Former U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn reported tallying more than $518,000 for his run to return to Congress, this time from Southwest Florida.

To date, his run in Florida’s 19th Congressional District relies largely on a $500,000 candidate loan. He reported just over $18,000 in outside contributions between his Oct. 1 entry into the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and the end of 2025.

Cawthorn actually served alongside Donalds previously. Both Republicans were first elected to the U.S. House in 2020, Donalds from Naples and Cawthorn at the time from North Carolina. Cawthorn served a single term as Congress’ youngest member, but courted controversy.

He was cited multiple times for bringing a firearm through airport security, discussed armed rebellion and raised eyebrows high after claiming colleagues invited him to cocaine-fueled orgies. The freshman Congressman ultimately lost re-election in a Republican Primary in 2022.

Shortly after that, he relocated to Cape Coral, and rumors of a congressional run immediately followed. Those picked up when Donalds announced he would vacate the seat to run for Governor.

Many contributions to Cawthorn’s campaign came courtesy of small donations through WinRed. But several large donations make up the majority of outside contributions to the campaign.

Some large donations included $3,500 from far-right social media influencer Robby Starbuck. Washington, D.C., lawyer Mark Ruddy gave $3,500 to the campaign as well.

Punta Gorda-based investment manager Kyle J. Davis contributed $5,000.

After some $88,000 in spending by the campaign, Cawthorn closed 2025 with about $431,000 in cash on hand. That’s less than former Illinois lawmaker Jim Oberweis or Sun Broadcasting President Jim Schwartzel, who have also contributed significant self-funding.

But Cawthorn boasts more funding than the rest of a crowded Republican field that includes Stephen Elliot, former congressional candidate Johnny Fratto, former congressional staffer Ola Hawatmeh, conservative author Catalina Lauf, business owner Dylan Modarelli, veteran Mike Pedersen and activist John Strand.

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