3/22/24
“March again, we must.”
19th congressional district challenger Kari Lerner (D) to attend Saturday’s Women’s March in Fort Myers.
CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA — Democratic challenger Kari Lerner announced she will speak at the MARCH FORWARD event sponsored by Women’s March Fort Myers and the National Organization for Women – Lee County Chapter this Saturday, March 23rd. The event starts at 10:00am in front of the Old Lee Courthouse, 2120 Main Street, Fort Myers.
Lerner, the Democratic challenger to far-rightwing Rep. Byron Donalds, took aim at former president Donald Trump, declaring, “Seven years ago millions of women took to the streets across the nation to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration, his misogynistic rhetoric, and his direct threat to the rights of women (and we were right). Sadly, march again, we must.”
“We will march to stop the likes of authoritarian dictator-wannabe Donald Trump (again) and his vice-president-wannabe Byron Donalds,” continued Lerner. “And let’s be clear: Rep. Byron Donalds is a direct threat to our democracy and to the rights of women.”
BACKGROUND
Donalds is an election denier.
In 2021, he voted to overturn President Biden’s election. [1] To this day Donalds still denies Biden won the 2020 election and, in an attempt to curry favor with Donald Trump, will not commit to certifying 2028 election results should he become Trump’s vice president. [2]
Donalds defends Trump’s violent political rhetoric.
Last weekend Donald Trump said, “Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it.” Donalds immediately took to Twitter to defend Trump’s violent language, calling it “fake news.” [3]
Donalds is a direct threat to women’s reproductive freedom.
Ob/gyn-wanna-be Byron Donalds regularly shows just how little he knows about women’s reproductive healthcare. Recently, Donalds embraced the shocking Alabama Supreme Court ruling declaring embryos created by in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures are now to be considered to be children by stating “embryos grow into being adults, like we are.” [4]
Then Donalds tried to walk back his ignorant statement on Meet the Press by proclaiming IVF helps couples “breed great families.”[5]
ABOUT KARI LERNER
Born in Ohio and raised in Cape Coral, Kari Lerner’s path took her to New England to raise a family before circling back to her roots in Southwest Florida.
A former Cypress Lake High School Panther in Fort Myers, Kari earned an Associate of Science degree in Business Administration from Edison Community College, managing her studies while working three jobs as a single mother. She went on to graduate Summa cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).
A former middle and high school math substitute teacher, Kari went on to spend 37 years in the real estate industry and is a licensed Realtor® in Florida, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
In 2004, Kari shifted her political allegiance from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party to better align with her principles of fiscal responsibility and prioritizing people’s needs. She served as a New Hampshire State Representative co-sponsoring and helping pass a crucial law protecting children from statutory rape.
Kari shares her life with her husband Alan, their three adult children, son-in-law, step-daughter, and one dapper grandson.