Here are the GOP candidates for Florida's Republican primary in the 22nd congressional district
Republicans want to oust U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel for the 22nd congressional race, so they brought a tight pool for candidates to get that goal achieved.
The GOP candidates are fighting in the Aug. 23 primary for the congressional seat in a largely Democratic district that had minimal redistricting changes. None of the Republican rivals have formal background in office, but each says they bring different skills and experiences to the table.
Most of these candidates have been active in the Republican politics. Dan Franzese and Peter Arianas are both members of the Executive Committee in the Palm Beach County Republican Party and they, along with Adeimy, have attended events in Mar-a-Lago, and Dorilás was active in the White House during the Trump administration.
Voting guide: The ultimate Palm Beach County voters guide to the 2022 primary election
Endorsements: The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board's Florida Primary Endorsements
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Frankel, a former mayor in West Palm Beach, was elected to Congress in 2012. Frankel does not face a Democratic primary opponent, and she has raised about $929,000, more than any of the Republican candidates in the race.
While Florida Republicans in the state do have an edge of about 202,000 more voter registrations than Democrats, in Palm Beach County, the Democrats still have the edge of about 113,000 more registrations than the Republicans.
This district remains heavily Democratic even though it features Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club. In the 2020 election, about 58% of voters supported President Joe Biden and 40% supported Trump. The district also includes Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Greenacres and Delray Beach.
The Palm Beach Post performed a criminal background check on every candidate. The Post is reporting any criminal charges filed and the outcome of the cases since January 2012, even when they did not result in a conviction.
Deborah Adeimy (R)
Age and residence: 53, Jupiter
Top campaign priorities: Adeimy's top campaign priorities are to leverage her economic and capital markets knowledge to improve energy policies, push for tax reform, reduce inflation and address financial services industry issues. She also focuses on equal opportunity and diversity, empowering lower income communities, enforcing action against illegal immigration, pushing for transparency for parents in schools, increasing mental health awareness and recognition in school, supporting law enforcement and strengthening veteran's medical priority and job transition programs.
Professional history: Adeimy has worked in the finance industry for more than 30 years. She worked at Merrill Lynch for eight years and Morgan Stanley for 14 years.
Political background: Adeimy said she was a member of the Republican Executive Committee in the past.
Education: She received her bachelor's of science in business administration in finance from Thomas Edison State University. She also went to Florida Atlantic University’s Business Executive program to be a certified financial planner.
Criminal history: None.
Endorsements: Adeimy is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, America First P.A.C.T., the Palm Beach Post and America First Political Committee.
Finances: Adeimy's total campaign contributions are more than $154,000 as of July 22. About $142,000 of these funds were contributions and $10,440 were loans. More than $48,000 in contributions were self-funded.
Peter Steven Arianas (R)
Age and residence: 58, Wellington
Top campaign priorities: Arianas said his top campaign priority is justice, where "elites have one set of rules. I'm tired of the 'Good for thee, but not for me.'" He also said he wanted to impose term limits for federal candidates and protect and prioritize freedom of speech.
Professional history: Arianas currently works at Witt O'Brien's, a private emergency management firm. He started there after working at the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 2013 to 2019.
Political background: Arianas is a member of the Republican Executive Committee.
Education: Arianas attended some classes at the State University of New York in Farmingdale.
Criminal history: None.
Endorsements: Arianas said he did not seek out endorsements.
Finances: Arianas has total campaign contributions of more than $53,000 as of July 22, with individual contributions of about $21,000 and loans of about $31,000. Most of the top donations were self-funded.
Rod Dorilás (R)
Age and residence: 32, West Palm Beach
Top campaign priorities: Dorilás said his one of his campaign priorities are to decrease wasteful spending and introduce policies that encourage economic growth, create jobs and increase wages. Other priorities include reducing the country's "dependence on foreign adversaries, like China" and promoting peace through strength by providing the military with necessary resources.
Professional history: Currently, Dorilás is a law firm partner for Taghavi & Dorilás LLP. He was a counsel in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Commerce from September 2020 to February 2021. He was a legal intern for the Office of White House Counsel from January 2019 to April 2019, and he also was a legal intern and assistant for the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice from May 2018 to August 2018. He was a law clerk for the National Labor Relations Board from January 2019 to February 2019 and a legal intern for its Office of General Counsel from May 2019 to July 2019.
Political background: Dorilás' political background mainly comes from his work in Washington.
Education: Dorilás got his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Florida International University and his juris doctorate at Syracuse University College of Law.
Criminal history: None.
Endorsements: Dorilás is endorsed by the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, the Black Conservative Federation, Turning Point Action, Arkansas U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and Utah U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens.
Finances: Dorilás has campaign contributions totaling to more than $536,000 as of July 22. Most of the top donations and most frequent donations come from WinRed, a Republican fund-raising platform.
Dan Franzese (R)
Age and residence: 60, Palm Beach
Top campaign priorities: Franzese's campaign priorities include addressing inflation, enforcing border security and immigration through building a wall, addressing problems regarding election integrity and fixing the economy.
Professional history: Franzese has been the managing director of the USA subsidiary of the National Bank of Canada Financial Inc. since September 2012, and he previously worked as director and later vice president of Merrill Lynch from 1998 to 2009 and directorial level positions TIAA-CREF Nuveen from 1989 to 1998.
Political background: Franzese is a member in the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee. He has been working on campaigns since he was a teenager and was a congressional intern in 1981 for former U.S. Rep. Gregory Carman, a New York Republican.
Education: Franzese received his master's in business administration at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor's from Amherst College.
Criminal history: None.
Endorsements: Franzese is endorsed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Army Capt. Seth Keshel, Restore Liberty, Florida House of Representatives District 90 candidate Keith Feit, and author and pollster Dick Morris.
Finances: Franzese has about $813,000 in total campaign contributions as of July 22, with about $311,000 in individual contributions and $500,000 in loans.
Carrie Lawlor (R)
Age and residence: 44, Lake Worth
Top campaign priorities: Lawlor said her campaign priorities are to "preserve our rights," saying that constitutional rights are being stripped away, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion and Second Amendment rights.
Professional history: Lawlor started at Merrill Lynch in 2014 as a financial adviser and then became senior financial adviser and vice president, but she resigned from her position in November to focus on her campaign.
Political background: No political background.
Education: Lawlor has a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She also has a master's in business administration from the University of Phoenix and received a paralegal certificate from New York Paralegal School.
Criminal history: None.
Endorsements: None.
Finances: Lawlor's total campaign contributions are about $14,000 as of July 22.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Six Republican candidates face off in Florida Congress District 22
