beach down to Miami.
Wasserman Schultz has already announced she’s possibly refocusing her campaign on the CD 22 seat for what would be her 12th election to Congress. U.S. House Representative District 23 Democrat Jared Moskowitz has hinted he may jaoin ghe race for the CD 25 seat.
Franzese defeated two Republicans in the 2024 primary and ultimately lost to Frankel in the general election. He faces fellow Republicans Scott Singer, George Moraitis, Joe Kaufman, Raven Harrison and Jared Gurfein. A poll Franzese published Sunday conducted by McLaughlin & Associates research firm shows there is no clear leader in the CD 25 race in the GOP, though Singer leads with 16% among some 300 Republicans surveyed.
