Loxahatchee Groves Vice Mayor Manish Sood endorses Michael Carbonara in CD 22

Loxahatchee Groves Vice Mayor Manish Sood has endorsed Republican Michael Carbonara in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, an announcement that lands the same day Palm Beach County Commissioners decide the fate of Project Tango, the proposed AI data center both men oppose.

Sood won a seat on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council in March, unseating incumbent Todd McLendon with 68% of the vote, and was selected Vice Mayor by his colleagues the following month. Before joining the Council, he chaired the town’s Finance Advisory and Audit Committee, where he pressed for detailed budget reporting and made fiscal accountability the centerpiece of his public profile.

“Michael Carbonara is a successful entrepreneur who understands what it means to create jobs, balance real budgets, and be accountable for results,” Sood said.

“We share a strong commitment to fiscal conservatism — limiting government spending, eliminating waste, prioritizing essential services, and protecting taxpayers. Michael also stands with me in opposing Project Tango — the proposed massive AI data center, which could fundamentally affect the rural character, infrastructure, natural resources, and quality of life of our surrounding communities. Loxahatchee Groves deserves a member of Congress who understands the unique needs of our Town, will protect our agricultural-residential community, and will ensure that western Palm Beach County is no longer treated as an afterthought. Michael has demonstrated that commitment, and I am proud to endorse him for Congress.”

Project Tango, a proposed hyperscale AI data center campus on more than 200 acres along Southern Boulevard near Loxahatchee, has drawn months of opposition from western Palm Beach County residents over noise, water use and environmental concerns. The county’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the revised plan, and County Commissioners are set to take a final vote Wednesday.

“Vice Mayor Manish Sood has made fiscal responsibility, public safety, government accountability, and the preservation of Loxahatchee Groves’ rural character the centerpieces of his public service,” Carbonara said.

“Those are the same principles my campaign is built upon: government must live within its means, protect taxpayers, keep communities safe, and remain accountable to the people. I stand with Vice Mayor Sood in opposing Project Tango and the proposed AI data center, and I share his commitment to preserving the rural communities and quality of life of western Palm Beach County. The residents of Loxahatchee Groves deserve a strong voice in Washington. I am grateful for Vice Mayor Sood’s endorsement, and I look forward to working with him to ensure that the needs of Loxahatchee Groves are heard, respected, and represented in Congress.”

Carbonara, a South Florida entrepreneur, shifted his candidacy to CD 22 after the Legislature passed a new congressional map in late April. The redrawn district stretches from Southwest Florida across Hendry County and the western communities of Palm Beach County into Broward. Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz held the seat under the prior boundaries.

Sood joins a Carbonara endorsement list that includes HUCKPAC for America, Weston Mayor Margaret “Peggy” Brown, Fort Lauderdale Commissioner John Herbst, Coconut Creek Vice Mayor John Brodie, Pompano Beach Commissioner Audrey Fesik and the Fort Lauderdale Young Republicans. The campaign says Carbonara is the only Republican in the CD 22 field to sign the Moms for Liberty Parent Pledge and the first to sign the U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge, and reports raising more than $2.5 million this cycle.

The Republican Primary is Aug. 18.

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Ed. note: This story was drafted with assistance from AI. Editorial judgment, sourcing, and final review were performed by Peter Schorsch and the Florida Politics editorial team.