Congressman Byron Donalds, who was nominated as Speaker of the House Wednesday as an alternative to Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, has congratulated the congressman from California who finally was named speaker after a contentious 15 rounds of balloting.

Congressman Byron Donalds (R-19), in the midst of his first term in office representing Lee and Collier counties, handily turned away the Republican primary challenge of political newcomer Jim Huff with approximately 84% of the vote.

In a primary where turnout was reported at less than one-third of registered Republicans in Lee County, Donalds had no trouble moving on to the general election where he will face Fort Myers Democrat Cindy Banyai in a rematch of their 2020 election.

Donalds, 43, emerged as one of the staunchest allies of former President Donald Trump early on in his tenure in Washington D.C., voting against certifying the presidential election results from Arizona and Pennsylvania. He denounced the government search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club over confidential documents. He has grown his profile as one of the more high-profile conservative Republicans in the House with frequent appearances on television. His popularity with the base was proven out Tuesday.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Donalds thanked voters for their support. “I am honored and grateful to the Republican voters of Florida’s 19th Congressional District for their trust and confidence in me,” he stated. “Together we will secure another huge victory in November.”

Huff was a first-time candidate who sold his house in Jacksonville to run for the seat. A resident of Port Charlotte which is outside the congressional district, Huff worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before taking on Donalds.

Huff believed his campaign was effective on a cost-of-vote ratio, considering he was vastly outspent.

“I still feel this is a good sign that we need to do better when if you look at cost of campaign per vote, the cost for the 13,000 votes I achieved was $1.17,” Huff said.

“I’m going to go back to being an engineer,” he said. “It’s been a learning experience. It’s been rewarding speaking to people. Four months of campaigning and I got 15% of the vote against one of the biggest names in the country.”

Huff said he wants politicians like Donalds “to get down to work and stop talking on TV as much.”

Huff, who is 38 and a native of rural northern New Jersey, said his “main motivator was seeing politicians across the board more interested in their career and their next election than fully representing their districts. It’s the people that have been forgotten.

“It was a rewarding experience. I’m not sure I would do it again,” Huff said.