Biden slept here. So did Bushes, Tucker Carlson, others: SW FL connection to political folks

A former New York congressman President Trump pardoned in 2020 recently announced he may run for Congress in Southwest Florida.

Chris Collins ― who lives in a $6 million beachfront Marco Island home ― made the news during a July 2 Trump Flotilla rally at Keewaydin Island. Other scheduled speakers for the event included Trump-pardoned Roger Stone and Alfie Oakes, a Naples grocer also known for his strong political views.

The Sunshine State has long been a draw for those seeking a second chance or simply to retreat into the sunset. And Southwest Florida especially has lured politicians and political pundits.

Here's some of them.

Chris Collins worked for Donald Trump

Former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins of New York since 2021 has lived on Marco Island with his wife, Mary Collins. The 5,245-square-foot 10-room home in the gated Hideaway Beach Club community, according to Collier County Tax Appraiser records.

The home presently has a value of around $10 million, based on estimates from redfin.com and other real estate websites.

Trump pardoned Collins on Dec. 22, 2020, after Collins began serving a 26-month sentence at Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola on Oct. 13, 2020. Collins, who had pleaded guilty to insider trading and lying to federal law enforcement agents, worked on Trump's White House transition team after the 2016 election.

He also was the first sitting U.S. House member to endorse Trump for president.

WGRZ, a Buffalo, New York, TV station, reported this week of Collins' intentions to run in a video it aired from the July 2 Keewaydin event.

Collins told the crowd that he would run for U.S. House District 19 if or when its current elected office-holder, Byron Donalds, also a Republican, steps aside to run for U.S. Senate or governor or U.S. Senate. District 19 includes the cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Bonita Springs, Naples and Marco Island, along with unincorporated areas in Lee and Collier counties.

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Newt Gingrich, House Speaker, author

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, in 2021 purchased a $3 million in the Quail West Golf & Country Club development in North Naples, Collier County public records said.

Gingrich, who was House Speaker when he gained prominence from 1995 to 1999, was Republican congressman from north of Atlanta for 20 years.

He's more widely known for his 1994 “Contract with America” — conservative proposals that led to the first Republican-controlled U.S. House in four decades.

Gingrich, who early on taught history and geography at a small Georgia college, in recent years has written more than 50 books and often appears at book signings in Southwest Florida.

Tucker Carlson by the Gulf

Fox News fired Tucker Carlson on April 27 and the TV personality within days retreated to his $5.5 million Boca Grande home.

He purchased the 2,812-square-foot home Aug. 3, 2022, Lee County property records show. Built in 1969, with three bedrooms and 3½ baths, the home is just a few blocks from the Gulf of Mexico.

Boca Grande is a residential community on Gasparilla Island, which is part of both Lee and Charlotte counties. The village of Boca Grande is entirely in Lee County.

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John Boehner, son of Ohio, Marco resident

U.S. House Speaker from 2011 to 2015, Boehner has lived in a $2 million, 2,100-square-foot Marco condo with his wife, Deborah, for the past nine years, records show.

Boehner, born in Reading, Ohio, in 1949, was a congressman from 1991 to 2015 and served parts of southwestern Ohio that included rural and suburban areas near Dayton and Cincinnati.

Rick Scott, governor and U.S. senator

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and his wife, Ann, have lived in an 8,500 square-foot beachfront Naples mansion along Gordon Drive for years, according to the Collier tax appraiser.

They purchased the home in 2003 for $11.5 million. It's current market value is estimated between $15 million and more than $25 million.

Scott, a Republican, was Florida's 45th governor for eight years. In 2018, he ran and won a six-year U.S. Senate term by defeating Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.

Joe Biden slept here

The-Vice President Joe Biden and his family in 2013 spent the Christmas holiday with his brother and sister-in-law at their Keewaydin Island home.

Known as the "Biden Bungalow," the 4,000-square-foot home of James Biden Jr. and Sara Biden sold for $1.35 million in 2018. They bought the house in 2013 for $2.5 million.

The six-bed, seven-bath casual Caribbean-style home sits on stilts on five acres near the southern end of the island. The property also included a one-bedroom, one-bath guesthouse.

The 2013 visit was the only time now-President Biden, his wife Jill and other family members visited his brother and sister-in-law's Southwest Florida home.

"It's a magical place, and I love it and come out often,” Sara Biden told the Daily News in a 2016 story. “But right now it's not ideal for all of us together."

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Madison Cawthorn, new Cape Coral resident

North Carolina native Madison Cawthorn served one two-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republican lost in the 2022 election and headed to Southwest Florida.

Cawthorn ― the first member of Congress born in the 1990s ― bought a $1.1 million Cape Coral home last August, Lee County Property Appraiser's records show. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom 2,281-square-foot home along a canal today has a market value that's about the same as a year ago.

He appears to be enjoying the Florida lifestyle, posting photos on his Instagram of a dead wild hog he killed with friends in May and holding a tuna he caught in June off Palm Beach.

Porter Goss went from CIA to Congress

Connecticut-born Porter Goss graduated from Yale University and the CIA recruited him out of college. By his early 30s, Goss retired for the first time from the CIA and moved to Sanibel Island in 1971.

He became mayor of Sanibel and later served on the Lee County Board of Commissioners. After that, he was elected to Congress and served for 16 years until President George W. Bush appointed him in 2004 to become CIA director.

Goss retired in 2006 and returned full-time to Sanibel.

The Bushes of Boca Grande

Maybe the Bush family heard about Boca Grande from Porter Goss, with Sanibel just south of the popular recreation and relaxation spot.

George W. Bush vacationed there shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court declared him the winner of 2000 presidential election, over Al Gore.

Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush who died at 94 in 2018, especially enjoyed fishing off the island in the Gulf waters. Boca Grande Pass is considered one of the world's best tarpon fishing spots.

The Connie Macks

Connie Mack III (or Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III) was born in 1940 in Philadelphia, the same city where his famous grandfather Connie Mack became known as a baseball legend as a player, manager and owner. A member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the elder Mack still holds the record for the most wins by a manager (3,731) despite coaching his final game 73 years ago.

The younger Mack graduated from the University of Florida, then headed to the Gulf Coast, where he was elected as a member of the U.S. House from 1983 to 1989 and served in the U.S. Senate from 1989-2001.

His son, Connie Mack IV, born in Fort Myers, served in the U.S. House, from 2005 to 2013.

Mike Pence loves Sanibel

Former Vice President Mike Pence has visited Sanibel Island so often in the past few decades, it's almost like he's a resident.

Pence ― a 2024 Republican presidential candidate ― in 2018 attended a church service, visited Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market for some mahi and iced tea, and stopped another day at the Island Cow. Pence and his wife, Karen visited again in spring 2019 and attended services at Sanibel Community Church.

For years, the Pences and sometimes other family members have vacatioed on the island and to attend church services or enjoy other activities, like sampling the local cuisine.

"His picture's on our wall three times now," said Matt Asen, owner of the 40-year-old Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market on Tarpon Bay Road, told The News-Press in a 2018 story. "twice as governor and once as vice president."

The Pences were "very gracious" to people who want to stop by and meet them.

"He and his wife, they had dinner, they enjoyed themselves, and then he spent the next 30 minutes being a politician, talking to diners, taking pictures with kids, signing autographs," Asen said.

Bongino also ran for Congress in SWFL

If Chris Collins does decide to run for Congress after relocating from another state, he won't be the first person to try.

Before Dan Bongino became popular on Fox News in recent years, he ran for Congress ― three times. His last attempt was in 2016, when he ran as a Republican in a Southwest Florida congressional race.

Bongino ― who actually owned a home in Palm City on the east coast ― rented a place in Naples that year for the campaign, seeking to win the 19th Congressional District GOP primary. He ended up finishing third to Chauncey Goss (son of Porter Goss) and primary winner Francis Rooney who won the general election.

Dave Osborn is regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and News-Press. Follow him on Twitter @NDN_dosborn

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SWFL connection to political folks: George Bush, Madison Cawthorn