WLRN Public Media — In Florida's redrawn 23rd congressional district, which includes all of Palm Beach County, incumbent Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel faces a political outsider looking to sway primary voters who may want to see a generational change in the Democratic party.
The 78-year-old from West Palm Beach — who has been in elected office since the mid-1980s and in Congress since 2013 — is facing progressive challenger Victoria Doyle, 60, a retired intellectual property attorney and local activist. It's a high stakes proxy race: while both candidates align under the Democratic banner, distinct political differences separate their approaches to legislative pragmatism, economic policy, corporate influence, and foreign affairs.
On healthcare, Doyle's platform demands a $25 minimum wage and single-payer universal health coverage that replaces private insurance industries with one public agency that pays all medical bills using tax funds. "People dealing with cancer or surgery or other catastrophic chronic illness should not have to spend 80% of their day fighting with their insurance company to get the care they need," Doyle told WLRN.
On technology and infrastructure, Doyle — who often appears in person protesting alongside residents and advocates at both local and county commission meetings over issues involving data centers — advocates for comprehensive federal AI data center regulations.
On campaign finance, Doyle, who has raised nearly $400,000 from private individual donors to Frankel's $2 million, is making her independence from corporate donors the centerpiece of her campaign. "I arrive with a relative independence and freedom that career politicians just don't have. I get to vote any way I want being beholden to no one," Doyle told WLRN.
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