Austin Rogers

Austin Rogers, a Panama City attorney and former General Counsel to U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, is the Republican nominee for the open Florida 2nd Congressional District seat. He grew up in Bay County, earned a law degree from Duke University, and is running for his first elected office. According to his campaign website, he is running to support President Trump's agenda; he has also named jobs, affordability and artificial intelligence as priorities.[1][2][3][4]

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.[2] 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.[2] He earned his law degree from Duke University.[2] According to Fox News, he worked briefly in Washington, D.C., before moving back to the district with his wife.[5]

Rogers served as General Counsel to Sen. Rick Scott's Senate office, where he says he drafted legislation, conducted congressional hearings and led investigations.[2][5] He launched his campaign for the seat Rep. Neal Dunn is leaving; Ballotpedia lists no earlier campaigns or offices for him.[1][5] 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.[3][6] He has said he would prioritize the Safe Kids Act, which he says continues a bill he worked on with Sen. Scott.[3] According to his campaign website, he and his wife, Hala, a dermatologist, live in Panama City with their three children.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.