FORT MYERS, Fla.–A congressional candidate who was backed with more than $320,000 in credit union PAC money has lost his primary race.
Dane Eagle, who had been seeking the Republican nomination to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. Francis Rooney (R), who is retiring, was defeated by a very narrow margin by State Rep. Byron Donalds. Eagle also serves in the Florida legislature, where he is majority leader.
In the run-up to the primary CUNA’s Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC) and the League of Southeastern Credit Unions have invested more than $320,000 in support of Eagle in the race for Florida’s 10th district.
Trey Hawkins, VP-political affairs with CUNA, said the race was the first in the current election cycle in which CULAC has gone beyond the standard $5,000 donation.
The Republican primary was crowded in the strongly red district, with nine candidates seeking the nomination.
The funds backing Eagle primarily went toward direct mail and digital ads targeting Republican households with credit union members, according to Hawkins.
‘Dirty Tricks’ Alleged
Ahead of the race Hawkins had noted it was “highly competitive,” and indeed Donalds’ victory was narrow. The most recent tally show Donalds with 23,480 votes, Eagle with 22,706 and Casey Askar with 20,777.
Donalds won the race despite what many have labeled “dirty tricks.” On the day of the election, text messages from an unknown number posing as Donalds went out to primary voters that falsely claimed he had dropped out of the race and which linked to a deceptively edited YouTube video showing years-old footage of Donalds announcing the suspension of a political campaign he ran in 2012. It is not known who was behind the misinformation.
In the other race this week Hawkins said credit unions were watching, Republican Cynthis Lummis, who had the backing of CUs, won by a large margin in the race to represent the Wyoming in the Senate.