Jacob Ogles
When he isn’t writing laws, Rep. Adam Botana can sometimes be found at county fairs nationwide hawking cinnamon rolls. One recent stop saw his culinary handiwork go mega-viral.
The Bonita Springs Republican recently set up the family Cinnamon Rolls by Omar food stand at the Midland County Fair in Michigan. The side business, which bears his father Omar’s name, has been part of that event for almost 70 years.
The process of hand-making a massive number of cinnamon rolls has always attracted a crowd, Botana said, and this fair was no different. He shared a video on Instagram where he rolled out dough, cutting multiple sticks of butter then sprinkling scoopfuls of sugar on top before cutting individual strands to roll.
“It attracts people to see food made, and kids can get up on the counter,” Botana said.
As for his latest Instagram post, the video shows a young boy in a Star Wars shirt watching the process intently through a window, at least until Botana hurls sugar sprinkle at the child’s head.
The child flinches before realizing the powder simply slammed into the glass. The young boy laughs and keeps watching as Botana again coats the unrolled dough in a layer of white crystals.
But something about the childish moment struck a chord on social media, where as of Friday, the post had garnered more than 7.5 million likes.
It was shared on Botana’s “@HeadBoatWasher” account, a handle that reflects his day job at the family business Bay Water Boat Rentals in Lee County; the food stands are a side hustle on top of Botana’s work in the Florida House.
The lawmaker can only guess why this footage hit such a sweet spot online. But he does feel like the credit belongs to the video’s younger star.
“Everyone likes kids, and it’s just such a natural reaction from a child,” he said. “His mom brought a handwritten note thanking me on making the kids feel like part of the group. In the Midwest, there’s a lot of tradition to an event like this. Not everyone gets to go to Disney World.”
That’s part of what keeps Botana working the fair, though the business these days only makes about three stops a year. That’s down from when it used to do 30 fairs, 30 NASCAR races and follow music acts like George Strait or the Ozzy Osbourne-led Ozzfest around.
He will head to the Mississippi State Fair in October, when he will have to juggle committee week schedules with the rural festivities.
Of note, the video includes the hashtag #CarneyForCongress, something Botana posted frequently since his first Florida House run. Botana lives in U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ district, and with the Congressman running for Governor, that makes it the only open federal seat in Florida to date for 2026.
Could the carnival star soon be seeking out a booth on Capitol Hill?
Botana shut that speculation down.
“I’m having fun in Tallahassee, and I’m looking forward to working under Speaker-designate Sam Garrison,” he said.
