Cary Carreno, a longtime advisor and financial backer of newly elected U.S. Rep. Ross Spano, isn’t on Spano’s staff, so his role in firing a campaign treasurer and interviewing prospective staffers is raising concerns on Capitol Hill, Politico’s Marc Caputo reports. Campaign finance irregularities have led to calls that Spano not be seated in Congress, but Caputo reports there is little chance of that happening because the election has been certified by state officials.

Ross Spano, who was elected last month to Congress from Florida’s 15th district, acknowledges in a letter he may have violated campaign finance laws when he borrowed $180,000 from two friends and then lent his campaign $167,000.

The Democratic candidate for the local seat in Congress contends her Republican opponent’s six-month delay in filing a financial disclosure form was aimed at obscuring the source of funds behind a sizable loan he made to his campaign. She’s asking the FBI to investigate.

Despite Kristen Carlson’s 6-point loss to Republican Ross Spano in this month’s face for U.S. House District 15, Democrats remain hopeful about their chances to win the district in 2020, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Potential candidates include Carlson, Andrew Learned of Valrico and Bob Doyel of Winter Haven.

While no Democrats won partisan elections in Polk County this year, party activists say they are building a stronger base seen in the solid showing of candidates such as Kristen Carlson and Bob Doyel.

A financial disclosure form filed by Congressman-elect Ross Spano just before last week’s election raises questions about whether personal loans made to Spano were supporters’ attempts to exceed campaign contribution caps, the Tampa Bay Times reports.