The chaotic rumble for Florida’s CD 23

By Jack Furnari On Jun 12, 2022 7 Copy Link Print

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Florida Rep. Ted Deutch, D- Boca Raton, didn’t make many waves when he was in the house, but he caused a tsunami by leaving.

Deutch announced in February that he would be retiring from congress to become the CEO of the American Jewish Committee.

I wrote on February 28:

It just got a lot more exciting here in Palm Beach County as there will undoubtedly be a massive brawl in both parties between everyone who wants to take a shot at this seat.

Rumors true: Ted Deutch to retire from Congress.

Currently, ten Republicans, five Democrats, and three NPA’s (No Pary Affiliation) are running.
An open congressional seat doesn’t happen often, but this is wild. The qualifying deadline is June 17, and the primary is August 23, 2022.*

According to Ballotpedia, the filing cost is $10,440 for a “Ballot-qualified party” and $6,960 for an unaffiliated candidate filing.

On the Republican side, it seems inevitable that James Pruden, Darlene Swaffar, Cristy McLaughlin, and Joe Budd will have the money to file. Budd announced recently, and since the last reporting date was March 31, the Federal Election Commission doesn’t show him as having any money. But Budd has run for the house before, and he’s the Republican State Committeeman for Palm Beach County. Budd wouldn’t have announced if he didn’t think he could qualify.

I don’t have a dog in the Republican hunt, and I’ll endorse the primary winner for the general.
Some other republicans may qualify, but it’s hard to tell who at this juncture.

The website FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.COM has the new CD 23 a D+9. That’s tough to overcome even in a “Red Wave” year. But by November, Biden could have destroyed our economy even more than he has, so who knows.

On the Democrat side, Jared Moskowitz will be their guy. Moskowitz has $647,601.66 as of March 31, and every Democrat I know has lined up behind him.

There are three NPA’s announced who I’m not sure will qualify. Typically NPA’s run for the house knowing they can’t win without party affiliation but want to raise an issue of some kind.

We’ll redo this information after filing. With so many people running, I was pulling my hair out, trying to remember who was running where and what was happening.

Republicans

James “Jim” Pruden (Qualified)
Website https://www.jimprudenforcongress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.pruden.7505
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JAMESPRUDEN13
Cash on hand as of 3/31/22 $101,367.06

Darlene Swaffar (Qualified)
Website https://swaffarforcongress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swaffar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/swaffarcongress
Cash on hand as of 3/31/22 – $64,719.56

Cristy McLaughlin (Qualified)
Website: https://christyforcongress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christy.mclaughlin.102
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristyMarieMc
Cash on hand a of 3/31/22 – $18,009.97

Joe Budd (Qualified)
Website: http://www.votejoebudd.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoteJoeBudd
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VoteJoeBudd
FEC: No processed data this period.

Saad Suleman
No website
No social media
FEC: No processed data this period.

Ira Weinstein (Qualified)
Website: https://www.weinsteinforcongress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IraWeinstein4
FEC: No processed data this period.

Melinda Almonte
Website: https://www.melindaalmonteforcongress.com/
No social media
FEC: No processed data this period.

Myles Perrone (Qualified)
No website
No Social Media
FEC: No processed data this period.

Steven Chess (Qualified)
Website: https://chessforcongress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chessforcongress
No listing at the FEC website.

Jeffrey Olson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffolson715
Twitter: https://twitter.com/olson_fl?lang=en
No Website
No listing at the FEC website.

Democrats

Jared Moskowitz (Qualified)
Website: https://jaredforflorida.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaredforcongress
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaredemoskowitz?lang=en
Cash on hand as of 3/31/22 – $647,601.66

Hava Holzhauer (Qualified)
Website: https://havaholzhauer.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/havaforcongress
Twitter: https://twitter.com/havaholzhauer
FEC: No processed data this period.

Michaelangelo Collins Hamilton (Qualified)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisismhamilton
No website
FEC: No processed data this period.

Ben Sorensen (Qualified)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenSorensenFL
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenSorensen/
FEC: No processed data this period.

Jeffrey Fandl
https://twitter.com/jfandl325?lang=en
No Website
No listing at the FEC website.

Allen Ellison (Qualified)
No Website
No Social Media
No listing at the FEC website.

No Party Affiliation

Mark Napier (Qualified)
Website: https://www.napierforcongress2022.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078888127455
No Twitter account
FEC: Cash on had as of 03/31/22 $1,563.33

Christine Scott (Qualified)
Website: https://christinescottforcongress2022.wordpress.com/
No social media
FEC: No processed data this period.

Michael “Mike” Trout (Qualified)
Website: http://www.miketroutforcongress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeTroutforCongress
No listing at the FEC website.

*Editor’s Note: Mr. Napier originally filed for District 22. He has since redesignated his race for District 23. We apologize for any confusion.

*Editor’s Note: Ms Holzhauer filed and qualified on 06/13/2022.

*Editor’s Note: This post was updated to reflect new entries into this race. Updates to reflect the addition of one Democrat and one NPA candidate. We apologize for any confusion.

*Editors Note: This post has been updated to reflect which candidates have qualified for office. More updates may be forthcoming.

Data from the FEC database.

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Jack Furnari

Jack Furnari is a husband, father, entrepreneur, publisher, columnist, and former political consultant. He’s The President and CEO of JoltMedia, Inc, a Trustee of BizPac, and a founder of BizPacReview.com, the conservative news website. Jack has written for the Sun-Sentinel and the Boca Raton News.