Dan Franzese

Dan Franzese was born in Mineola, New York. He earned a high school diploma from Bethpage High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1984 and a graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business in 1989. His career experience includes working in finance.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I believe my background makes me well suited to represent Florida in Congress. I grew up in a blue-collar town where my father was a union carpenter. I earned an honors degree from Amherst College and an MBA in finance from Wharton.

After Wharton, I went on to become a leading bond market expert at Merrill Lynch, where I raised tens of billions of dollars of growth capital for hundreds of companies.

I have long been active in youth sports and with my community Church, where I served seven years as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, bringing the Church back to a balanced budget.

My wife, Vicky, and I have been married for almost 40 years during which we raised two great children. We were successful entrepreneurs in the early years of the Internet era.

In 2024, I was the Republican nominee for Florida CD-22. I was endorsed by President Trump, who said “As a very successful businessman, Dan knows how to Fight Inflation, Grow the Economy, Lower Taxes, and Eliminate Government Waste…HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

In the 2024 general election, I won 45% of the vote in this deep-blue district where my performance was consistent with President Trump and Senator Rick Scott’s performance. This is why party leaders say I have proven I am a good campaigner who will win this district in 2026!

I am a problem solver and I have a decades-long track record of success as a leader. All of these things and more make me qualified to be one of the next leaders of our great country.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

AFFORDABILITY. The inflation caused by out-of-control government spending by the Left has hurt all of us, especially seniors on fixed incomes. With my decades of experience in finance and economics, I know that sound economic policies will raise incomes and slow the price increases on food, housing, insurance and other necessities, bringing affordability and prosperity to all Americans like never before. Therefore, I will work to enact the following economic plan:

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Tax Cuts

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Lower Interest Rates

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$2 Gas / Lower Energy Costs

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Reduced Regulations

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Fair Trade

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Balanced Budgets

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Fight Fraud

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Bring Back American JobsACCOUNTABILITY. What happens all too often in America is that when things go wrong, the taxpayers are left holding the bag and there is no accountability for those who have failed us: schools don’t educate our students, criminals walk free, rampant fraud goes on unchecked, our infrastructure crumbles, all while some members of Congress put their own interests above those of their constituents. I will change that.

For starters, I pledge to sell all my individual stocks and work to stop insider trading in Congress. I also pledge to forgo my salary during any government shutdown: Congress should not be paid if they can’t keep the government working. And all people who have stolen from us or otherwise failed us will be held accountable.AMERICA FIRST. Everything I do in Congress will be based on what’s best for America. That’s a simple but powerful standard to live by.

Like many Americans, I was horrified when, during the 2026 State of the Union Address, many members of Congress refused to stand in agreement with President Trump’s statement that the "first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." I believe the Constitution makes it clear who “we the people” are and that’s who I will be serving when I am in the U.S. House of Representatives.

I believe in American exceptionalism and I will fight side-by-side with President Trump to Make America Great Again!

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

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Improving affordability and prosperity

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Lowering taxes

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Maintaining secure borders

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Energy independence and lower energy costs

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Standing up for Israel

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Fighting fraud

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Government accountability

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Safeguarding Social Security and Medicare for our Seniors

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Enhancing election integrity

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Supporting our military and veterans

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Improving education and school choice

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Enacting term limits

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Helping small businesses

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Defending Our Constitution, especially our First and Second Amendment rights

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Protecting our nation’s water, wetlands, and coastline

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I admire President Donald J. Trump because he is dedicated to Making America Great Again!

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe the United States deserves leaders who are focused on getting results for the American people. Since the past is the best predictor of the future, I think it is worth looking at what candidates have achieved in their lives—their record of success, and their ability to get things done. To me, accomplishments matter much more than where someone is from or what identity group they might belong to.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My father was a union carpenter with an 8th grade education. My mother was a homemaker with a 10th grade education. My dad taught me carpentry skills at an early age and my first job was working as a carpenter at age 16. I used the money I earned to help put myself through college (Amherst College) and business school (The Wharton School) and then started my career in finance.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Representatives must be elected every two years—the shortest term in the Federal Government—which helps keep representatives close to their constituents.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

The Second Amendment Constitutionalists of Florida (SACFLA)

Dick Morris

Roger Stone

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a successful businessman, family man and a community leader who has spent my life building things and giving back to the community.

I grew up in a blue-collar town and learned the value of hard work from my father who was a union carpenter. In fact, I worked as a carpenter myself starting at age 16 to help pay for my education. I graduated with honors from Amherst College, where I studied Political Science. And then I went on to earn my MBA in finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Throughout my almost 40-year career in finance, I made billions of dollars of successful investments as a portfolio manager and I raised tens of billions of dollars of growth capital for hundreds of companies, which helped create thousands of jobs. I also successfully co-founded and sold an online travel guide company, so I understand what it's like to be a small business owner, too.

I have been married for 38 years to my college sweetheart, Vicky. Together we’ve raised two great children and we have lived the American dream. We share a strong belief in giving back to the community that’s been so good to us, which is why I have been active with youth sports programs and our community church.

I am a problem-solver. I have a decades-long track record of success in a diverse range of real-world leadership roles. I believe all of these things and more make me uniquely qualified to be one of the next leaders of our great country.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I am a businessman who will bring a businessman’s perspective to Washington. I am not a career politician and I believe in term limits. I want to get America Back on Track and make our government work FOR us and not AGAINST us.I have an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business. I studied economics and I worked for decades helping companies secure funding to build businesses and create jobs. I have a record of success in a wide range of leadership roles, and getting results.I believe in the American Dream. I believe that the U.S. is the land of opportunity. I believe that this country still represents the best hope for individual freedom in the world. I believe that all of this is currently under threat and must be protected. And THAT’S why I’m running for Congress!

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Securing Our Borders -- Without secure borders, you no longer have a country.

Tackling Inflation and Strengthening Our Economy – Get back to balanced budgets

Enacting Term Limits

Standing Up For Our Best Ally, Israel

Protecting Our Seniors -- I will not allow Washington to cut Social Security or Medicare

Election Integrity -- Our system for running elections needs an overhaul so voters know their vote counts

Defending Parents’ Rights -- I support school choice and school vouchers

Helping Small Businesses thrive and create jobs

Supporting our military, our veterans, and our law enforcement officers.

Defending the Second Amendment

Lowering Taxes -- Our tax code needs to be simplified and made more fair for working Americans

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe the United States deserves leaders who are focused on getting results for the American people. Since the past is the best predictor of the future, I think it is worth looking at what candidates have achieved in their lives—their record of success, and their ability to get things done. To me, accomplishments matter much more than where someone is from or what identity group they might belong to.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My father was a union carpenter with an 8th grade education. My mother was a homemaker with a 10th grade education. My dad taught me carpentry skills at an early age and my first job was working as a carpenter at age 16. I used the money I earned to help put myself through college (Amherst College) and business school (The Wharton School of Business MBA program) and then I started my career in finance.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Representatives must be elected every two years—the shortest term in the Federal Government—which helps keep representatives close to their constituents.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not necessarily. I believe the Founders of our nation expected citizens from all walks of life to take a turn at public service. I don’t believe they expected—or wanted—the current trend towards career politicians who have become a sort of “ruling class.”

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am a firm believer in term limits and I have signed a pledge to introduce legislation to create them.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Yes, Jim Jordan

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

The Second Amendment Constitutionalists of Florida (SACFLA)

The Palm Beach County Chapter of The Florida Republican Assembly (FRA)

Top Political Strategist and Newsmax Host Dick Morris

What committees interest you?

Energy and Commerce; Small Business; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; House Committee on the Budget; Appropriations.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I believe that three key initiatives should be enacted to improve financial transparency and accountability:

First, members of Congress should be subject to strict insider trading rules, much like those that I followed when I worked for financial services firms. There have been too many instances of public servants who enrich themselves because of confidential information they acquire during committee hearings, etc.

Second, the House of Representatives needs to focus on single issue bills, rather than the broad omnibus spending bills that have become the norm in recent years, so that a closer look can be given to the discretionary spending that makes up about a quarter of federal government spending.

Third, I favor a balanced budget amendment to rein in the deficit spending that has led to a record high national debt. Congress must become accountable for every dollar of taxpayer money that it spends.

Campaign website

Franzese's campaign website stated the following:

Tackling Inflation

Rising prices hurt all of us, especially seniors on fixed incomes. Runaway inflation is a product of all the bad economic policies brought to us by Joe Biden and Radical Left members of Congress like Lois Frankel. We must fight inflation by ramping up domestic energy production, de-politicizing the Federal Reserve, and we must never again pay workers to stay at home and not work. In addition, we absolutely must end government deficit spending, which is why I support a balanced budget amendment.

Immigration & Securing Our Borders

Without secure borders, you no longer have a country. Legal immigration helped make our country great, and it should be preserved in a way that makes our country stronger. We need to build the Wall, and give our brave border enforcement officers all the resources they need to keep out the illegals, the terrorists, the gangs, the criminals, the drugs, and the human traffickers.

Standing Up for Israel

I will always stand 100% with our best ally. Israel must always be allowed to defend itself in times of war. We should keep the US embassy in Jerusalem, continue our longstanding security and military assistance, prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and continue

building on the success of the agreements reached between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco (known as the Abraham Accords). We should continue to work toward solutions that will allow for a secure Israel which is fully recognized by the international community.

Protecting Our Seniors

I will not allow Washington to cut Social Security or Medicare. Our Seniors built our country, defended it in wars, and always paid their taxes. We owe so much to this generation and we must honor our obligations to them. I will fight every day to protect their rights under Social Security and Medicare. The states and the Federal government should stop taxing Social Security Benefits.

Election Integrity

Our system for running elections needs an overhaul so that voters know their vote counts. I support Seth Keshel’s common-sense ten-point plan that will ensure fair elections:

✔ Clean Up The Voter Rolls

✔ Ban Ballot Harvesting

✔ Ban All Electronic Elections Equipment

✔ Implement Drastically Smaller Precincts

✔ Require Voter ID With Paper Ballots Only

✔ New Reporting Requirements for Transparency

✔ Ban Mail-In Voting

✔ Ban Early Voting

✔ Make Election Day a Holiday

✔ Heavy Prison Sentences for All Who Commit Fraud.

Here is proof that it can be done: France recently conducted a successful national election with results in one day using only paper ballots.

Improving Education

Parents should always be in control of the curriculum and the books used in their kids’ classrooms. They have every right to stop the teaching of Critical Race Theory and other divisive rhetoric. Parents must never again be treated as terrorists if they exercise their God-given First Amendment right to disagree with school boards and administrators. I support school choice and school vouchers.

Enacting Term Limits

Implementing limits on the number of terms elected officials and bureaucrats can serve is the best way to get government by the people, rather than government by a ruling class. I have signed the Term Limits pledge.

Helping Small Businesses

As a former small business owner myself, I know that small businesses are the biggest job creators in our country and must be protected. Eliminate excessive regulations that burden small companies, and simplify the tax code to help stimulate more job creation.

Protecting Second Amendment Rights

The Second Amendment is about more than just hunting. It preserves our fundamental right to protect ourselves and our families from danger. Taking away our legal guns does not make America safer, but instead makes us more vulnerable to criminals and those who wish to do us harm.

Lowering Taxes

Our tax code needs to be simplified and made more fair for working Americans. Eliminate tax loopholes and the SALT deduction, which forces Florida residents to subsidize high tax states that have out-of-control spending.

Abortion

I oppose a national abortion ban.[3]

—Dan Franzese's campaign website (2024)[4]

Video for [the profile publisher]

Video submitted to BallotpediaReleased February 16, 2022

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

While I am a successful businessman today, I had a distinctly blue-collar, working-class upbringing that formed my views on the value and importance of hard work. My dad was a union carpenter with an 8th grade education; my mom was a homemaker who only reached the 10th grade. I worked as a carpenter starting at age 16, and I used that money to help put myself through Amherst College (BA) and the Wharton School of Business (MBA).

I offer experience and knowledge gained from a lifetime tackling problems, and getting results. I have a businessman’s perspective; voters tell me that’s exactly what we need in Washington. I’m committed to term limits and have pledged to serve no more than 6 years.

I was co-founder and president of a company that I successfully sold, CFO of a not-for-profit corporation, a portfolio manager, and a managing director in multiple leadership roles. I’m also a parent (2 adult children), a husband (married for 36 years), a baseball coach (8 seasons) and a church leader (10+ years). I believe the diverse range of my life experiences will allow me to connect with, and effectively represent, the people of Florida’s CD-22.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Voters tell me that their number one issue is inflation and the economy. I draw on 40+ years of experience living and breathing finance and economics every single day, dating back to when I was in college, and then throughout a successful business career. Here is my plan to fight inflation: • Deregulate and ramp up domestic energy production to lower gas prices. • End government deficit spending and pass a balanced budget amendment. • Reduce regulations on small businesses and overhaul the tax code to create more job growth. • Review the structure and function of the Federal Reserve to ensure that it keeps working for the best interests of the American people. • Never again pay workers to stay at home and not work.Our system for running elections needs an overhaul so that voters know their vote counts. Seth Keshel, who has endorsed me, has created a common-sense plan that will ensure fair elections. I support his plan: • Clean Out The Voter Rolls • Ban All Electronic Elections Equipment • Require Voter ID With Paper Ballots Only • Ban Mail-In Voting •

Ban Early Voting •

Implement Drastically Smaller Precincts • Ban Ballot Harvesting • Make Election Day a Holiday • New Reporting Requirements for Transparency • Heavy Prison Sentences for All Who Commit Fraud Here is proof that it can be done: France recently conducted a successful national election with results in one day using only paper ballots.Securing our borders is also one of my top priorities. Never again should people die while trying to come into America, like they did this summer in an over-heated smuggler’s truck. We need to emphasize legal immigration with a clear path to citizenship for those who qualify.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am:

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Pro-Life

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Pro-2nd Amendment

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Pro Constitution

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Pro Small Business

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Pro Term Limits

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Pro-Israel

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Pro Balanced Budget

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Pro Strong Military

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Pro Senior Rights

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Pro Election Integrity

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Pro Secure Borders

I also support President Trump’s “America First” agenda. Why? Because it worked! It lead to record employment levels, including among minority workers; low inflation; $2 gas and secure domestic energy; more secure borders; and national prosperity.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Representatives must be elected every two years—the shortest term in the Federal Government—which helps keep representatives close to their constituents.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Energy and Commerce; Small Business; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; House Committee on the Budget.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am a firm believer in term limits. Not only have I pledged to introduce legislation to create them, but I am committed to serving no more than 6 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Jim Jordan

Campaign website

Franzese's campaign website stated the following:

Stopping Inflation

Inflation hurts all of us, especially seniors on fixed incomes. It is all a product of bad economic policy brought to us by President Biden and the Radical Left. We must fight inflation by ramping up domestic energy production, ending government deficit spending, allowing interest rates to rise to natural levels, and we must never again pay workers to stay at home.

Protecting our Seniors

They built our country, defended it in wars, and always paid their taxes. We owe so much to this generation and we must honor our obligations to them. I will fight every day to protect their rights under Social Security and Medicare.

Immigration Reform & Defending ICE

Without secure borders, you no longer have a country. Legal immigration helped make our country great, and it should be preserved in a way that makes our country stronger. We need to build the Wall, and give our brave border enforcement officers all the resources they need to keep out the illegals, the gangs, the criminals, the drugs, and human trafficking.

Enacting Term Limits

It is the best way to get government by the people, rather than government by a ruling class. I have signed the Term Limits pledge, and I have gone a step further by vowing not to serve more than three terms.

Revitalizing Small Businesses

They are the biggest job creators in our country and must be protected. Eliminate excessive regulations that burden small companies, and simplify the tax code to help stimulate more job creation.

Protecting the Second Amendment

The Second Amendment is about more than just hunting. It preserves our fundamental right to protect ourselves and our families from danger. Taking away our legal guns does not make the world safer, but instead makes us more vulnerable to criminals.

Defending Israel

We should always stand tall with our best ally. We should keep the US embassy in Jerusalem, continue our longstanding security assistance, prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and continue building on the success of the agreements reached between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. I support a two-state solution with a secure Israel living alongside a demilitarized Palestinian state.

Lowering Taxes

Our tax code needs to be simplified and made more fair for working Americans. Eliminate tax loopholes and the SALT deduction, which forces Florida residents to subsidize high tax states that have out-of-control spending.

Election Integrity

It is of vital importance that the American public has confidence that our elections are fair. We need to maintain safeguards to ensure that only eligible people are voting and only legal votes are counted. I support the measures that Florida Governor DeSantis has implemented regarding voter ID, prohibiting mass mailing of ballots, banning ballot harvesting, and prohibiting private money from being used to administer elections in Florida.

Dan supports Seth Keshel’s common sense approach to election integrity.

Here are the Ten Points to True Election Integrity:

I. Clean Out the Voter Rolls

II. Ban All Electronic Elections Equipment

III. Voter ID with Paper Ballots Only

IV. Ban Mail-In Voting

V. Ban Early Voting

VI. Drastically Smaller Precincts

VII. Ban Ballot Harvesting

VIII. Election Day is a Holiday

IX. New Reporting Requirements for Transparency

X. Heavy Prison Sentences for All Who Commit Fraud

Education

Parents should always be in control of the curriculum and the books used in their kids’ classrooms. They have every right to stop the teaching of Critical Race Theory and other divisive rhetoric. Parents must never again be treated as terrorists if they exercise their God-given First Amendment right to disagree with school boards and administrators. I support school choice.

Abortion

I am pro-life![3]

—Dan Franzese's campaign website (2022)[5]