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Eyeing redistricting, Sabatini hopes to run for Congress in District 7

State Rep. Anthony Sabatini is running for Congress. Photo: Sabatini campaign
State Rep. Anthony Sabatini is running for Congress. Photo: Sabatini campaign

Lake County GOP lawmaker Anthony Sabatini is no longer challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster in 2022.

Instead, Sabatini hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, the Democrat representing Seminole and northeast Orange counties.

Sabatini has filed paperwork to run in Congressional District 7, as have two other Republicans.

The pro-Trump politician is basing the decision on a map showing what the districts might be after the Legislature redraws them next year.

"The goal from the beginning," he says, "was always to run for the seat that has a good amount of Lake County, where I've lived my whole life. And this is the seat that's projected to take in more of Lake County now."

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On Twitter, Sabatini says this would pit his campaign against a, quote, "America-Last, corrupt Democrat."

The unfounded insult is par for the course with Sabatini. His latest tweets, for example, say infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci should go to prison for life.

And the mean tweets are not an act, he says. "It's not a persona at all, it's who I am. And Dr. Fauci should be criminally investigated."

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Sabatini says his top priority is, quote, "election integrity," plus shutting down immigration, a non-interventionist foreign policy and cracking down on big tech.

He is a frequent speaker at pro-Trump events throughout Florida. In the Legislature, he pushed to outlaw transgender medical treatments for kids, sought to rename U.S. 27 as the Donald J. Trump Highway and cast the only dissenting vote on the state budget.

Joe Byrnes came to WMFE/WMFV from the Ocala Star-Banner and The Gainesville Sun, where he worked as a reporter and editor for several years. Joe graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans and turned to journalism after teaching. He enjoys freshwater fishing and family gatherings.