Austin Rogers

Rogers was born and raised in Bay County and is a lifelong Panama City native, according to his campaign website; he graduated from Mosley High School and played college soccer.[3] His website says his father flew two tours with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and retired from Tyndall Air Force Base, and that his mother worked as a local schoolteacher.[3] He earned his law degree from Duke University.[3] According to Fox News, he worked briefly in Washington, D.C., before moving back to the district with his wife.[6]

Rogers served as General Counsel to Sen. Rick Scott's Senate office, where he says he drafted legislation, conducted congressional hearings and led investigations.[3][6] He launched his campaign for the seat Rep. Neal Dunn was leaving; Ballotpedia lists no earlier campaigns or offices for him.[2][6] He won the August 18, 2026 Republican primary, an eight-person race, with 30.47% of the vote ahead of Keith Gross, Evan Power and Luke Murphy.[4][8] According to his campaign website, he ran to support President Trump's agenda; he also named jobs, affordability and artificial intelligence as priorities.[2][3][4][5] He won the November 3, 2026 general election with 52.1% of the vote to Amanda Green's 47.9%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1] He has said he would prioritize the Safe Kids Act, which he says continues a bill he worked on with Sen. Scott.[4] According to his campaign website, he and his wife, Hala, a dermatologist, live in Panama City with their three children.[3]