Democrat Pia Dandiya Flips Florida's 22nd Congressional District Seat

Democrat Pia Dandiya flipped Florida's 22nd Congressional District on Tuesday, as the Associated Press projected her the winner over Republican Casey Askar in a Trump-leaning, newly drawn seat that had been expected to favor the GOP.

Dandiya, an education nonprofit executive from Palm Beach Gardens, defeated Askar, a Naples businessman and former Marine, in the open-seat race, handing Democrats a symbolic and potentially consequential pickup in a district that Donald Trump carried by 10 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.^[1]

Florida's new 22nd District was created in a Republican-controlled redistricting process that sought to cement GOP gains after the party's strong performance in the state in 2022 and 2024, concentrating conservative voters and stretching the district across parts of the state's Atlantic coast.^[1] Trump went on to win the redrawn 22nd by double digits two years ago, and national Republicans had treated the open House seat as one of their safer opportunities to defend their majority.^[1]

The seat opened when its Republican incumbent chose not to run again, setting up a clash between Dandiya, who campaigned on protecting abortion access and defending democracy, and Askar, who aligned himself closely with Trump and emphasized border security and economic issues.^[1] Dandiya worked to build a coalition of suburban moderates, younger voters and retirees uneasy with a hard-right turn in state and national Republican politics, while Askar leaned on conservative turnout in the district's more Republican-tilting communities.^[1]

The outcome is likely to be dissected by both parties as they assess whether Democrats can compete again in Florida after a series of bruising losses, and whether Republican gains from aggressive redistricting are as durable as they had hoped. Dandiya's win in a Trump +10 district suggests that, at least in some suburban-leaning parts of the state, Democratic messages on abortion rights and political stability can overcome the structural advantages Republicans built into the congressional map.^[1]

1. New York Times