- December 13, 2025
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When Southwest Florida radio and television station owner Jim Schwartzel decided to enter politics, it wasn’t on impulse.
Going to Washington, D.C. was actually something Schwartzel had been thinking about since he graduated college and applied for law school after a Capitol Hill internship years earlier. That goes back about 25 years.
But life, as it often does, interfered with those plans back then. Now, after a successful — and lucrative — career in the media business, he’s decided to revisit those plans.
Schwartzel is running for Congress in Florida’s 19th district. The Republican seeks to replace Byron Donalds, who is running for governor. He is one of five vying for the seat, according to Florida Department of State. The election is Nov. 3, 2026, but before that Schwartzel will be in a crowded Republican primary scheduled for Aug 18.
Running for office during or after a successful business career is not rare as it used to be (see Sen. Rick Scott, R-Naples; U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key; and Pres. Donald Trump.) But, given the current polarizing environment, entering the fray is risky given the reality that you may alienate some who you count as customers.
Yet, Schwartzel and others who have made the transition say they bring a unique set of skills to tackle issues.
The 49-year-old president of Fort Myers’ based Sun Broadcasting says the reason he’s doing it now is because the timing — personally and professionally — is finally right. His family business is thriving. His daughter is a senior in high school and his son is in college, so he and his wife, Carly, are about to become empty nesters.
And, Schwartzel says, he feels he can win.
“I approach things like a businessperson,” Schwartzel says.
“Before I buy a business or take on a new project, I do my due diligence. I didn’t want to waste my time or anyone else’s. I wanted to know that if I was going to do this, it was something I could win and be good at.”
An interest in politics goes as far back as college, where, at Stetson University in DeLand, he gravitated toward student leadership and politics, serving as president of the student government.
He spent a summer interning in Washington, D.C., working for then-U.S. Sen. Connie Mack III, R-Fort Myers. Porter Goss, who would later serve as Director of Central Intelligence, was the congressman representing the area at the time.
“I was fascinated by the process, seeing how laws are made,” he says.
“And I really looked up to those two gentlemen from our area and, (thought) maybe I'll become a lawyer and I'll work in Washington, D.C.”
Schwartzel graduated from Stetson in 1998 with a degree in business and finance.
The plan, or at least the idea, was that he’d study communications law at The Catholic University of American in Washington and then find work in government.
That’s when life intervened.
While studying for his LSAT, Schwartzel took a part-time job at the family’s growing broadcasting company.
His father, Joe, had purchased Palmer Communications in Naples in 1996 and was laying the groundwork for what would become Sun Broadcasting.
Schwartzel was engaged by then and decided to take a year or two off before heading to law school. “I got into the sales department at the radio station, and I got hooked.”
Schwartzel took over the business from his father in 2012 when Joe transferred the company to him through a family trust.
Since becoming president of Sun Broadcasting, the company has expanded and today owns four FM radio stations, one full-power TV station and three low-power TV stations. In September it agreed to acquire WFTX, the Fox affiliate in Fort Myers, for $40 million from the E.W. Scripps Co.
Schwartzel also owns the magazines Gulfshore Life and Gulfshore Business.
Owning the local media outlets is a responsibility to the community, he says, often repeating the sentiment that Sun is “not some faceless corporation.”
“We know our listeners, our advertisers, our neighbors. We live here.”
After Hurricane Ian in 2022, Schwartzel says, he and Carly spent Saturdays cooking and delivering meals to crews rebuilding Sanibel Island’s power grid.
“That’s what separates us,” he says. “When there’s a hurricane, we’re on the ground, getting information out, raising money, feeding line workers. We don’t sit on the sidelines like the big out-of-market companies.”
But with the ownership of several prominent media outlets in the market comes power. And with that power comes questions about as a candidate and if elected how or if he can influence coverage.
Schwartzel is aware of how it may appear and says there are strict FCC guidelines in place to ensure fairness when candidates own media properties and that he intends to adhere by them.
But, he adds, Sun’s stations already have editorial independence and if federal requirement mandate changes, they will be made.
“I’m already working with my team and legal counsel to ensure everything is compliant, above board and fully transparent,” he says.
“I’ve built my reputation on earning the public's trust and that doesn't change just because I'm running for office. If anything, it raises the standard even higher.”
While Schwartzel’s main focus has been on the business since he decided to take a break from law school, politics has never been far from his mind, says Trey Radel, an author, radio host and former U.S. Congressman. Radel held the same seat, in the 19th district, from 2013-2014.
“He’s always had a passion for politics,” says Radel.
In the 20 years they’ve known each other, the two men spent many hours on the phone discussing the issues and machinations of what Thomas Jefferson called “a game where principles are at stake.”
And those principles are important to how Schwartzel — if he wins — plans to govern, Radel says.
While a Republican who refers to himself as a firebrand on his website and takes a hard stand on conservative issues, Schwartzel, in an interview, is serious and measured and says he is not beholden to partisan politics.
The job requires a person to “find the ways to absolutely oppose what is wrong from either Republicans or Democrats, and also understand how to work with your own party and the other side," Radel says. "It is a gigantic balancing act. But what always comes first are the people that sent you there.”
Radel says part of balancing act is the difference between running for office and governing.
And that challenge can be compounded for someone like Schwartzel, a boss for decades who, if elected, is suddenly one of 435 voices in the U.S. House.
Schwartzel is not worried about that.
He says the complexities of running a business for so many years have helped develop the skills required to govern.
“Businesspeople know how to negotiate. They know how to work behind the scenes to get things done,” he says. “We’re not worried about longevity or staying in office for decades. We care about results.”
As for the risk that comes with becoming a public figure and how it could affect Sun Broadcasting, he understands it but won’t shy away from the challenge.
He says the campaign and the decision to serve is not about personal gain and that his goal is “to protect what we have built here” in Southwest Florida.
And, as importantly, his family supports the decision and he’s given the campaign $1 million of his own money.
“If we don’t stand up for what we believe in, it only gets worse,” he says. “I don’t hate my competitors in business. We disagree, but we still get things done. That’s what’s missing in Washington.”
Whether his message, story and approach will appeal to voters will not be known until the primary ballots are officially counted. And If he survives that, there will be the general election.
Until then, Schwartzel intends to keep doing what he’s always done. Work.
