Vern Buchanan
RDefeatedIncumbentFEC H6FL13148
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Raised this cycle$933K
Cash on hand: $936K
2026 race
FL-16 — U.S. House
3 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Vern Buchanan.
Read the record. Not the rhetoric.
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
Kelly KirschnerWon43.8%
- DTamika LylesDefeated19.4%
- DJonathan HarrisDefeated
- DGlenn Keith PearsonDefeated
- DJan SchneiderDefeated
Republican primary · Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Sydney GrutersWon65.6%
- RJason Edward SpeirDefeated19.9%
- REdward Peter PopeDefeated14.5%
Currently held by
Vern Buchanan (R) — not seeking re-election in 2026. They've publicly announced their retirement; their committee is still on the FEC's 2026 roster for routine compliance, but this is effectively an open seat.
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
$6.4M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Sydney Gruters
RChallengerFEC H6FL16141
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Raised this cycle$1.6M
Cash on hand: $252K
Kelly Kirschner
DChallengerFEC H6FL16158
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Raised this cycle$876K
Cash on hand: $261K
Mark Davis
IChallengerFEC H6FL06365
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Raised this cycle$67K
Cash on hand: $2K
6 defeated candidates — show
Tamika Lyles
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6FL16125
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Raised this cycle$122K
Cash on hand: $0
Jonathan Harris
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6FL16117
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Raised this cycle$86K
Cash on hand: $29K
Jan Schneider
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H4FL16161
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Raised this cycle$62K
Cash on hand: $75K
Glenn Keith Pearson
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6FL16109
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Raised this cycle$51K
Cash on hand: −$870
Edward Peter Pope
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6FL16133
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Raised this cycle$49K
Cash on hand: $27K
Jason Edward Speir
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H4FL16179
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Raised this cycle$45K
Cash on hand: $1K
Local signal
Early read on FL-16 — 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.
Sydney Gruterslimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
Kelly Kirschnermixed
0 pos2 neutral0 neg2 articles
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
$6.4M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$3.9M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$2.5M
$1.6M for · $860K against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sydney Gruters(R) + CONSERVATIVES FOR AMERICAN EXCELLENCE INC. $1.0M + DEFEND AMERICAN JOBS $502K + WFW ACTION FUND INC $93K | $1.6M | $1.6M | — | $3.3M |
Kelly Kirschner(D) + SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION $10 | $876K | $10 | — | $876K |
Mark Davis | $67K | — | — | $67K |
7 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vern Buchanan(R)incumbentdefeated | $933K | — | — | $933K |
Tamika Lyles(D)defeated | $122K | — | — | $122K |
Jonathan Harris(D)defeated | $86K | — | — | $86K |
Jan Schneider(D)defeated | $62K | — | — | $62K |
Glenn Keith Pearson(D)defeated | $51K | — | — | $51K |
Edward Peter Pope(R)defeated | $49K | — | — | $49K |
Jason Edward Speir(R)defeated − CONSERVATIVES FOR AMERICAN EXCELLENCE INC. $860K | $45K | — | $860K | −$815K |
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.
Sydney Gruters(R)89% in-state · $1.0M itemized
$924K in-state$119K out-of-state
Kelly Kirschner(D)93% in-state · $261K itemized
$242K in-state$18K out-of-state
Mark Davis39% in-state · $8K itemized
$3K in-state$5K out-of-state
6 defeated candidates — show
Vern Buchanan(R)defeated67% in-state · $343K itemized
$228K in-state$115K out-of-state
Tamika Lyles(D)defeated26% in-state · $97K itemized
$25K in-state$72K out-of-state
Jonathan Harris(D)defeated79% in-state · $12K itemized
$9K in-state$3K out-of-state
Jan Schneider(D)defeated57% in-state · $17K itemized
$10K in-state$7K out-of-state
Glenn Keith Pearson(D)defeated84% in-state · $30K itemized
$25K in-state$5K out-of-state
Jason Edward Speir(R)defeated77% in-state · $40K itemized
$30K in-state$9K 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 | Gruters | Kirschner | Davis | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Immigrationcontested The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | |||
Veterans The VA should cover more veterans and more health conditions. | — | |||
Economy Reducing the national debt should be a higher priority than new spending. | — | |||
Economy Tariffs on foreign goods should be used to protect American jobs. | — | |||
Education Parents should be able to use public funds — through vouchers — to send their kids to private or charter schools. | — | |||
Environment Government environmental reviews for energy and infrastructure projects should move faster, even if it means fewer reviews. | — | |||
Healthcare Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. | — | |||
Housing The government should spend more building affordable housing. | — | |||
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. | — | |||
Taxes People making over $400,000 a year should pay higher taxes. | — | |||
Taxes Corporate taxes should be lower. | — | |||
Trade Presidents should be able to impose broad tariffs unilaterally under emergency powers (IEEPA-style authority). | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
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.