Kari Lerner (center) explains her positions to voters following a parade in Fort Myers. (Photo: Campaign)
March 3, 2024 by David Silverberg
It takes great courage to run for Congress as a Democrat in Florida’s 19th Congressional District, the coastal area from Cape Coral to Marco Island.
But Kari Lerner, chair of the Lee County Democratic Party, has that courage. And she’s facing a formidable incumbent in Rep. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.).
“There was no way Byron Donalds would run unopposed on my watch,” she said in an interview with The Paradise Progressive. “I will tell you, in all sincerity, that I believe that a victory is improbable—but far from impossible.”
With that in mind, Lerner is collecting signatures to put herself on the ballot. She has until April 26 to turn in 5,491 signatures. Alternatively, she can pay a $10,440 fee to register as a candidate.
Her petition drive is well under way.
Ambition and vulnerability
Donalds, 45, has made a name for himself for the past four years as a very ambitious, very extreme Make America Great Again (MAGA) Trumper who is now hoping for a slot as former president Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
And that makes him vulnerable, in Lerner’s view.
“Byron Donalds is not well-liked,” she said. “He’s not done the job. He’s not brought resources to the majority of his constituents; he’s more interested in building his career than he is in serving and doing the job. I think it’s horrible.”
Indeed, in recent weeks, as the prospect of a Trump vice presidential pick has loomed, a stampede has been under way among Republican politicians to prove themselves ever more fanatical, ever more loyal and ever more fawning to gain his favor.
Donalds has been no slouch in this department, sending out reams of X messages (formerly tweets) and fundraising solicitations using ever more extreme rhetoric. Among many other appearances, he appeared on the mainstream NBC program Meet the Press on Feb. 25 to justify Trump remarks that many people found insulting to the black community.
But in his rush to curry Trump’s favor, Donalds has overlooked the district’s needs and issues and neglected to advance any legislation he introduced in Congress. It’s a pattern that has held throughout his two terms in office.
By contrast, Lerner, 64, has experience representing a district—and a Republican one at that.
From south to north
It was a journey to get to that point. She was raised in Cape Coral, where she graduated from Caloosa Middle School and Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers. In an act of personal climate change, she then travelled to New Hampshire where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (summa cum laude) from Southern New Hampshire University.
In Chester, NH, she was elected Town Chair of the town’s Democrats and was active in local politics, which were even more heavily Republican than in Southwest Florida. She found a Democratic Party consisting of six people meeting in a public library and keeping the Party treasury in a shoebox. She built the local organization and increased attendance at meetings.
When a position opened up for state representative for District 4 she ran in a special election, won and then won the seat in a regular election. It was a milestone—she was only the second Democrat in 120 years to represent the district.
“I was able to represent the entire district, not just the special interests,” she said proudly.
She gained some legislative chops from the experience, co-sponsoring a landmark bill protecting children from underage marriage, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
After stints in a variety of jobs, including nine years as a substitute mathematics teacher in middle and high school, she moved back to Southwest Florida in 2019 to be with family and work as a realtor.
She also remained politically active, becoming chair of the Lee County Democratic Party.
In that capacity she began seeking people willing to run for the congressional seat but hit a surprising roadblock.
“It was my job to recruit candidates and I beat the bushes for a year and a half,” she recalled. “Most of the people I reached out to were attorneys. Most were concerned about their practices but not for the reasons you would think. They were concerned because the judges are all MAGA judges now and they’re concerned that their clients might not get fair trials. To a person that was the concern.”
What was more, they were concerned for the safety of their families. By contrast, “I don’t have children in the school system to be harassed and threatened,” Lerner noted. Her three adult children are pursuing their own careers.
Given that she was not going to allow Donalds to run unopposed, on Jan. 20 she announced her own candidacy.
But she was driven by more than just the need to oppose Donalds; there were important principles at stake.
“I’ve never been arrested or convicted of any crime,” she said, in pointed contrast to Donalds. “I believe in the rule of law. And I believe that we are more than the R or the D that is stamped on our foreheads, I believe that we are Americans first, and this divisiveness is weakening our country. Division is weakness, unity is strength and the world is watching as our house bickers relentlessly—about everything.”
She continued: “I will not refer to fellow Americans as vermin. Even those I disagree with, I am not going to call traitors.”
That said, her travels and interactions with voters have revealed some glaring deficiencies in Donalds’ representation of the district.
“The support of the voters has been overwhelming,” she recalled of the reactions to her own candidacy. “When I tell people I’m running against Byron Donalds the first response is always ‘someone needs to!’ I’m surprised at how many people who are not Democrats feel that way.”
She continued, “He envisions himself as the next governor of Florida. He’s not. We’re a stepping stone for him in his illustrious career. I think the people of Southwest Florida deserve more than to be a stepping stone. I think they deserve more than to be stepped upon.”
That was especially apparent in Donalds’ response to Hurricane Ian in 2022.
“That was when it became apparent that he does not understand the job,” she said. “When you’re a member of Congress, you do not need to be the one standing there handing out water for a photo op. You need to be in DC getting us the resources that we need. We needed gasoline, we needed propane, we needed communications, we needed that Ian disaster declaration that finally came through. Why weren’t they writing that the day after the storm? Why weren’t they looking to get us the resources that we needed?”
She recalled one woman on Fort Myers Beach who told her that Donalds appeared on her doorstep, apologized that she had been victimized by the storm, posed for a photograph to be published and then disappeared. Moreover, “That’s a common theme I hear from people.”
The experience has made her angry. “It’s the job of the representative to be the liaison between the district and the federal government” she emphasized. “Your number one priority is your district—it’s got to be the people in your district.”
Fighting for fundamentals
When it comes to issues, Lerner starts with fundamentals: a belief in putting the needs of people over that of personal ambition, acting independently for the sake of the district and upholding the rule of law and the Constitution.
She believes in personal autonomy in healthcare decisions, including the right to abortion. She’s a fierce defender of the right to vote and to give everyone eligible the opportunity to vote. Defense of the fundamental rights of freedom of worship, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are cornerstones of her campaign.
She calls herself a woman of faith and is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, which she says drives her social and political impulse to do good, although she emphasizes that “I’m not here to shove any doctrine down anybody’s throat.”
There’s no doubt that she faces a long, hard struggle if she’s going to unseat Donalds.
Not only is the district 65 percent Republican based on voter registration, in the last quarter of 2023 the Federal Election Commission reported the Donalds campaign as having $2.3 million in receipts compared to just under $17,000 for Lerner. Donalds’ backers include political action committees representing big sugar, big oil and big finance, among many other industries.
Still, driven by her conscience, the needs of the district and the support of voters with whom she has talked, Lerner is undeterred.
She said that one of her strengths is the ability and determination to look ahead. “I think things through beyond what most people will,” she said. “I take things to their logical extreme, looking for unintended consequences, trying to understand origins. I think it’s important to think beyond the surface, to look beyond what’s easy because at the end of the day nothing is ever easy and if you go with what’s easy you don’t always get the best result.”
And there’s one other thing she brings to the table—what she calls her superpower. It has helped her throughout her life and brought her success in previous political battles.
And what might that be?
“My superpower,” she said with steely intensity, “is being underestimated.”
Liberty lives in light
© 2024 by David Silverberg