Only one Republican so far has filed to run for Congressman Byron Donalds' seat as he is going to run for governor instead next year.
Former Illinois state Sen. James Oberweis also ran for Congress in the Prairie State and lost.
Oberweis said he doesn’t consider himself a politician but rather a businessman, although he served two terms in the Illinois senate and ran for Congress there and lost to a Democrat.
“I went home literally packed my bags, moved to Florida and said I'm done with politics and I'm done with Illinois. Here I am,” Oberweis said.
He sat down for an interview with Gulf Coast News Chief Political Correspondent Dave Elias for a one on one interview.
Dave Elias: Some people on social media already starting to use the word carpet bagger. How do you respond?
Jim Oberweis: My wife has been a Florida resident for 15 years. I've been a Florida resident for five years. So far I'm the only candidate who has filed but I've heard of a dozen different people who are thinking about it.
Dave: It was a surprise last week that caught many off guard that our Sheriff Carmine Marceno has floated the idea he'll fun…your thoughts?
Jim: Look, the more the merrier. The voters will have a chance to select the person who is in the best position to serve the people of SWFL.
Dave: Do you think the sheriff will ultimately get into this. He comes in with a big black cloud over his campaign right, let's be honest.
Jim: I was surprised to hear him thinking about it. I don't know what his reasoning is. He must have some reasons. I think that would be a very difficult thing to overcome.
Oberweis has already placed $2 million of his own money into his war chest.
Jim: But more importantly, we have a list of over 180 great Republicans who have either agreed to host a campaign fundraiser, co-host or at least attend one more fundraiser.
Dave: Do you think the president will get involved? An endorsement from him goes a long way here.
Jim: I will mention in 2020 when I ran for congress in Illinois the president endorsed me. I’m hoping he will endorse me again here.
Dave: You keep mentioning Byron Donalds, has he endorsed you? Do you expect him to?
Jim: I believe Byron Donalds will not and should not endorse anybody.
Some of the names rumored to run include Madison Cawthorn, Spencer Roach, Jenna Persons-Mulicka and Jim Schwartzel.
Democrat Howard Sapp has officially filed to run and will sit down for an interview on Wednesday.