Age limit-defying congressional candidate sets sights on state House seat

The last time voters saw Michaelangelo Hamilton’s name on a ballot was in 2022, when he ran for the open seat representing Florida’s 23rd Congressional District.

He placed last in a six-person Democratic Primary some believed he shouldn’t have been part of; at the time he ran in 2022, Hamilton was just 22 — three years too young to serve in Congress.

Now he’s back on the campaign trail with sights set on state office. The entrepreneur and insurance agent is running to recolor House District 91 blue by unseating freshman Republican Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman.

“I’m running to make meaningful changes in our state like (homeowners’ association) reform, keeping property taxes as low as possible and to flip this state House seat for our party,” he said in a statement. “I also want to usher in an era of American politics that is less polarized.”

Hamilton will face at least one Primary opponent this year: Jay Shooster, a Democratic lawyer from Boca Raton who has amassed $390,000 since he filed for the HD 91 race in June. Most of Shooster’s donations came through personal checks.

By comparison, Hamilton ran an exclusively self-funded campaign in 2022, when he spent nearly $11,000 from his bank account on his congressional aspiration. The CD 23 race ultimately went to Democrat Jared Moskowitz.

Florida law requires state Representatives to be at least 21 to serve. Hamilton, who at 24 is almost a decade younger than Shooster and more than twice as young as Gossett-Seidman, considers his youth an asset.

“I am best qualified to become our party’s nominee and to become the next state Representative for Florida House District 91,” he said. “Gen Z is here and ready to lead.”

HD 91 covers a southern portion of Palm Beach County including Boca Raton and parts of Highland Beach and West Boca. Previously a dependable Democratic stronghold, the district grew more conservative after redistricting in 2022. Gossett-Seidman, a twice-elected Highland Beach Town Commissioner, defeated twice-elected Boca Raton Council member Andy Thomson by 4 percentage points.

The same year, Hamilton received 1.7% of the vote in the Democratic Primary for CD 23.