Media executive overcomes Trump endorsement in race to succeed Byron Donalds in ‘circus-like primary’

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Florida media executive Jim Schwartzel won the GOP nomination to succeed Rep.Byron Donalds despite President Donald Trump endorsing his opponent.

President Donald Trump endorsed Catalina Lauf, who served in the Department of Commerce during his first term in office, Aug.13, upending the race just days before voters headed to the polls in Florida’s 19th Congressional District.Tuesday night’s results bucked a trend ofTrump-endorsed candidatesfairing well in primary contests.

As of mid-July, 97% of candidates endorsed by the president hadwon their primaries.

Trump’s endorsement success rate has remained at 93% or higher since 2018, according to Ballotpedia’s election tracker.

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Catalina Lauf, left, pictured next to Jim Schwartzel, right.

Catalina Lauf, left, and Jim Schwartzel(David J.Griffin/Icon Sportswire;Schwartzel for Congress)

Lauf and Schwartzel weren’t the only candidates to throw their hats into the race to be Donalds’ successor.

The field in Florida’s 19th Congressional District also included former Rep.Madison Cawthorn, who lost his North Carolina seat after a series of scandals in 2022;former Rep.Chris Collins, a former New York congressman convicted of insider trading;and Jim Oberweis, a wealthy former Illinois state senator.

The unusual cast of characters running in the election attracted amusement and ridicule from the national media.Axios dubbed the race “the GOP’s carpetbagger primary” and wrote that “whoever claws their way through the circus-like primary is almost guaranteed a ticket to Washington.”

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President Donald Trump wearing a white hat with gold

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One Aug.9, 2026, at Morristown Airport in Morristown, N.J.(Eric Lee/Getty Images)

On the campaign trail, Schwartzel attacked Lauf for running for Congress twice in Illinois before recently moving to Florida, arguing that his ties to the state ran deeper than hers.

Lauf responded that she is a “blue state refugee,” not a “carpetbagger.”

“I came here, I didn’t have a choice to be born and raised in Illinois but I have a choice to live here,” she said during a July debate.

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Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One for departure on Aug.7, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.(Getty Images)

Lauf accused Schwartzel of being behind the firing of a popular local meteorologist.Schwartzel responded that although he owns several local media stations, he did not have an ownership stake in the network that fired the meteorologist.

Schwartzel said his supporters expressed anger after Trump endorsed Lauf.

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“The president endorsed my opponent tonight.You’re hearing it from me before you hear it anywhere else,” he said on the night of the endorsement.

“But let’s be precise about where that anger belongs.Not with President Trump.I’ve supported him from the beginning, and I’ll support him after Tuesday.

“It belongs with the operation that worked this for months: the out-of-state super PACs that have poured millions into this district, the Washington consultants who packaged a candidate who ran for Congress twice in Illinois and sold her as Southwest Florida’s choice, the people who decided our seat shouldn’t be settled in a room a thousand miles from here.”