John H. Rutherford
RIncumbentFEC H6FL04105
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Raised this cycle$914K
Cash on hand: $240K
2026 race
FL-05 — U.S. House
2 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: John H. Rutherford.
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See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Democratic primary · Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Rachel GrageWon65.1%
- DAlexander HazenDefeated21.6%
- DMark Peter HeggestadDefeated13.3%
Republican primary · Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Called by AP; FL DOS official results
John H. RutherfordWon67.7%
- RMark KayeDefeated32.3%
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$1.5M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Rachel Grage
DChallengerFEC H6FL05250
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Raised this cycle$448K
Cash on hand: $66K
3 defeated candidates — show
Mark Peter Heggestad
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6FL05235
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Raised this cycle$54K
Cash on hand: $589
Mark Kaye
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6FL05201
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Raised this cycle$35K
Cash on hand: $156
Alexander Hazen
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6FL05284
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Raised this cycle$22K
Cash on hand: $2K
Local signal
Early read on FL-05 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
John H. Rutherfordlimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
Rachel Gragelimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$1.5M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$1.5M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$250
$250 for · $0 against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John H. Rutherford(R)incumbent + RNJ 2 SAVE AMERICA T/A RNJ 2 SA $250 | $914K | $250 | — | $914K |
Rachel Grage(D) | $448K | — | — | $448K |
3 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Peter Heggestad(D)defeated | $54K | — | — | $54K |
Mark Kaye(R)defeated | $35K | — | — | $35K |
Alexander Hazen(D)defeated | $22K | — | — | $22K |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside FL versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
John H. Rutherford(R)44% in-state · $265K itemized
$116K in-state$149K out-of-state
Rachel Grage(D)95% in-state · $209K itemized
$199K in-state$10K out-of-state
3 defeated candidates — show
Mark Peter Heggestad(D)defeated85% in-state · $15K itemized
$13K in-state$2K out-of-state
Mark Kaye(R)defeated88% in-state · $17K itemized
$15K in-state$2K out-of-state
Alexander Hazen(D)defeated38% in-state · $9K itemized
$3K in-state$6K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Rutherford | Grage | You |
|---|---|---|---|
Immigration The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | ||
Abortion Access to contraception should be guaranteed by federal law in all states (Right to Contraception Act). | — | ||
Foreign Policy The U.S. should spend more on the military. | — | ||
Healthcare Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. | — | ||
Healthcare Enhanced ACA premium subsidies should be made permanent at expanded levels. | — | ||
Healthcare Federal enforcement of mental-health insurance parity (equal coverage to medical care) should be strengthened. | — | ||
Governance & Other Outside political spending — from PACs and super PACs — should be limited more strictly. | — | ||
Social Security Future workers should have to wait longer to collect full Social Security. | — | ||
Technology There should be a national law protecting personal data online. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.