Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner John C. Herbst officially threw his support behind Michael Carbonara today, marking the first major in-district endorsement since the redrawing of Florida’s 22nd Congressional District boundaries.
Herbst, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former long-time City Auditor, joined the Republican challenger’s effort to unseat twenty-year incumbent Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The endorsement comes at a pivotal moment for the race, just days after a new Senate-passed map shifted FL-22 to include parts of Broward, Hendry, Collier, and Palm Beach counties. Herbst, who represents District 1 in Fort Lauderdale, cited Carbonara’s approach to governance as the primary reason for his support.
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“In my experience from a career working in local government, I know the difference between political theater and actual leadership,” Commissioner Herbst said. “Michael Carbonara is the kind of leader who doesn’t just talk about accountability—he lives it. That’s exactly the kind of representation South Florida deserves in Washington.”
Carbonara, an entrepreneur who has already raised over $2.5 million for the cycle, praised Herbst’s background in fiscal oversight. Herbst served as Fort Lauderdale’s City Auditor for 16 years and holds an MBA from the University of North Florida, along with executive training from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
“Commissioner Herbst established the City Auditor’s Office from the ground up and spent 16 years making sure Fort Lauderdale’s government worked for its residents—not the other way around,” Carbonara said. “To have the endorsement of a financial watchdog and a leader who has dedicated his career to accountability means a great deal.”
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The announcement follows Carbonara’s official campaign launch on the Florida’s Voice radio program earlier this week. Carbonara’s platform focuses on economic affordability and constitutional freedoms, themes he says resonate across the newly redrawn district lines.
“Together, we are building a movement across Broward County that will finally retire career politicians and restore real leadership to South Florida and FL-22,” Carbonara added.
Herbst’s endorsement was made in his personal capacity and does not represent an official stance by the City of Fort Lauderdale or the City Commission. Carbonara continues to build a coalition of local mayors and commissioners as he prepares to face Wasserman Schultz in the general election.
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