Pia Dandiya Wins Florida House District 22, Beating Casey Askar in Redrawn Seat

Democrat Pia Dandiya won Florida's 22nd Congressional District on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, defeating Republican Casey Askar in a district that was redrawn only months earlier. The Associated Press results feed marked the race Called for Dandiya, and CBS News and NBC News projected her victory. The district had been drawn by Florida's Republican legislature in May 2026, and President Donald Trump carried it by about 10 points in 2024.

The count

The AP feed put Dandiya at 151,926 votes to 140,933 for Askar, with 98.68 percent of precincts reporting, 225 of 228, and an estimated 99 percent of the vote counted. Naples News, citing USA Today data collected from state elections offices, put Dandiya ahead 51.92 percent to 48.08 percent with 99 percent of the votes in. JBiz News, in an update at 9:10 p.m. EST, reported the AP confirmation of Dandiya's win, in the same update that confirmed a second term for Rep. Wesley Bell in Missouri and a win for Rep. Carlos Gimenez in Florida's 28th District.

A redrawn district that flipped

District 22 was redrawn in May by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican legislature. The Cook Political Report first rated the redrawn district as leaning Republican, then shifted it to a toss up before the election, according to American Bazaar. A district that Trump had carried by about 10 points two years earlier was therefore in play, and Dandiya won it. American Bazaar reported that the win makes her the first Indian American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida and the 10th Indian American elected to Congress.

The two candidates and the counties

Dandiya is a Palm Beach Gardens native. Naples News described her as a former lobbyist and educator. Its live coverage added that she is a former lobbyist for Apple Inc., holds a master's degree in education, and founded a public high school in Harlem, New York. Askar is a Naples resident, and both candidates were newcomers. The county split showed the shape of the race. Broward County went to Dandiya with 59.6 percent, 72,056 votes to 48,915 for Askar. Collier County backed its local candidate Askar with 63.48 percent, 50,680 votes to 29,151 for Dandiya. Dandiya also took her home Palm Beach County with 56.6 percent. Those three counties together decided the seat, and Dandiya's margins in Broward and Palm Beach were enough to carry a district drawn this year.