Cindy Banyai
Cindy Banyai (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 19th Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Banyai completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Cindy Banyai was born in Bay City, Michigan. She earned a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and a master's degree and Ph.D. from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. Her career experience includes working as an evaluator and in the community development and organization development fields.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Florida's 19th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 19
Incumbent Byron Donalds defeated Cindy Banyai and Patrick Post in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 19 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Byron Donalds (R) | 68.0 | 213,035 |
 | Cindy Banyai (D)  | 32.0 | 100,226 | |
 | Patrick Post (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 13 | |
| Total votes: 313,274 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Cindy Banyai advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 19.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 19
Incumbent Byron Donalds defeated Jim Huff in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 19 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Byron Donalds | 83.7 | 76,192 |
 | Jim Huff | 16.3 | 14,795 | |
| Total votes: 90,987 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
To view Banyai's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
2020
See also: Florida's 19th Congressional District election, 2020
Florida's 19th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)
Florida's 19th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 19
Byron Donalds defeated Cindy Banyai and Patrick Post in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 19 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Byron Donalds (R) | 61.3 | 272,440 |
| Cindy Banyai (D) | 38.7 | 172,146 | |
| Patrick Post (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 3 | |
| Total votes: 444,589 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Antonio Dumornay (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 19
Cindy Banyai defeated David Holden in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 19 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy Banyai | 57.6 | 28,765 |
 | David Holden | 42.4 | 21,212 | |
| Total votes: 49,977 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 19
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 19 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Byron Donalds | 22.6 | 23,492 |
 | Dane Eagle | 21.9 | 22,715 | |
 | Casey Askar | 20.0 | 20,774 | |
 | William Figlesthaler | 18.3 | 19,075 | |
 | Randy Henderson | 7.6 | 7,858 | |
 | Christy McLaughlin | 4.1 | 4,245 | |
 | Dan Severson | 3.1 | 3,197 | |
 | Darren Dione Aquino | 1.4 | 1,466 | |
 | Daniel Kowal | 1.1 | 1,135 | |
| Total votes: 103,957 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Francis Rooney (R)
- Ford O’Connell (R)
- Heather Fitzenhagen (R)
Endorsements
To view Banyai's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released June 16, 2020 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Cindy Banyai completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Banyai's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Dr. Cindy Banyai is running for Congress to be the servant leader Southwest Florida deserves, fighting for our water, our health, and our community. Born to teen parents, double majoring in undergrad, living abroad on her own, and being a professional boxer shows the breadth of knowledge and experience Cindy brings to her work and her community. Cindy moved to Southwest Florida and settled in the community she has come to love, growing her family and her career.
Cindy ran for Congress in 2020 because, at some point, you realize you can’t wait for someone else to fight for you. That race shocked everyone. Cindy successfully raised over $200,000 as a first-time candidate in an R+13 district, closing the gap from the last presidential cycle with a 4.6% increase in the Dem vote. She didn’t stop there.
Dr. Cindy Banyai is running for US House of Representatives Florida 19 again in 2022. She's a mom and small business owner working to create a Southwest Florida where the sun shines on everyone.
- Our water - holding polluters accountable, investing for clean water and climate mitigation
- Our health - ending medical bankruptcy, creating affordable access to care for everyone
- Our community - putting families first, supporting small businesses
I love public policy as an expert and instructor in political science and public administration. I am passionate about community development and ensuring people have a voice in government. I want to make sure our democracy works by protecting voting rights, civil rights, and human rights. We need to enact legislation that helps everyday Americans and does what we want, such as common sense gun regulations and access to abortion care. I believe in the value of our government and want to make it work better. I am passionate about it all and I bring that energy to this campaign and to serving Southwest Florida.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Banyai's campaign website stated the following:
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Environment Vision Ideas
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| —Cindy Banyai's campaign website (2022)[3] | ||
2020
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released May 10, 2020 |
Cindy Banyai completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Banyai's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I'm a mom and small-business owner fighting for our water, our health, and our community. I've served Southwest Florida nonprofits for 11 years and am dismayed by how the voices of regular people are routinely ignored. I'm ready to take my technical skills in good governance to Washington to be the servant leader the people of Southwest Florida deserve.
- Our Water
- Our Health
- Our Community
I'm personally compelled to fight for healthcare reform after being the victim of profiteering by insurance companies while my youngest daughter was stricken with a rare blood disease. I also have experience in international development and seek to restore America's position as a global leader.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. I interned for him on the Senate Finance Committee and worked on the US-China Trade bill. He was the last of the true statesmen and I appreciated it even-handedness and bipartisan leadership. He is also considered the father of evaluation, which is my field of expertise. I hope the bring the same compassion and expertise to leadership in the US House.
Anything by Jeffery Sachs
I am committed through service to my community. I am qualified through technical expertise in public administration and governance. I am a mom and leader of future generations.
The US House of Representatives was designed to be the voice of the people. It is the responsibility of anyone holding this office to connect with and listen to their constituents and serve them. That means holding public and open town halls and gatherings. That mean showing up to vote. That means crafting, sponsoring, and supporting legislation that meets their needs and not one's own personal and political ambitions.
I want to see a return to data-informed decision-making in public policy. I want to be the first evaluator elected to Congress, bringing the principles of good practice in evaluation and policy making to the forefront of our legislature.
The first Gulf War. I would watch the new reports every night and take notes. I even had hero trading cards!
My first job was 2 jobs at the age of 16 - Toys R Us and a movie theatre. I had both jobs for almost a year before I moved on to the many other jobs I needed to put myself through college.
The Geography of Thought by Richard Nisbett. This book was foundational to my understanding of how people across cultures think and interpret the world. We can literally look at the same thing and see different things based on our culture.
Say So - Doja Cat
My struggles have been that of the average American - trying to make things work in a system designed to benefit the moneyed and the powerful. My family has also struggled with illness and disability in a healthcare system that puts profit over people. My youngest daughter is in that vulnerable population that some see as expendable amidst the COVID19 pandemic. We are at the whim of poor leadership and the denial of science. My daughter and the American people deserve better.
Congress holds the power of the purse and the House represents the people. These two qualities make it an important balance to the powerful and now corrupt interests of a crony president. We need to be good stewards of US taxpayer dollars to ensure they are serving the interests of the people and not the powerful.
I believe it is important for representatives to have a good working understand of our government, something that I bring to the table. It's also important to ensure that there is access to everyday Americans to serve, if they are willing to take on the responsibility of governing and do the work to do it well.
We are going to need to move the country through the fallout of the COVID19 crisis. This includes fortifying our beleaguered government after years of disinvestment and political cronyism, so that it functions for the people. We also need to support the everyday American through the economic crisis and work to regain our standing as a global leader.
Select Committee on Climate Change
Appropriations
Oversight and Reform
Foreign Affairs
Yes. More time would be great and move representatives away from continually campaigning, but the short cycle keeps us closer to the people.
Term limits move the power center away from individuals toward corporations and special interests. Additionally, term limits undercut the knowledge and network base needed to govern appropriately. For these reasons, I am not in favor of abrupt term limits. I am in favor of some limitations to bring innovation and new ideas into institutions.
I think I would make a good Whip because of my background in coalition building.
I really appreciate the younger women who have recently been elected to Congress, the Squad. I think it is important to bring energy and fresh ideas to address the most pressing issues in this country.
A mom whose children went to school with mine shared a story of being worried about the safety of her mixed children and African-American husband in the wake of the Ahmaud Arbbury killing. Her heartfelt plea to end discrimination in this country went viral. It touched me specifically because of the of harassment that her husband experienced. They live in the same house my white family lived in without issue. It highlights the need for compassion and change when it comes to issues of race in this country.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Florida District 19 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 16, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Cindy Banyai, “Policies,” accessed August 20, 2022
