After considering a run for some weeks, he filed paperwork Friday.
Former Lake County Property Appraiser Carey Baker is running to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Dan Webster.
He is poised for a GOP Primary with Baker and a onetime protégé, Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, who has already run for the seat.
The 63-year-old Carey represented much of the Central Florida district in Florida’s Legislature, in both the House and Senate, before being elected countywide as a constitutional official.
Baker, a lifelong resident of Eustis, most recently served multiple terms as Property Appraiser. He lost re-election in 2024 after filing for re-election as a write-in candidate. After David Jordan filed as Republican, he defeated Baker by a 3-to-1 margin in the General Election.
Despite not winning the race for re-election, Baker demonstrated fundraising prowess that will come in handy in the race for the nomination, raising $233,000 for the campaign.
After the latest round of Congressional redistricting, Florida’s 11th Congressional District includes all of Sumter County, some of west Orange County and most of Lake County.
Baker after his election loss in 2024 worked with Sabatini in an effort to become Lake County Republican Party Chair, though that was unsuccessful.
Baker has remained a high-profile Republican leader in Lake County since his election to the Florida House in 2000 before he ascended to the Florida Senate. His father also served the area in the Florida House.
CD 11 is likely to be Republican in November. More than 57% of voters there backed President Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election.