When former Notre Dame head coach, Lou Holtz, was rumored to be considering a run for District 24 in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Orlando Sentinel asked John Dowless if the football legend had a chance at winning the Republican primary against local leaders such as Sandy Adams and Karen Diebel Holtz, who lives near Lake Nona, never ran for office, but is known as a Republican supporter.
“You put him in the ring and it’s all but over,” said John Dowless, an Orlando-based Republican consultant. “He’s on TV, he’s likable, the name ID is huge and people respect him enormously….
Holtz also has been a steady GOP contributor, giving thousands of dollars to Republican presidential candidates and more recently $3,000 to House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. He also gave $2,300 last year to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, election records show.He has a Rolodex that people would dream of; people are going to flock to him,” Dowless said.