Sara Baxter, a Palm Beach County commissioner, ended her campaign for Congress on Friday — just four days after she announced she was running.
Her move came at the last minute as candidates faced the deadline to get on the ballot to run for office in Florida, ending a frenetic game of political musical chairs.
On Monday, Baxter had declared herself a candidate for the Republican nomination in the new South Florida 22nd Congressional District, saying that she wanted to go to Washington to support President Donald Trump.
Her plans changed after Trump, posting on his Truth Social platform, told her to run for reelection to the County Commission and not Congress.
The scramble as the deadline approached was more intense than usual this year because of the state’s new congressional districts, which upended the careers of incumbents and opened opportunities for a slew of other hopefuls. Redistricting and the retirement of U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson meant congressional openings in districts with no incumbent, prompting a rush of candidates.
The seven congressional districts that take in all or parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties attracted a total of 48 candidates.
The leadup to the deadline included the decision by Kendrick Meek Jr., the son and grandson of members of Congress, to enter the Democrat primary for the nomination to succeed Wilson in a South Broward/Miami-Dade County district.
Two other major candidates, state Sen. Shevrin “Shev” Jones and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert III, were already running in that district.
Baxter out
Baxter announced her candidacy on Monday for the newly crafted 22nd Congressional District, which includes all or parts of Broward, Palm Beach, Collier and Hendry counties.
“Washington needs more fighters who are focused on delivering for their district. The creation of the new congressional district blesses me with the opportunity to work with President Trump to stop illegal migrant crime, protect our elections, cut taxes, slash red tape and bloated bureaucracy, protect hard working farmers, our food supply chain, support our great military and veterans, and defend our Second Amendment rights,” she said in a statement.
Other Republicans in the 22nd District, especially Casey Askar, are close to Trump. The president is such a potent force in Republican primaries that his endorsement, or his disapproval, can make the difference between winning and losing.
At 8:11 p.m. Trump weighed in on his social media platform, calling Baxter “a fantastic person,” adding that “I would rather have her stay on the Palm Beach County Commission (where so many important things are happening!), than run for Congress. Thank you Sara!”
Baxter complied. Friday morning, two hours and four minutes before the noon deadline for candidates to qualify for the ballot, she qualified to run for reelection to the Palm Beach County Commission, forgoing the congressional race.
22nd District
The new 22nd District includes all of Parkland and Weston in Broward, Wellington and the Glades communities in Palm Beach County, and extends west to the Gulf of Mexico.
About 45% of its residents live in Broward, 27% in Palm Beach County, 23% in Collier County, and 5% in Hendry County.
The partisan voting index from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as R plus 4, which means it performed 4 points more Republican than the nation during the last two presidential contests.
Nonpartisan ratings from Cook, Inside Elections and the University of Virginia Center for Politics, rate it lean or tilt Republican.
Seven Republican candidates are running.
— Askar, a Naples businessman whose interests include franchising, commercial real estate, energy and construction.
— Michael Carbonara, of Southwest Ranches, is the former CEO of the digital banking platform Ibanera. He originally planned to challenge U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a different district, but switched to the new 22nd after redistricting.
— Belinda Keiser, of Parkland, is vice chancellor of community relations and student advancement at Keiser University and has served on multiple governments boards and commissions.
— David Buck, Richard Evans, Terri Hasdorff and Michael Thompson, a former Lee County Republican Party chair, are also on the party’s primary ballot.
Pia Dandiya and Kaysia Earley are seeking the Democratic nomination.
Dandiya is a former teacher who founded a school, became a White House fellow, and became an executive at Apple. She had been seeking her party’s nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Brian Mast in another district, but shifted to the 22nd after redistricting.
Earley is a trial lawyer who founded her own law firm and has worked as a public defender. She is founder of an organization that helps families in Florida and Jamaica.
The 22th Congressional District, created in the 2026 Florida special redistricting, takes in parts of Broward, including Parkland and Weston, and Palm Beach County, including Wellington and the Glades communities, and stretches west to Marco Island and the Gulf Coast. (Florida Senate/courtesy)
24th District
The 24th is a landlocked district that straddles Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike from central Miami-Dade County through southern Broward. About 70% of its residents are in Miami-Dade County and 30% in Broward.
The partisan voting index from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as the most Democratic leaning in state at D plus 22, which means it performed 22 points more Democratic than the nation during the last two presidential contests.
Nonpartisan ratings from Cook, Inside Elections and the University of Virginia Center for Politics, rate it solid or safe Democratic.
A long list of candidates is running to succeed Wilson. The leading contenders are Jones, who grew up and used to represent part of Broward in the state House of Representatives and now lives in Miami Gardens, and Gilbert, who is a former Miami Gardens mayor.
Meek’s grandmother, Carrie Meek, who left office in 2003, was a legendary figure in Florida politics.
In 1992, when amendments to the Voting Rights Act led to creation of new congressional districts designed to help get Black representatives to Congress, she was among the first three African American members elected from Florida since the end of Reconstruction after the Civil War.
Her son, Kendrick Meek Sr. was elected to succeed her. Wilson was elected in 2010, when Meek left the House for an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate.
Other candidates in the district include Rudolph Moise, who twice ran against Wilson. He had been running in Broward’s 20th District, but he withdrew and switched to the 24th District.
Other Democrats running are Marshall L. Davis Sr., Jean Monestime and Roderick Vereen.
Republican Te Mayonna Brown and no party affiliation candidate Andy Daro will be on the November ballot.
Congressional districts in South Florida, implemented by the state’s Republican majority for the 2026 midterm elections, change prospects for which party wins many districts. (Florida Senate/courtesy)
Elsewhere
20th District: Wasserman Schultz faces four opponents in the Democratic primary in the Broward district.
21st District: Mast is running for reelection in the heavily Republican territory, which takes in northern Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. Democrats James T. Martin and Bernard Taylor face off in a primary. No party affiliation candidate Alexander Cooke will be on the November ballot with Mast and the Democratic nominee.
23rd District: In the central Palm Beach County 23rd District, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Victoria Doyle and Mark Piper.
Deborah Adeimy, who has run for Congress previously, and Paola Branda are running in the Republican primary for the nomination in the heavily Democratic district.
25th District: U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz faces a challenger in the Democratic primary and five Republicans are competing for their party’s nomination in the coastal Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county district.
26th District: The district, based in Miami-Dade County, was reconfigured to include part of southwest Broward. U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, the longest serving member of Congress from Florida, is heavily favored to win reelection in the Republican district.
Diaz-Balart will face Democrat Nicole Locklin and no party affiliation candidate Deborah Ann Meidinger Hosey in November.
Political writer Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.