3 Republicans battle for long-shot chance to oust Democrat Lois Frankel in CD 22

Several Republicans again have their eye on ousting longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel. But whoever emerges from Tuesday’s Primary will be a significant underdog in November.

On the ballot are former JPMorgan executive Deborah Adeimy, investment manager and former congressional aide Dan Franzese and Andrew Gutmann, a self-proclaimed “anti-woke education activist.”

Franzese, the GOP nominee for the race in 2022, has spent the most leading up to Tuesday’s contest thanks in part to $760,000 he loaned to his campaign, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports. Including those loans, as well as outside donations, Franzese added more than $1 million to his campaign account this cycle, spending just under $902,000.

But Franzese’s efforts last cycle were all for naught, as Frankel defeated him by a comfortable 10 percentage points in the General Election. And that was during a historically strong election cycle in Florida for Republicans. If Florida reverts to the mean to any significant degree, Frankel’s margin could be even larger in 2024.

Nevertheless, he is plugging along again this cycle. His campaign flubbed late last year when he purported to have official support from the Boca Raton Republican Club. Several of the group’s leaders did privately back him, but never offered an official public endorsement on behalf of the group. The organization’s leaders partly shouldered the blame for the misunderstanding.

Franzese did pull in a last-minute endorsement from Donald Trump, however, a voice of support that could push him over the top on Tuesday.

Gutmann, meanwhile, has mounted the most serious challenge to stopping Franzese’s bid for another nomination in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. He has touted multiple impressive fundraising cycles, bringing in just under $740,000 overall. That includes a $110,000 candidate loan, but even with that included, he pulled in far more in outside cash than Franzese did.

Gutmann spent just under $502,000 during the Primary, leaving more than $238,000 available for a potential General Election matchup. That’s a calculated risk, but perhaps a necessary one, as Frankel sits on a war chest nearing $1.53 million. Franzese spent all but $121,000 of his cash.

In 2021, Gutmann wrote a letter that gained him attention on the Right explaining why he was unenrolling his daughter from New York City’s Brearley school. That letter was also littered with culture war grievances regarding the school’s curriculum.

During this campaign, he’s released ads pushing similar messaging.

Adeimy, meanwhile, has been well behind her Republican counterparts in terms of spending ahead of Election Day. She added just over $176,000 this cycle, including a $2,000 candidate loan. She spent just under $154,000 overall, far short of her GOP rivals.

But notably, she did pull in and endorsement from the Palm Beach Post editorial board, giving her an ability to argue to voters in the close of the campaign that she is most fit to lead.

CD 22 covers parts of Palm Beach County, stretching from the Everglades to the coast and encompassing 22 municipalities, including Atlantis, parts of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Briny Breezes, Cloud Lake, Delray Beach, Glen Ridge, Greenacres, Gulf Stream, Hypoluxo, Lake Worth Beach, Lake Worth, Lantana, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Palm Beach, Palm Springs, Royal Palm Beach, South Palm Beach, Village of Golf, Wellington and West Palm Beach.

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Ryan Nicol and Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics contributed to this report.