The field of Republican primary candidates looking to replace Rep. Byron Donalds (R) in Florida's 19th Congressional District is large, but will it continue to shrink after more and more of the candidates' past baggage comes to light, including one of them appearing to financially supporting Hillary Clinton for President?
CORRECTION: James Oberweis, the wealthy former State Senator from Illinois who recently loaned his congressional campaign $ 3 million, appeared to have donated $2,725 to Hillary Clinton's "Hillary for America" in April 2015, but it was his son James Oberweis, Jr., who donated to Hillary Clinton back in 2015.
Yes, the donations (2) were made early on in the primary election, but for a Republican to donate to Hillary Clinton for President could be considered the 'Kiss of Death' in a contentious Republican primary race, regardless of whether it's a state or federal contest.
This isn't the case with James Oberweis.
In searching the FEC.gov website to see if Oberweis, Jr. donated to other Clinton or Trump-related committees or campaigns, no other donations were found. Meaning, Oberweis doesn't donate to Trump.
Records show that Oberweis Jr had made the two donations.
But while donating to Clinton would have been problematic in the deep Red congressional district he is running in, his past brush with illegal immigration could really be could still prove to be a problem for the transplanted Illinoisan.
In 2006, during his gubernatorial campaign in Illinois, a state labor complaint was filed against Oberweis, alleging that the former dairy farm owner used a cleaning company that hired illegal aliens.
The Chicago Tribune covered the complaint:
Oberweis initially called the complaint part of a “smear campaign” against his candidacy for governor, but he later backed away from that description and said he hoped to meet with immigrant advocates to hear their concerns. He also said his Oberweis Dairy would investigate the matter but would never knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
The labor complaint, filed last week, involves the dairy’s use of Patmar Janitorial Services, a Lake in the Hills company that cleans some of his stores.
The two workers who filed the complaint, Rosa Ramirez and Jorge Ibarra, said they were hired by Patmar in May to clean three Oberweis stores in the northwest suburbs. According to a letter attached to the complaint, the workers received $175 twice a month, which amounts to $3.23 an hour. The workers are filing for back wages plus interest.
Oberweis's brush with hiring illegal aliens is reminiscent to when then former Republican Presidential Mitt Romney was accused of hiring illegal aliens after it was discovered that that the landscaping company he hired employed those workers.
Congressional District 19 covers Southwest Florida, including large parts of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Sarasota counties. Cities in the area include Cape Coral, Marco Island, Naples, and Fort Myers.
The candidates include former U.S. Reps. Madison Cawthorn and Chris Collins, Catalina Lauf, John Fratto, Ola Hawatmeh, Stephen Elliot, Dylan Modarelli, Jim Oberweis, Mike Pedersen, Louis Shenker, and John Strand.
Democratic candidates include Martin Kane, Victor Arias, and Howard Sapp.
Donalds won the seat comfortably in each of his election bids (2020/2022/2024) with well over 60 percent of the vote.
