Pia Dandiya and Casey Askar will face off for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District on Nov. 3, putting their competing approaches to household costs before voters after a change to the congressional map.
Florida Election Watch’s primary results show Dandiya won 68.57% of the Democratic vote Aug. 18, ahead of Kaysia Earley’s 31.43%. Askar captured 30.86% in the seven-candidate Republican primary. The contests selected the two nominees for the general election.
Florida’s congressional map changed before the election. The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research says the Legislature passed HB 1-D on Apr. 29 and the governor signed it May 4. State candidate records list Lois Frankel, the current District 22 representative, in the District 23 contest; Dandiya and Askar are listed for District 22.
The campaigns propose different ways to address household expenses. Dandiya’s campaign lists housing, insurance, prescription drug costs and child care as priorities. Askar’s campaign says he would seek to cut costs through lower taxes and fewer regulations. It also calls for repealing the Affordable Care Act while preserving Medicare and Medicaid.
Dandiya’s campaign biography says she was born and raised in Palm Beach County to parents from India. It describes her as a former teacher and school principal, a White House Fellow and later a leader of public-sector work at Apple. On her campaign website, Dandiya says she is running to “fight for a future worthy of my students and my son.”
Indian American Impact, the advocacy group that backed Dandiya in the primary, says her election would give Florida its first South Asian American member of Congress. The historical claim is unverified. Florida voters will decide the District 22 race on Nov. 3.
