Casey Askar is a self-interested political opportunist trying to buy his way into Congress to maintain the status quo that puts the richest people in the country first at the expense of Florida’s working families. It’s not going to work. Voters are
already taking note that Askar is spending his time pandering to D.C. Republicans and not talking about the issues that really matter to South Florida’s families, like lowering costs and making government work for working families.
A working mom, educator, and native daughter of Palm Beach County, Pia Dandiya knows that the problems facing working families today need strong advocates in Congress. From running a thriving school with a 100% college acceptance rate to ensuring technology serves our communities, Pia has never run away from tough problems. She’s running for Congress now to bring this same future-oriented vision to D.C. on behalf of South Florida’s working families.
Florida has been one of the states hit hardest by D.C. Republicans’ disastrous cost-raising agenda. Florida is ranked the 3rd most expensive state in the country and Floridians are being forced to make “huge sacrifices” just to make ends meet. While Republicans gerrymandered Florida’s 22nd Congressional District in an attempt to salvage their flailing House majority, the district remains broadly diverse, would have voted for Joe Biden by 3 points, and could very well end up being a D.C. Republican dummymander.
Askar’s D.C. Buddies Put Floridians’ Lives at Risk by Gutting Affordable Health Care
All of Askar’s time spent cozying up to D.C. party bosses and not with South Florida’s working families has really paid off… for him. He’s been endorsed by politicians responsible for the wildly unpopular “Big Beautiful Bill” that is ripping health care away from Floridians and driving up the cost of health care premiums. More than 1.6 million Floridians will lose their health care and Florida led the nation in the number of people dropping their Affordable Care Act coverage after those same Republicans failed to extend the ACA tax credits that made care affordable for millions of Floridians. With 440,000 more Floridians uninsured across the state, premiums are going through the roof. Some Florida seniors have seen their monthly health care costs jump by 259% from approximately $700 a month to more than $2,600. For seniors often living on a fixed income, these astronomical rate hikes are existential. With Florida ranked 10th among the most difficult states for seniors to make ends meet, and almost a quarter of Florida’s elderly population living in poverty, some seniors are even considering living in their cars as the health care crisis continues. While Floridians struggle to make ends meet, Askar believes that taxpayers should pay more than $1.7 billion to Trump’s allies, including rioters who assaulted police officers.
Pia Dandiya isn’t going to Congress to be a rubber-stamp for the right-wing extremists that got Florida into this crisis. She’s going to Congress to get to work serving the community and get Florida out of this mess. An innovator and educator, Pia is going to bring bold new ideas to Washington to lower prescription drug prices, and preserve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, to ensure that every Floridian, from every generation, can afford to access the care they deserve.
Out-Of-Touch Askar Is a Proud Supporter of Florida’s Affordability Crisis
It comes as no surprise that Casey Askar is in lockstep with his D.C. backers touting D.C. Republicans’ cost-raising “Big Beautiful Bill.” With a net worth potentially in the hundreds of millions, he is one of the few Americans that actually stand to benefit from the law’s tax giveaways to the richest people in the country. With a seat in Congress, Askar will be a rubber-stamp for legislation that keeps him and his wealthy buddies rich at the expense of Floridians.
As a wealthy elitist, Askar doesn’t care that the tourism industry that fuels Florida’s economy is down, the cost of everything from groceries to basic clothing is increasing, and families are struggling under the weight of the largest tax hike in American history. In fact, Askar has already pledged to be a “strong, loyal ally” of Republicans’ disastrous economic agenda, including the tariffs that are squeezing Floridians’ wallets dry. Perhaps the most impacted has been the construction industry where the Askar-backed agenda has raised the cost of homebuilding projects by as much as 15%. Florida already faces a massive housing crisis – some Floridians are paying up to 50% of their income to rent and many are choosing to move away from the Sunshine State, citing the high cost of housing.
Pia Dandiya believes that it is Congress’ job to address the cost-of-living crisis and protect the middle class, that’s why addressing affordability is Pia’s Day 1 priority. On top of ending the reckless and illegal tariffs that are crushing South Florida’s families, Pia is committed to taking on the industries that are taking advantage of Floridians like the property and health care insurance companies that are raising rates at record levels. In Congress, Pia will crack down on the price gouging, surprise billing, and hidden fees that are draining families paychecks because for her, lowering these costs isn’t a choice – it’s a requirement.
Months into Republicans’ Costly War-of-Choice in Iran, Casey Askar Continues to Stand in Support
D.C. Republicans’ disastrous war-of-choice in Iran is having devastating impacts throughout Central Florida. A gallon of gas has skyrocketed compared to this time last year, with working families struggling to fuel up their cars, small businesses paying more for transportation costs, and Florida’s landmark tourist industry taking a massive hit. Casey Aksar is fully on board with Floridians shouldering the pain of a war-of-choice, even with the loss of American lives, including at least one young man from Central Florida.
Pia has spent her life helping others, not looking out for herself or adhering to partisan politics that makes life worse for working families. That starts with cleaning up a broken Washington D.C. that prioritizes lobbyists’ interests and self-enrichment. She will fight to ban members of Congress from trading stocks and close the revolving door of lobbyists that put industry interests above the needs of Floridians. Pia will answer to one group of people – the voters in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Florida Politics: Pia Dandiya adds wave of Broward endorsements in CD 22 bid [Florida Politics, 06/05/26]
“A slate of Broward County elected officials is getting behind Democrat Pia Dandiya less than two weeks into her campaign in the newly drawn Florida’s 22nd Congressional District.
Dandiya, a former educator, White House fellow and Apple strategy manager, announced endorsements this week from Broward Mayor Mark Bogen, County Commissioners Nan Rich and Steve Geller, Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook, Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan, Plantation Mayor Nick Sortal, Coral Springs Commissioner Joshua Simmons, Coconut Creek Commissioner Josh Rydell and former state Sen. Jeremy Ring.”
Florida Politics: DCCC names Pia Dandiya to Red to Blue program in effort to defend open CD 22 seat [Florida Politics, 07/28/26]
“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) just added Pia Dandiya to its prestigious ‘Red to Blue’ program.
…
Democrats are confident Dandiya can win the open seat in a political climate especially toxic for Republicans, and stressed her background as an educator and founding principal of Democracy Prep Endurance High School in Harlem. Dandiya also worked for Apple, leading large-scale public-sector initiatives in the Southeast U.S. She was also appointed as a White House Fellow.”
The Guardian: Florida Democrat switches districts after DeSantis redistricting shake-up [The Guardian, 08/06/26]
“‘Redistricting, to me, represents what people just hate about politics, that it seems like a solution in search of a problem instead of actually solving the problems that are keeping people up at night,’ Dandiya said during a meeting over coffee in south Florida last month. ‘I would argue that most families are not staying up at night worried about the congressional lines across the state, but they are staying up at night wondering how they’re going to make ends meet, about whether we are handing our children a country, that we are leaving them in good hands.’”
Florida Politics: Pia Dandiya crosses $2M in fundraising with reported $515K Q2 haul for CD 22 [Florida Politics, 07/08/26]
“Democrat Pia Dandiya has crossed the $2 million mark toward her bid for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, according to her campaign, which is touting a $515,000 haul in the second quarter — her strongest fundraising period yet. Dandiya, a former high school principal, White House fellow and public strategies lead at Apple, enters the Primary’s final stretch reporting more than $1.3 million in cash on hand.”
Florida Politics: Florida AFL-CIO endorses Pia Dandiya for CD 22 [Florida Politics, 07/02/26]
Hartfourd Courant: It’s a massive shell of a CT building. What’s inside is the worry: ‘It’s being used for bad things’ [Hartford Courant, 01/11/26]
“The city has slapped the building’s owner — Naples, Florida businessman and commercial real estate owner Casey Askar — with more than $625,000 in liens for blight, unpaid property taxes and the cost of emergency work to ensure the property does not pose a health or safety hazard to the public, according to a review of city records.”
Florida Politics: Casey Askar’s ex-wife claimed he tricked into a divorce, then left her for his secretary [Florida Politics, 07/25/20]
“Court filings by Casey Askar’s ex-wife say the candidate tricked into a divorce with startlingly low alimony. Along the way, he made her move to Florida before evicting her from the home they shared.
…
Still, five years of court filings present a narrative of a woman oppressed by her culture and assailed by deception, betrayal and exploitative legal maneuvering that ultimately left her with limited finances, estranged from her children after being blindsided by the end of a 14-year marriage.”
PATH TO VICTORY
While Republicans attempted to subvert the will of Florida voters by redrawing their congressional map during the middle of the decade, they still will not be able to overcome the unpopularity of their failing agenda. Florida’s 22nd Congressional District is one of the most diverse in the entire state, with high levels of key constituencies Democrats tend to overperform with including Hispanic voters, who make up over a quarter of the district, as well as Black, Jewish, and AAPI voters. The only public polling in this race has Pia in a statistical tie against Republicans in this race.
In 2025, South Florida saw massive swings towards Democrats. In neighboring HD-87, Democrats flipped a seat that Trump won by 11 points in his own backyard. In their quest for more power, Republicans actually drew a district that has recently supported Democrats – Joe Biden would have won this new version of FL-22 by 3 points in 2020 and Bill Nelson would have won by more than 7 points in 2018, proving that a Democrat like Pia Dandiya who is building a broad coalition of support can win in this district when faced with record-breaking Republican failures and an opponent with damaging baggage like Casey Askar.
