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Heavily altered House District 22 has no incumbent

Republican Casey Askar (l.), Democrat Pia Dandiya (r.)
Republican Casey Askar (l.), Democrat Pia Dandiya (r.)

Congressional District 22 looks very different than it did last election. After being significantly altered during the redistricting process, it now spans Collier and Hendry counties and reaches nearly to Florida’s east coast. Because of these changes, there is no incumbent candidate.

Democrat Pia Dandiya is running for the seat. Dandiya explains her goals.

“My priorities have been fully informed by talking to Floridians over this last year and a half and understanding what their needs are. The top three things that have been communicated to us across the board, across this district, have been consistent, which are lowering the cost of living, protecting health care and social security, and standing up to the corruption in DC. So those are my 3 priorities because it's this community's 3 priorities,” she said.

And she outlines the actions she plans to take.

“On day one, my hope is that we end tariffs. As Democrats, that’s the first way we can lower prices for everyday families. And that we also restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies, knowing that in Florida, it's already hurt more than 400,000 Floridians in terms of that many folks losing health care access. And we know that is such a huge priority from people from every walk of life. So my first priorities would be to end tariffs and to restore the subsidies,” Dandiya said.

The other candidate, Republican Casey Askar, did not respond to repeated requests for comment from WGCU. According to his website, he wants to “preserve the American way of life and God-given liberties, cut taxes to reduces costs, and ensure that only American citizens can vote.”

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Cary Barbor is a reporter for WGCU. She hosts the Gulf Coast Life Book Club author interview show as well as a bi-weekly GCL health show.
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