Small-business owner Ola Hawatmeh’s bid to succeed fellow Republican Byron Donalds in Florida’s 19th Congressional District is getting a boost from one of South Florida’s most prominent Donald Trump-aligned state lawmakers.

Palm Beach Gardens state Rep. Meg Weinberger, dubbed “MAGA Meg” for the support she has given, and received from, Trump and his supporters, just threw her political influence behind Hawatmeh’s CD 19 campaign.

She believes Hawatmeh, a health and wellness entrepreneur, is most likely to win in November and keep the U.S. House in GOP hands post-Midterms.

“With Republicans needing to keep their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Weinberger said in a statement, “we need more loyal America First Republicans like Ola to help President Donald Trump continue defending our God-given American freedoms and liberties.”

Hawatmeh, whose X page heavily features posts supporting Trump and Weinberger, also carries an endorsement from economist and Trump policy adviser Stephen Moore.

Hawatmeh said in a statement that she is “honored” to have Weinberger’s endorsement.

“Meg understands how important it is to help President Donald J. Trump retain the narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives with true America First candidates,” she said.

Hawatmeh is running in a crowded Republican Primary to replace Donalds, the GOP front-runner in Florida’s gubernatorial race. Others competing for the party nomination include former U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Stephen Elliott, Johnny Fratto, Dylan Modarelli, former Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweiss, Mike Petersen and Jim Schwartzel.

Democrat Howard Sapp, a longtime community leader in Fort Myers, has been running unopposed for his party’s nomination since February 2025.

CD 19 covers a swath of Southwest Florida spanning large parts of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota counties. Cities in the district include Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Marco Island, Naples and Sanibel.

The district leans heavily Republican, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+14.

A proposal that would ban smoking and vaping marijuana in public places has cleared its first Senate committee stop.

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee voted to advance a bill (SB 986) sponsored by Sarasota Republican Sen. Joe Gruters to amend the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act to prohibit smoking or vaping marijuana products in public places. The measure was presented to the committee by Doral Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, the bill’s co-sponsor, on Gruters’ behalf.

“There is currently no prohibition on smoking marijuana in public places if adult use is approved by the voters,” Rodriguez told the committee. “By banning public smoking of marijuana, we are protecting community health and quality of life, as well as protecting certain outdoor spaces from marijuana smoke such as beaches and parks.”

Rodriguez told the committee that every state allowing recreational marijuana either bans public smoking outright or imposes tight restrictions on where it can occur. SB 986 would prohibit smoking or vaping marijuana in public places, while also folding marijuana into Florida’s existing Clean Indoor Air Act framework.

The bill defines public places as streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches and common areas of apartment buildings, restaurants, retail shops, transportation facilities and government buildings. It does not change Florida’s ban on smoking tobacco in enclosed indoor workplaces.

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association spoke in support of the bill’s intent but raised concerns about how the definition of “public places” could affect private property.

“We support adding vaping and marijuana to the provisions of the Florida Indoor Clean Air Act,” association Vice President of Government Relations Samantha Padgett said.

However, she said restaurants and hotels worry the bill could interfere with designated smoking areas created in compliance with existing law. Padgett said many businesses made significant investments to comply with current statutes and urged lawmakers to preserve that flexibility as the bill moves forward.

“This gives all employers the freedom to ensure a smoke-free environment in their places of employment,” she said. “We have received feedback of concern from our members regarding the definition of smoking in designated spaces on private property such as patios and designated hotel rooms or floors.”

Meanwhile, medical marijuana advocates argued the bill could have unintended consequences for patients. Jody James, speaking on behalf of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, said the proposal is overly broad and could limit lawful access for medical marijuana patients, particularly those living in apartment complexes or staying in lodging where indoor smoking is prohibited but outdoor smoking is permitted.

James also raised concerns that the bill’s definition of public places could blur the line between public and private property, potentially affecting patients smoking just outside their homes.

“We understand the problems of having people smoking everywhere, but we also hope that you’ll consider patients and property rights in this discussion,” James said. 

Committee members questioned whether the bill could inadvertently sweep in activities such as non-tobacco hookah use or vaping on private property. Rodriguez said the bill does not target marijuana use so tightly that it should affect a person smoking outdoors near their homes, or other extreme interpretations of the law.

“There is a difference between someone’s front door and a public place where the general public can gather, whether it’s a restaurant, whether it’s in a park or a beach,” Rodriguez said. Your house is your dwelling, and the front door of your house is not the same as being in a public place.”

The committee voted to report SB 986 favorably. The bill will now head to its second of three committee stops with the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government.

U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel is joining a widening tent of supporters backing Democrat Robin Peguero’s campaign for Florida’s 27th Congressional District.

Frankel, a two-time Congresswoman representing parts of Palm Beach County, said Peguero has what it takes to “flip this seat and change the trajectory of South Florida.”

“As a prosecutor and educator, Robin has a proven record of fighting for affordability and public safety. And as a first-generation Latino leader, he is uniquely positioned to connect with voters,” she said in a statement.

“I am proud to endorse Robin and to get to work on his behalf.”

Frankel, who previously served as West Palm Beach Mayor and the Florida House Democratic Leader, is the first member of Florida’s Democratic congressional delegation to endorse Peguero in the CD 27 race.

Her nod adds to others from Miami-Dade School Board member and former state Rep. Joe Geller, Key Biscayne Council member Franklin Caplan, Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro, Cutler Bay Council member B.J. Duncan, former Congresswoman and Cabinet Secretary Donna Shalala, former state Reps. Annie Betancourt and J.C. Planas, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson and former South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard.

The political arms of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus have also endorsed Peguero.

He faces two other Democrats, accountant Alexander Fornino and entrepreneur Richard Lamondin, in an August 2026 Primary. A fourth Democratic registrant for the contest, former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey, dropped out of the race and endorsed Peguero in August.

The winner of the Democratic Primary is likely to face CD 27’s incumbent, Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who has one Primary challenger, Vincent Arias.

CD 27, one of three Florida districts that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has highlighted as “in play,” covers Miami, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, North Bay Village, South Miami, West Miami and several unincorporated areas.