A Trump-endorsed candidate just got smoked by a local radio station owner in Florida.
Jim Schwartzel, a conservative businessman and Florida native who owns a talk radio station, took down Catalina Lauf in the Republican primary for Florida's 19th Congressional District on Tuesday night, according to reports. Schwartzel grabbed 29.2 percent of the vote in a packed 10-candidate field, while Lauf limped in at 21.8 percent. So much for the golden Trump endorsement being a guaranteed winner.
Lauf had absolutely everything going for her on paper. She carried President Trump's personal backing. She had endorsements from the Freedom Caucus Fund, Turning Point Action, Make America Health Again Action, Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, and Indiana Sen. Jim Banks. She previously served in the Commerce Department back in 2018. She even admitted to the Daily Caller News Foundation that Trump's support could "make or break" the contest in a district where Trump cruised to 64.8 percent against Kamala Harris in 2024.
Turns out it broke her.
Schwartzel rolled into the race with his own heavyweight backing from Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and former Southwest Florida lawmakers Connie Mack III and Connie Mack IV. Late polling from Victory Insights showed the two candidates knotted up at 19 percent heading into election day. Clearly, Schwartzel surged while Lauf stalled.
Now here is where this race gets absolutely wild. The ballot was loaded with political retreads who had previously campaigned for Congress in completely different states. Among them? Former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who was once the youngest House member before his single term became a controversy magnet from 2021 to 2023. He cratered into single digits. Then there was former New York Rep. Chris Collins, who resigned from Congress in 2019 after getting hit with insider trading charges, wire fraud, and lying to the FBI. He actually served federal prison time before Trump pardoned him in December 2020. Collins also finished way back in single digits.
Five candidates in this race had previously sought congressional seats in other states. Voters clearly were not interested in political tourists.
Lauf tried positioning herself as an outsider, telling reporters that Americans were "so fed up with elitist political class that is not worried about their constituents." The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife, considering she was the one loaded up with Washington endorsements.
Schwartzel now advances as the overwhelming favorite in the general election to replace outgoing Rep. Byron Donalds, who won the Republican gubernatorial nomination that same evening. The district leans so heavily conservative that the seat is essentially guaranteed to stay red.
Political watchers noted that local roots and genuine connections to Southwest Florida mattered far more than celebrity endorsements or national name recognition. The crowded field split the vote among outsiders while Schwartzel consolidated support from voters who actually live there.
This is one of the more significant primary stumbles for a Trump-endorsed candidate this cycle. The district remains safely Republican, but the message from voters is loud and clear. All the big name endorsements in the world cannot replace actually being from the community you want to represent.
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