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July 12, 2026 · Website
Kirschner Adds Grassroots Donors Nearly 3x Faster Than Gruters as National Democrats Put FL-16 on the Map to Retake the House
548 donors in seven weeks, 173 more than the Republican frontrunner has gathered in nearly twice the time
SARASOTA, FL | The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has named Florida’s 16th Congressional District one of its 46 “Districts in Play” for 2026: the national battlefield Democrats are contesting on offense in a cycle where a net gain of just three seats returns the House majority. FL-16 was one of only two Florida districts added, and the committee simultaneously dropped one from the same list.
A packed house at our St. Petersburg campaign kickoff
This district was drawn by the Republican leadership—in just 3 days—to settle an election in advance of a vote. It isn’t settled.
The campaign of Democrat Kelly Kirschner announced that its second-quarter FEC filing will show 548 donors and $223,906 raised in just seven weeks.
Republican frontrunner Sydney Gruters, who entered the race on April 2, roughly six weeks before Kirschner, has reported just over 375 individual donors in nearly twice the time.
Kirschner is adding more than 75 grassroots donors a week. Gruters is adding fewer than 30.
“The DCCC didn’t put this district in play. The people of this district did,” said Kirschner. “Washington noticed because 548 of our neighbors made it impossible not to. This race isn’t going to be decided by who has the most powerful friends. It’s going to be decided by who actually has the community with them.”
A Seat Built to Be Handed Over – settled in advance of a Vote.
The district Gruters is running in did not exist a year ago. It was assembled in three days.
The new FL-16 splits St. Petersburg, carves up three counties, and joins dense urban neighborhoods to rural communities an hour inland. It was not drawn around any community that actually exists here.
The candidate was settled in advance too. The people who redrew this district also picked who should hold it, and they did it before anyone here got a say. She announced for CD 16 while the map was still a proposal, before it was law. Party leaders in Washington lined up behind her. She is married to Joe Gruters, Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Her money confirms the pattern. According to her campaign’s own public announcement, Gruters’ total came from just 375 donors – an average contribution of about $2,560 against a federal maximum of $3,500 per election.
Kirschner’s 548 individual donors (Kelly doesn’t take corporate PAC money) gave an average of about $408: teachers, retirees, small-business owners, and neighbors across Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties.
Supporters gathered at Mixon’s Fruit Farm for Manatee County kickoff
“She’s got the bigger checks. We’ve got the bigger movement,” Kirschner said. “They sliced this district into pieces without once asking the people who live in it, and then they picked who should have it. Today, five hundred and forty-eight neighbors, in just seven weeks, have now told them this seat isn’t anyone’s to hand out. Most of them gave what they could spare, not what the law allowed. That’s the movement that wins this seat.”
Building the Coalition
Kirschner’s second-quarter numbers follow kickoff events in St. Petersburg, Manatee County, and Gulfport, with over 500 in attendance, and the launch of the campaign’s vote-by-mail program.
Local leaders hosted a kick-off party in Gulfport
Kelly has been endorsed by nearly 20 current and former elected officials from both parties, spanning federal, state, and local government across Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties, along with a Nobel laureate, multiple retired US ambassadors, the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, the Florida AFL-CIO, and the West Central Florida Labor Council—retirees and people who are responsible for fixing potholes, teaching our kids, working construction, or caring for our seniors.
“I have known and worked with Kelly for nearly twenty years,” said former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, one of Kirschner’s earliest endorsers. “He has a proven record of making government work for the people it represents, solving problems for our families, seniors, and communities.“
FL-16 is a new district, portions of which were part of retiring Republican Vern Buchanan’s seat. DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said Thursday that Florida voters are “fed up with Republicans’ broken promises while families struggle under skyrocketing insurance premiums, rising housing costs, and higher utility bills.”
This is not the first time Kirschner has faced a Gruters-backed opponent. He won his only other political contest, for the Sarasota City Commission, by a 75%-to-25% margin against a candidate backed by the Gruters’ political operation, despite being significantly outspent.
“They’ve got Washington. We’ve got the district,” Kirschner said. It’s time the Congressperson from D-16 actually represents the needs of those who live here. “Let’s Fix This.”
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About Kelly Kirschner
Kelly Kirschner is a third-generation Floridian, former Sarasota Mayor and Commissioner, Returned Peace Corps volunteer (Guatemala), former Vice President & Dean of Executive & Continuing Education at Eckerd College, and co-founder of area non-profit, UnidosNow. He is running for Florida’s 16th Congressional District on a platform of lowering costs and putting constituents ahead of special interests.
The post Kirschner Adds Grassroots Donors Nearly 3x Faster Than Gruters as National Democrats Put FL-16 on the Map to Retake the House first appeared on Kelly Kirschner for U.S. Congress - FL 16.