Florida — 16th District

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Opposes price gouging and billionaire tax breaks

Kirschner pledges to lower living costs by targeting corporate price gouging among utility, oil, and grocery giants. He advocates eliminating tax breaks for billionaires and corporations while investing in affordable alternative energy to reduce household utility bills.

• End price gouging by oil, electric utility, and grocery corporations
• Eliminate tax loopholes for billionaires and corporations to lower national debt
• Invest in affordable alternative energy to reduce electric utility bills
• Stop Wall Street firms from purchasing single-family homes and gouging renters

“When oil companies post record profits while we’re struggling to pay for gas, that’s not the market — it’s a rigged game.”

“Tear up the tax breaks that let billionaires pay less than we do.”

R Republican Sydney Gruters

Supports cutting taxes and deregulation

Gruters promises to combat rising costs and inflation through conservative policy solutions. Her platform centers on cutting taxes and regulations so families can keep more of their earnings.

• Cut taxes for working families
• Reduce government regulations to lower everyday costs
• Fight inflation through conservative economic policies

“President Trump trusts me to work to lower the cost of living, cut taxes and regulations, and protect affordability for Southwest Florida families!”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports restoring Medicare and Medicaid funding

Kirschner strongly opposes recent congressional cuts to Medicaid and Medicare Part D benefits, promising to restore lost funding for district residents. He advocates protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions and allowing government negotiation to reduce prescription drug costs.

• Restore federal funding cuts to Medicaid and Medicare
• Protect healthcare coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions
• Allow government negotiation to lower prescription drug prices

“One in three people in this district depend on Medicaid or Medicare.”

“Restore every cut.”

R Republican Sydney Gruters

Supports protecting Medicare and Social Security

Gruters pledges to protect Medicare and Social Security so seniors can retire securely. She frames entitlement protection as essential for senior retirement peace of mind.

• Protect Social Security benefits for seniors
• Protect Medicare coverage for retirees

“Sydney will strengthen veterans’ benefits and protect Social Security and Medicare so seniors and those who served can retire with security and peace of mind.”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports restricting Wall Street home purchases and overdevelopment

Kirschner proposes expanding affordable housing by blocking Wall Street firms from purchasing single-family residential homes. He also calls for reforming stormwater infrastructure and ending overdevelopment that drives local flooding and polluted runoff.

• Expand affordable housing availability
• Prohibit Wall Street firms from buying single-family homes
• Fix stormwater systems to prevent flooding and runoff from overdevelopment

“Expand affordable housing and stop Wall Street from buying up single-family homes and gouging renters.”

R Republican Sydney Gruters

Supports curbing overdevelopment for home affordability

Gruters advocates curbing overdevelopment across the region to preserve local quality of life. She connects development limits to keeping homeownership affordable for working families.

• Curb regional overdevelopment
• Keep homeownership affordable for working families

“Sydney will fight to curb overdevelopment and keep homeownership within reach for working families.”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports fully funding VA services

Kirschner emphasizes fulfilling promises to military veterans by expanding VA capabilities and services. He specifically calls for fully staffing VA clinics and restoring 24/7 operations for the Veterans Crisis Line.

• Fully staff VA healthcare clinics
• Restore Veterans Crisis Line to full 24/7 availability
• Protect veterans' healthcare and educational opportunities

“Fully staff VA clinics.”

“Restore the Veterans Crisis Line to full 24/7 operation.”

R Republican Sydney Gruters

Supports strengthening veterans' benefits

Gruters commits to strengthening benefits for military veterans as part of her platform for seniors and retirees. She emphasizes ensuring veterans can retire with financial security and peace of mind.

• Strengthen healthcare and retirement benefits for veterans
• Provide security for former service members

“Sydney will strengthen veterans’ benefits and protect Social Security and Medicare so seniors and those who served can retire with security and peace of mind.”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports campaign finance reform and ethics rules

Kirschner highlights his record of leading local campaign finance reform in Sarasota to reduce big money in politics. He pledges to combat lobbyist dominance, address corruption in Washington, and increase representative transparency.

• Pass strict campaign finance reforms to curb corporate PAC influence
• Increase transparency through regular community town halls
• End lobbyist control over legislative priorities

“I led the passage of Florida's strongest local campaign finance reforms (approved by more than 80% of the electorate), pushed FPL for unprecedented resident concessions, and clawed back millions for taxpayers by exposing a sweetheart lease at Marina Jacks.”

R Republican Sydney Gruters

Supports election security measures

Gruters prioritizes election security as a key pillar of her democratic reform agenda. She aligns with Donald Trump to advocate policies aimed at ensuring election integrity.

• Enhance election security measures
• Partner with Donald Trump on election integrity efforts

“Sydney is ready to fight for Democracy and stand with President Trump to ensure our elections are secure.”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports fully funding FEMA and insurance backstops

Kirschner calls for full federal funding for FEMA to ensure rapid hurricane response along the Gulf Coast. He advocates creating a federal insurance backstop, holding insurance companies accountable for rate hikes, and ensuring disaster funds reach all communities equitably.

• Fully fund FEMA for proactive hurricane response
• Establish an insurance backstop to lower property and flood premiums
• Hold insurance companies accountable for lobbying against rate regulation

“When insurance companies raise your premiums while lobbying Congress to leave them alone, that’s not business; that’s corruption with a business license.”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports coastal conservation and banning offshore drilling

Kirschner focuses on protecting Gulf Coast ecosystems by banning offshore oil drilling, prohibiting open-water fish farming, and enforcing the Clean Water Act. He also advocates holding phosphate companies accountable, expanding public conservation lands, and halting AI data centers that threaten local water aquifers.

• Prohibit offshore drilling and open-water fish farming
• Hold phosphate companies accountable for toxic waste
• Pause AI hyperscale data centers until aquifer protection is guaranteed
• Expand public conservation land acquisition

“Protect Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and our coastline by prohibiting offshore drilling, stopping open-water fish farming, and enforcing the Clean Water Act.”

R Republican Sydney Gruters

Supports strict border enforcement with ICE

Gruters emphasizes securing the southern border as a top priority for public safety. She promises to collaborate with Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove violent criminal illegal immigrants.

• Partner with Donald Trump and ICE to secure the border
• Focus border enforcement on violent criminal offenders who entered illegally

“Sydney will work with President Trump and ICE to keep our families safe from violent criminals entering our country illegally.”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports restoring congressional war declaration authority

Kirschner demands that Congress reassert its constitutional authority over military conflict declarations. He criticizes unbudgeted 'wars of choice' that cost American lives and taxpayers billions without full congressional debate.

• Require formal Congressional debate and declaration for foreign military actions
• End blank-check spending on unbudgeted foreign wars of choice
• Uphold Article I constitutional war powers

“Under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war.”

D Democratic Kelly Kirschner

Supports workforce education and public institution funding

Kirschner advocates supporting workforce training, nursing, teacher preparation, and affordable four-year degree programs. He opposes federal funding policies that incentivize states to dismantle public education institutions for political reasons.

• Expand apprenticeships, teacher prep, and affordable four-year degree pathways
• Oppose federal grants that reward states for politicizing or dismantling public institutions

“Restore the workforce opportunities our Manasota region lost by supporting nursing, teacher preparation, veterans’ education, workforce training, apprenticeships, and affordable four-year degree pathways.”