{"id":125368,"date":"2026-01-20T20:49:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T20:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/125368\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T20:49:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T20:49:27","slug":"michael-carbonara-amasses-1-7m-to-challenge-debbie-wasserman-schultz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/125368\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Carbonara amasses $1.7M to challenge Debbie Wasserman Schultz"},"content":{"rendered":"

That includes funding raised through a public bitcoin wallet.<\/p>\n

Republican congressional candidate Michael Carbonara says he has raised $1.7 million to challenge<\/a> Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor far too long, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been a fixture in Washington, and she\u2019s done nothing to help working families struggling with inflation, high taxes and needless bureaucracy, while pushing policies that harm Florida families and take away their freedoms,\u201d Carbonara said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer approach to government is rooted in Washington bureaucracy and big spending, not in accountability or affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of note, Wasserman Schultz had just over $1.6 million in cash on hand at the close of the third quarter<\/a>. The Weston Democrat hasn\u2019t announced quarterly numbers for the final three months of 2025.<\/p>\n

Details on Carbonara\u2019s fundraising are not yet publicly available. The campaign said it did invest a portion of funds accrued through a dedicated public blockchain wallet<\/a> with bitcoin personally raised by Carbonara.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But Carbonara\u2019s campaign said he demonstrated the ability to raise more than she had in the bank in her last report. The candidate has stressed a hunger for change as he challenges the longest-serving Democrat in Florida\u2019s congressional delegation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDistrict 25 deserves a leader who will fight for Florida and restore Floridians\u2019 freedom,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m in the business of breaking down barriers, solving problems and creating jobs, and I\u2019ll do the same for our community in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

No other Republican who filed to challenge Wasserman Schultz last cycle raised as much as Carbonara has this cycle. Ahead of the 2024 contest, Republican Chris Eddy raised more than $416,000 for the seat. Wasserman Schultz beat Eddy in November 2024 with 54.5% of the vote.<\/p>\n

That was a tighter margin than when she defeated Republican Carla Spalding in 2022 with 55.1% of the vote, the only other time she ran under the current district lines. Notably, Republican leaders in Florida have signaled that redistricting<\/a> will happen again before the Midterms.<\/p>\n

Carbonara\u2019s campaign said it also has employed social media in new ways to directly reach voters in the district. A launch video on X<\/a> has been viewed more than 9.3 million times as of this writing.<\/p>\n

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