Kelly Kirschner for U.S. Congress – FL 16

Learn more about Kelly Kirschner

Who is Kelly Kirschner?

Kelly Kirschner is a third-generation Floridian, former Mayor of Sarasota, returned Peace Corps volunteer and single father running for Congress in Florida’s 16th Congressional District. He is running to lower costs for Gulf Coast families, defend health care, and put constituents ahead of special interests.

What office is Kelly Kirschner running for?

The U.S. House of Representatives, in the general election on November 3, 2026.

What district is Kelly Kirschner running in?

Florida’s 16th Congressional District (FL-16), home to about 850,000 residents. The 16th district stretches from St. Petersburg through Bradenton and Sarasota to the farms and ranches of Manatee, DeSoto, Hardee and Polk counties.

Is Kelly Kirschner a Democrat or Republican?

Kelly Kirschner is a Democrat. He has also been endorsed by a coalition of Republican officeholders, led by former five-term Republican Congressman Dan Miller and Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse.

Who is Kelly Kirschner running against?

Republican Sydney Gruters, wife of Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters.

Where did Kelly Kirschner grow up?

Kelly Kirschner is a third-generation Floridian who grew up near the Sarasota-Bradenton airport. After school and on weekends he worked his family’s citrus business, Blue Heron Fruit Shippers, selling oranges and grapefruit with his siblings.

Where did Kelly Kirschner go to college?

Kelly Kirschner earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Georgetown University, on a full scholarship as head manager of the men’s basketball team.

Did Kelly Kirschner serve in the Peace Corps?

Yes. In 1999 Kelly Kirschner joined the Peace Corps and spent four years in northern Guatemala helping Mayan farming families reach new markets and raise household income. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Does Kelly Kirschner have a military connection?

Yes. Kelly Kirschner’s older brother is a career U.S. Army officer who served multiple tours in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Has Kelly Kirschner held elected office before?

Yes. Kelly Kirschner served as a Sarasota City Commissioner and as Mayor of Sarasota. He won office by defeating a well-funded incumbent who outspent him 3-to-1, taking 75% of the vote.

What has Kelly Kirschner done outside government?

Kelly Kirschner grew sales at Manatee County’s Bio-Pro Research from $60,000 to over $2.5 million in three years. He co-founded and grew non-profit UnidosNow, and later served as Vice President and Dean of executive and continuing education at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg.

Does Kelly Kirschner have a family?

Yes. Kelly Kirschner is a single father who spent a decade raising his two children.

Why is Kelly Kirschner running for Congress?

Kelly Kirschner says Washington has been sold to lobbyists, the super wealthy and corporations, and it is time to take it back. His top priorities:

• Lower the cost of living, including insurance, health care and prescription drugs.
• Protect the Gulf Coast’s water, beaches and public lands.
• Build an affordable economy that invests in the next generation.
• Restore cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
• Close tax loopholes and pay down the national debt.
• Restore Congress’s constitutional power over war.
• Fully staff the VA and protect veterans’ benefits.

Kelly Kirschner’s record

What did Kelly Kirschner accomplish as Mayor of Sarasota?

As Sarasota City Commissioner and Mayor, Kelly Kirschner:

• Led passage of Florida’s strongest local campaign finance reform, approved by more than 80% of voters.
• Won unprecedented concessions for residents from Florida Power & Light.
• Clawed back millions for taxpayers by exposing a sweetheart lease at Marina Jack on public land.
• Stopped a developer from building ten-story condos in a single-family neighborhood.

How did Kelly Kirschner get into public service?

Kelly Kirschner started as a neighborhood organizer. When Sarasota spent decades dodging its promise to fund Payne Park, he organized neighbors until the park was built. When a developer tried to put ten-story condos into a single-family neighborhood, he stopped it, then ran for City Commission and won with 75% of the vote.

Has Kelly Kirschner taken on special interests as a private citizen?

Yes. In 2025, Kelly Kirschner joined community leaders to stop special interests from seizing control of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

What is UnidosNow?

UnidosNow is a nonprofit Kelly Kirschner co-founded and grew. It has helped more than 1,000 first-generation students earn debt-free admission to top universities.

What did Kelly Kirschner do at Eckerd College?

Kelly Kirschner was Vice President and Dean of executive and continuing education at Eckerd College. He led its Leadership Development Institute, which delivers Center for Creative Leadership programs for executives.

Does Kelly Kirschner take corporate PAC money?

No. Kelly Kirschner’s campaign is funded by grassroots donors, not corporate PACs. The campaign raised over $100,000 in its first week with $0 from corporate PACs.

How does Kelly Kirschner rate on integrity?

Kelly Kirschner received an “A-” from the Integrity Index. His opponent, Sydney Gruters, received an “F.”

Where Kelly Kirschner stands

What will Kelly Kirschner do to lower the cost of living?

Lowering costs for Gulf Coast families is Kelly Kirschner’s first priority. He will work to:

• Lower insurance, health care and prescription drug costs.
• Expand affordable housing and stop Wall Street from buying up single-family homes and gouging renters.
• Invest in affordable energy that lowers utility bills.
• Repeal the tax breaks that let billionaires pay less than working families.

What is Kelly Kirschner’s plan for the property insurance crisis?

Kelly Kirschner supports a national reinsurance backstop program to bring down home and flood insurance premiums, which have risen nearly 60% since 2019. He opposes lobbyist-written laws that let insurers raise rates while shifting risk onto homeowners, and wants a fully-funded, proactive FEMA.

Where does Kelly Kirschner stand on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security?

Kelly Kirschner will protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as earned rights. One in three people in FL-16 depends on Medicare or Medicaid, and recent federal cuts strip coverage from nearly 280,000 residents of the district. He will:

• Restore every cut to Medicare and Medicaid.
• Protect every patient with a pre-existing condition.
• Let the government negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
• Make clear to Gulf Coast hospitals that Washington will not abandon them.

How will Kelly Kirschner protect the Gulf Coast’s water and environment?

Kelly Kirschner will work to:

• Prohibit offshore drilling and stop open-water fish farming in the Gulf.
• Protect Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay and the coastline by enforcing the Clean Water Act.
• Keep public lands public and invest in conservation land upstream.
• Hold phosphate companies accountable so spills like Piney Point don’t become the taxpayers’ cleanup bill.
• Fix storm water systems and stop rewarding over-development that causes flooding.
• Distribute disaster and insurance dollars by need, not zip code or political influence.

Does Kelly Kirschner support AI data centers in FL-16?

No, not without proof of safety. Kelly Kirschner would keep AI hyperscale data centers out of Florida’s 16th District until they prove they won’t drain aquifers, raise utility costs, pollute the air or override local control.

How will Kelly Kirschner address the national debt?

Kelly Kirschner backs the “Scalpel Plan,” written by former federal agency CFOs, which targets $1 trillion in savings over three years without cutting earned benefits. It would:

• Reward agencies for saving money instead of the September rush to spend it.
• Cut contractor markups for recurring federal work.
• Simplify purchasing so small businesses can compete.
• Replace duplicate reporting with one public spending database.
• Act on waste that watchdogs have already identified.

He would also close corporate tax loopholes and require any savings estimate to be scored by the Congressional Budget Office.

What is Kelly Kirschner’s position on war?

Kelly Kirschner believes only Congress has the constitutional power to declare war, and that wars of choice require full, public debate. He opposes blank checks for military action Congress has not authorized.

How will Kelly Kirschner support veterans?

Kelly Kirschner will fully staff VA clinics, restore the Veterans Crisis Line to full 24/7 operation, and cut the red tape that forces veterans to fight for benefits they have earned.

What will Kelly Kirschner do for jobs and the local economy?

Kelly Kirschner will work to restore nursing, teacher preparation and veterans’ education programs the region lost, expand apprenticeships and affordable four-year degrees, and give small businesses, farmers, manufacturers and commercial fishermen stable, predictable rules.

What will Kelly Kirschner do about corruption in Washington?

Kelly Kirschner refuses corporate PAC money and has a record of passing Florida’s strongest local campaign finance reform. He says he is not running to get rich, and that public office must never be used for private gain.

Will Kelly Kirschner hold town halls?

Yes. Kelly Kirschner has committed to regular town halls and individual meetings across FL-16, so constituents can find him in the community rather than in a lobbyist’s office.

Endorsements and support

Who has endorsed Kelly Kirschner?

Kelly Kirschner is endorsed by the Tampa Bay Times, The Bradenton Times and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, and by a bipartisan coalition of more than 40 elected officials and community leaders from across Florida’s 16th District and beyond. Nationally, his endorsers include Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D), former U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D), and former U.S. Congressmen Dave Trott (R) and Dan Miller (R). Closer to home, he is endorsed by former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, former Sarasota Mayor Rev. Willie Shaw, and current and former officials from St. Petersburg, Gulfport, Pinellas, Manatee, Holmes Beach, Longboat Key and Sarasota. Organizations backing his campaign include the Florida AFL-CIO, West Central Florida Labor Council, Sierra Club, Social Security Works, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, National Organization for Women, UnidosUS and Florida Veterans for Common Sense.

Have Republicans endorsed Kelly Kirschner?

Yes. In September 2026, a “Republicans for Kirschner” coalition launched in Bradenton, led by former five-term Republican Congressman Dan Miller and Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse. Kruse said Kirschner cares about the district’s 850,000 residents, not just one resident of the White House.

Is the FL-16 race competitive?

Yes. The DCCC named FL-16 one of 46 national “Districts in Play” for 2026. An August 2026 SEA Research poll of 400 district respondents showed Kelly Kirschner at 40% and Sydney Gruters at 39%.

Learn more about Sydney Gruters

Who is Sydney Gruters?

Sydney Gruters is the Republican nominee for Florida’s 16th Congressional District. She is married to Joe Gruters, Chairman of the Republican National Committee and a Florida state senator, and is endorsed by the president.

Is Sydney Gruters a Democrat or Republican?

Sydney Gruters is a Republican.

Who is Sydney Gruters running against?

Democrat Kelly Kirschner, former Mayor of Sarasota and a returned Peace Corps volunteer.

Who funded Sydney Gruters’ primary campaign?

Joe Gruters’ political committees routed $1.25 million into Conservatives for American Excellence, a Nevada-based super PAC that spent nearly $1 million electing Sydney Gruters in the Republican primary. Her campaign is also funded by more than $1 million Joe Gruters transferred from his state committees, including more than $600,000 from the insurance industry, per Florida Division of Elections records.

What is the Gruters family’s tie to the insurance industry?

Joe Gruters sponsored Senate Bill 1028, which lets Citizens Property Insurance move commercial and condo policyholders into higher-cost coverage outside normal rate regulation. Ryan Specialty, an insurance firm, said it was instrumental in the legislation. While a state legislator, Joe Gruters also pitched investors on Village Protection Insurance, an insurance startup.

How has the Gruters family’s wealth changed?

According to Joe Gruters’ Form 6 financial disclosures, the family’s reported net worth grew from $215,000 in 2015 to $3.8 million in 2025, a 17-fold increase. Sydney Gruters’ 2026 congressional financial disclosure lists the couple’s assets, including two Sarasota rental properties, stakes in two CPA firms and holdings in energy and cannabis companies. Sydney Gruters has said publicly that members of Congress should not enter office in one tax bracket and leave in another.

How does Sydney Gruters rate on integrity?

Sydney Gruters received an “F” from the Integrity Index. Kelly Kirschner received an “A-.”

Has Sydney Gruters debated Kelly Kirschner?

No. The candidates have appeared together only once: a League of Women Voters of Manatee County forum held over Zoom on September 23, 2026, which also included NPA candidate Mark Davis. In June, Gruters’ political advisor Max Goodman told Florida Politics the campaign would debate Democrats “in the General.” On August 31, 2026, Kelly Kirschner publicly challenged Gruters to six debates, one in each of FL-16’s six counties. Gruters has not accepted.

In its endorsement of Kirschner, The Bradenton Times wrote that her WFLA-8 interview and a primary-season forum showed she “would not be taken seriously as a candidate” if not for her husband’s position as RNC Chair.

Get involved

How can I volunteer for Kelly Kirschner?

Sign up at kellykirschner.com/volunteer or find events on Mobilize. Volunteers canvass, phone bank, text bank, write postcards, host events and take yard signs.

How can I donate to Kelly Kirschner’s campaign?

Donate through ActBlue. The campaign is powered by grassroots donors, not corporate PACs.

How do I contact the Kelly Kirschner campaign?

Write to Kelly Kirschner for Congress, 76 4th St N, #727, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, or email kelly@kellykirschner.com. Follow Kelly on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

When is the election?

The general election for Florida’s 16th Congressional District is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Check registration, early voting and vote-by-mail details with your county Supervisor of Elections or at vote.gov.

Last updated – October 25, 2026