Pia Dandiya Wins Florida's 22nd District, Flipping a Trump-Carried Seat

Democrat Pia Dandiya has won Florida's newly redrawn 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican Casey Askar on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, according to projections by CBS News, NBC News and the Associated Press. The Pia Dandiya Florida 22nd District result is a Democratic pickup under a map drawn by Republicans, in a district that President Donald Trump carried by about 10 points in 2024, and it fed a strong Democratic night in the battle for control of the United States House of Representatives.

USA TODAY state-election data put Dandiya at 51.92 percent to Askar's 48.08 percent with 99 percent of votes counted, while Decision Desk HQ figures showed Dandiya on 111,834 votes, or 55.66 percent, to Askar's 89,092, or 44.34 percent, at 68 percent reporting. The difference between the two tallies reflects different stages of the count, but both pointed to the same outcome: a Democratic win in a district redrawn to favour Republicans.

Key Points

• Democrat Pia Dandiya won Florida's redrawn 22nd Congressional District on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, defeating Republican Casey Askar.
• CBS News, NBC News and the Associated Press projected the win for Dandiya, with USA TODAY data putting her at 51.92 percent to 48.08 percent with 99 percent counted.
• The district was redrawn in May 2026 by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled legislature, and President Donald Trump carried it by about 10 points in 2024.
• Dandiya, 39, a Palm Beach Gardens native, former teacher, high school principal, lobbyist and educator, becomes the first Indian American elected to the US House from Florida.
• Askar, a Naples businessman and Trump loyalist, won Collier County with 63.48 percent but lost the district overall.

What Happened

Voters in Florida's 22nd District went to the polls on Tuesday as part of a midterm election that decided control of the House, and the contest quickly became one of the night's most closely watched Florida races. The district had been redrawn only months earlier, in May 2026, stretching from Palm Beach and Broward counties across the Everglades to Collier and Hendry counties, a shape designed, in the view of Democrats, to protect Republican strength in the state.

As results came in on election night, however, Dandiya built a lead that held. Projections from CBS News, NBC News and the Associated Press marked her as the winner, and the Associated Press applied its call marker to the race. USA TODAY's state-election data, at 99 percent of votes counted, put Dandiya ahead by just under four points, while the earlier Decision Desk HQ tally, at 68 percent reporting, showed a wider margin of more than 11 points. Both snapshots told the same story: the Democrat had carried a district Trump won comfortably two years earlier.

Askar's strength in one part of the district was not enough to overcome Dandiya's advantage elsewhere. The Naples businessman won Collier County, in the district's south-west, with 63.48 percent of the vote, a reminder of the Republican base in that corner of Florida. But the district's eastern counties, in Palm Beach and Broward, delivered the votes that carried Dandiya to victory, and the redrawn map, for all its Republican intent, could not hold the seat.

Background and Context

The 22nd District seat was previously held by Democrat Lois Frankel, who moved to run in the reconfigured 23rd District after the May 2026 redistricting. That reshuffle, signed into law by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled legislature, was part of a wider mid-decade redrawing effort in Florida and other states, in which both parties sought to lock in favourable maps ahead of the midterms.

Dandiya brought a distinctive biography to the race. The 39-year-old Palm Beach Gardens native has worked as a teacher and a high school principal, and later as a lobbyist and educator, experience her campaign presented as grounding in both classrooms and the state capitol. Her win makes her the first Indian American elected to the US House from Florida and the 10th Indian American elected to Congress, a milestone in a state with a growing South Asian community.

Pia Dandiya Florida 22nd District Win

The Pia Dandiya Florida 22nd District win matters nationally because it is exactly the kind of seat Democrats needed to flip to retake the House. Democrats entered election night needing only a net gain of three seats to reach the 218-seat majority in the 435-member chamber, and a pickup in a Trump-carried district, under a Republican-drawn map, carried weight well beyond its single vote.

The result also matters for Florida politics. The state has trended Republican in recent cycles, and the governor's race on the same ballot kept the statehouse in Republican hands. Dandiya's win, in a district drawn to favour Republicans, showed that Democratic candidates could still break through in Florida, particularly in the populous south-east, where Palm Beach and Broward counties anchor the district's eastern end.

Reactions and Response

The projections themselves told the story of the night: three major news organisations, CBS News, NBC News and the Associated Press, each called the race for Dandiya, and the Associated Press marked her with its call marker on its results page. The agreement across the networks left little doubt about the outcome, even as the final vote tallies continued to be updated.

Why It Matters

Control of the House shapes legislation, investigations and the agenda for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term. A Democratic majority would control committees, subpoena power and the floor, and could block Republican legislation. Every flip on election night brought that outcome closer, and a flip in a Trump-carried Florida district was among the most striking of the night.

What Happens Next

Dandiya will now prepare to take her seat when the new Congress convenes on January 3, 2027, joining a Democratic caucus that hopes to hold the House majority its election-night flips delivered. Her first tasks will include setting up district offices across a sprawling district that runs from the Atlantic coast across the Everglades to the Gulf side of the state.

Read more on election night 2026: Jamie Ager flips North Carolina's 11th District, Byron Donalds wins Florida governor race, and Roy Cooper flips North Carolina Senate seat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Florida's 22nd Congressional District in 2026?

Democrat Pia Dandiya won the seat, defeating Republican Casey Askar on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

What was the margin in the Florida 22nd District race?

USA TODAY data put Dandiya at 51.92 percent to Askar's 48.08 percent with 99 percent counted, while Decision Desk HQ, at 68 percent reporting, showed Dandiya on 55.66 percent to Askar's 44.34 percent.

Why is this win significant?

The district was redrawn by Republicans in May 2026 and President Donald Trump carried it by about 10 points in 2024, so a Democratic win there is a pickup under a Republican-drawn map.

Who is Pia Dandiya?

Dandiya, 39, is a Palm Beach Gardens native, former teacher, high school principal, lobbyist and educator, and she becomes the first Indian American elected to the US House from Florida.

Who previously held the seat?

The seat was previously held by Democrat Lois Frankel, who moved to run in the reconfigured 23rd District after the May 2026 redistricting.