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on Monday abandoned plans to run for a second term on the County Commission, opting instead to seek a congressional seat.
In papers filed with the Federal Election Commission on the first day of qualifying, the Republican said she is running in District 22, a newly drawn district that includes western regions of Palm Beach and Broward counties, continues west through rural Hendry and Collier counties, and ends in Marco Island on the state鈥檚 Gulf Coast.
In a news release, Baxter said she learned how to 鈥渟hake up bureaucracy鈥� as a county commissioner and is now ready to take her skills to the nation鈥檚 capital.
鈥淲ashington needs more fighters who are focused on delivering for their district,鈥� Baxter said in the release. 鈥淭he creation of the new congressional district blesses me with the opportunity to work with President Trump to stop illegal migrant crime, protect our elections, cut taxes, slash red tape and bloated bureaucracy, protect hard working farmers, our food supply chain, support our great military and veterans, and defend our Second Amendment rights.鈥�
The Acreage resident secured Trump鈥檚 endorsement in January for her County Commission bid and proclaimed it in an advertising mailer that went out last week.
Elizabeth Accomando, who was to face off against Baxter in the District 6 County Commission primary on Aug. 18, said she wasn鈥檛 concerned about her now-former opponent鈥檚 political ambitions.
鈥淚鈥檓 not running against the sitting commissioner, I鈥檓 running FOR my community,鈥� said Accomando, .
Political observers predicted Baxter faces a tough campaign for the congressional seat.
鈥淚t will be a costly and crowded primary,鈥� said political consultant Rick Asnani, who doesn鈥檛 represent federal candidates.
The district is Republican leaning, with 55% of voters supporting Trump in 2024. Already eight GOP candidates, one Democrat and one independent have announced plans to run. Candidates have until noon Friday to qualify.
Republican candidate Michael Carbonara, a self-described entrepreneur who lives in Broward County, has raised $2.5 million, federal records show. Another candidate, Lev Parnas, has strong name recognition, having gone to prison on charges related to illegal donations to Trump鈥檚 2024 campaign and then seeking redemption by doing television interviews and writing a book blasting Trump. The Soviet-born Parnas is running as an independent.
The district is widely viewed as Broward County-centric. Of the 769,000 people in the district, only 209,501 live in Palm Beach County while 345,595 live in Broward, according to state records.
Baxter is expected to lean heavily into Trump鈥檚 endorsement.
鈥淪ara Baxter has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election 鈥� SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!鈥� the flyer quotes Trump as saying.
It is unknown whether Trump will endorse her in the congressional race.
In her campaign announcement, she noted that no one knew her when she first sought a County Commission seat. She ran as an outsider and won, she said.
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She won in 2022 in District 6, previously held by a Democrat, on the coattails of Gov. Ron DeSantis鈥� resounding reelection victory. Her decision to abandon her campaign, for which she had raised nearly $146,000, indicates a belief that she would not win.
She lost support from many in her west-central district over the controversial proposal for a hyperscale AI data center called . Her pledge to vote against the project brought a warning from the county attorney that she would have to recuse herself from the zoning vote.
She also faced pushback from her constituents over the failure of a plan to reduce a massive proposed GL Homes development and to replace a closed auto racing track.
Her departure leaves Accomando and four Democrats in the District 6 race: Mohammad Junaid Akther, Mario Guzman, Rudolph Tinker and Katherine Waldron.
