With Republican control of the U.S. Congress on thin ice, Republican congressional candidates Michael Carbonara, Belinda Keiser, and Casey Askar are throwing the kitchen sink to win their party nomination in Florida's District 22 race.
According to the Federal Election Committee (FEC), Carbonara, an entrepreneur and business owner with a background in cryptocurrency, has raised $5,867,348.70 as of June 30, far outpacing opponents Belinda Keiser, the vice chancellor of Keiser University, with $3,213,868.36, and Casey Askar, chairman and CEO of Askar Family Office, with $2,501,510.00 in the race. Real estate broker David Burck ($204,954.63), and real estate agent Michael Thompson ($18,413.00) round out the pack.
Notably, Carbonara has raised $58,834.95 in total contributions of his $5,867,348.70 total, well behind Burck's $204,954.63, Keiser's $213,868.36, Thompson's $18,413.00,41, and Askar's $1,510.00.
In addition, Carbonara leads in disbursements with $4,524,861.36 over Keiser's $1,326,585.99, Askar's $265,266.14, Burck's $125,569.39, and Thompson's $15,387.54.
Despite Carbonara's early advantage, Askar, whose company specializes in franchising, commercial real estate, energy, and construction in South Florida, is holding a cash-on-hand lead, which could prove dividends ahead of the Aug. 18 primary. Askar's $2,236,243.86 is ahead of Keiser's $1,887,282.37, Carbonara's $1,342,487.34, Burck's $79,385.24, and Thompson's $3,025.46.
Carbonara's filings do look a bit suspect.
Over the past year, Carbonara has disbursed to his company, Ibanera, roughly $1.1 million of the money that appears to have already been reported as campaign loans, with most of that money coming out before mail-in ballots even went out.
Each of the entries is described as an individual "permissible investment." See below.
Here are the larger loan transactions that Carbonara made to his congressional campaign:
Askar made his case as to why he should be the Republican nominee during an interview with The Floridian last month. He has also been endorsed by the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) in his bid and is a Trump ally.
Carbonara has earned support from HUCKPAC for America, a conservative political action committee run by the family of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, while Keiser has been endorsed by several Florida Republican congressional representatives, including Reps. Jimmy Patronis, Neal Dunn, Aaron Bean, Vern Buchanan, and Randy Fine.
District 22 includes Collier, Hendry, Broward, and Palm Beach counties across southern Florida. The district was redrawn by the Florida Legislature during the state's special legislative session in April, and could give Republicans a pickup as they look to hold onto their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives after the November general election.
According to the House of Representatives, Republicans currently hold a 218-212 advantage over Democrats. There are also four vacancies and one independent, making the Republican majority even more precarious.
Democratic primary candidates in the race include Pia Dandiya and Kaysia Earley.
The primary is Aug. 18, with the general election on Nov. 3.
