Immokalee—Another Republican congressional candidate forum took place between the candidates vying to become the next representative in the newly-drawn 22nd District, and as expected, the event was another snoozefest.
Well, there were a few instances where a couple of the candidate took a couple very meh swipes at each other, but considering that on the very same day of the forum, Belinda Keiser took a joint swipe at both Michael Carbonara and Casey Askar, calling them “Jokers,” and not to mention taking an individual jab at Askar, one would have expected fireworks to go off.
Nada. Zilch. It was if no one had the nerve to call out anyone out by name.
Very weak sauce.
The aforementioned subtle swipes that took place, pressed us into taking short look under the hood of each “attack.”
Rich Evans, the quirky accountant from Ave Maria, who we previously referred to as a “parrot on crack” because he rambles on as he addresses any issue or question, made a reference to Carbonara’s legal problem in Michigan over his ownership of a data center.
"Yes, I have built a Data Center, but it's not an AI data center, its a Bitcoin mining operation," said Carbonara.
The second so-called “attack” came from Carbonara against Keiser. Keiser, who is the vice chancellor of Keiser University, said that she was in support of government subsidizing Americans looking to start of small business.
" The backbone of our economy is small businesses. I believe that we need to look at ways we can subsidize individual that are innovative, that take on the full responsibility," Keiser said.
Carbonara quickly responded, calling the notion of government subsidization of small business start ups as nothing less than “Socialism.”
“We do not want to subsidize start-up businesses, that is Socialism. That’s Democrat policy,” asserted Carbonara. Askar said he didn't want Data Centers in Florida.
The third jab came from Askar.
Askar, a businessman and U.S. Marine Veteran, targeted Keiser when he spoke about the campaign endorsements he had received.
Now, Keiser didn’t name Keiser, but his referencing that he never donated to, or received money from anyone that had endorsed him.
All of the congressional endorsements that Keiser garnered for her congressional run in 2026, have received donations in the past.
In analyzing the performances of all the candidates in attendance, minus that of David Burck because he didn’t show up to the forum, they all did very well and appeared a lot more polished than they did before.
Keiser seemed a lot more polished than before. Terri Hasdorff was steady and precise with her response. Rich Evans was, well, Rich Evans. Carbonara appeared to have stumbled several times when reciting red meat talking points. Askar seemed very calm, collected and polished throughout the event.
The primary election will take place on August 18.
