Bryan Leib took a lead in fighting antisemitism, now he wants to unseat a longtime Jewish Democrat

Longtime political and public relations executive Bryan Leib took the lead in fighting antisemitism, and now he is jumping into the election in an bid to oust one of the highest profile Jewish Democrats in Congress.

Leib recently announced his candidacy as a Republican to challenge Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. 

"I am excited and honored to share with you that I've decided to jump into the Republican Primary for #FL25 to fight for the future of our nation! I'm a proven fighter for #AmericaFirst and Judeo-Christian Values!" he wrote on the social media platform, X earlier this month. 

"This is about fighting for the future of our country," he told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show earlier this month. "And with all due respect, so many men and women serving in Congress right now with the average age being in the mid 60s.... we need some young people with fresh ideas and new blood coming in there to shake things up and sort of take us into the next generation."

Schultz is the current congresswoman in the 25th district of Florida. She is also the first Jewish American to represent Florida. 

Earlier this month, Schultz voted against the "Israel Security Assistance Support Act," arguing it would "threaten American national security and use the indispensable U.S.-Israel relationship as a partisan wedge issue."

Leib, who is also Jewish, criticized his Democratic opponent, calling her a "rubber stamp" for the Democratic Party. He also slammed her for not speaking up enough for Israel as it continues in its ongoing war with Hamas. 

"Debbie is the same person that has remained silent as Joe Biden has now twice unfrozen billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic of Iran after October 7," he said. "She's remained silent as Chuck Schumer has meddled into the affairs of Israel after October 7. So again, Debbie is very much a rubber stamp for the Democratic Party."

Other Republicans running for the seat include Christopher Eddy and Rubin Young. The primary will take place Aug. 20 while the general election is set for Nov. 5.

Leib predicted that due to the way the Biden administration is handling Israel, more Jewish voters will move to the GOP. 

"Short answer is yes," Leib said when asked about it. "It's more than just what I see. It's what I've been hearing over the last two weeks alone. I personally have done 10 party registration switches......Jewish Democrats are now Jewish Republicans."

He predicted that more Jewish Democrats and independents would likely stop supporting Biden due to his bumpy relationship with Israel.

Leib has worked in conservative politics for a number of years. Besides being the founder of Henry Public Relations, he is also a senior fellow at the Center for Fundamental Rights in Budapest, Hungary, and the former executive director of Iranian Americans for Liberty.

Leib was announced last year as the head of a PAC dedicated to fighting antisemitism. According to the Jewish Journal, one of his goals is to raise over $1 million to utilize in the fight against antisemitism. 

“We’re going to take the fight directly to people,” Leib said. “It’s really a combination of two things: one, we’re supporting existing members of Congress, congressional candidates who we feel, based on their record, really support fighting antisemitism. And then secondly, we’re going to take the fight directly to anyone who traffics directly in antisemitism," he added.

Leib explained that he is concerned about the general direction in which the country is going, inspiring him to run in the first place. 

"I'm deeply, deeply troubled about the direction our country is going in right now," he said. "I've been fighting in a lot of different ways for our country. But there's no better way, in my opinion, to fight and get off the sidelines into the fight and run for Congress. And that's what we're looking to do here."