Gruters seeks Florida's 16th Congressional District seat

Sydney Gruters, a Republican, is running for Florida's 16th Congressional District in the Nov. 3 general election. She won the GOP primary on Aug. 18 with over 63% of the vote, defeating Eddie Speir and Ed Pope, according to Florida Politics.

Kelly Kirschner (Democratic) and Mark Davis (No Party Preference) are also running.

Asked why she is running, Gruters said in our candidate questionnaire: "When Congressman Buchanan announced his retirement, I took time, prayed on it, and talked it through with my family … I asked myself how I could tell my children to step up when it matters if I didn't do it myself."

Candidate information

Age: 44 when she launched her campaign, according to Politico

Family: "I'm a native Floridian. My husband Joe and I live in Sarasota with our three children, ages 14, 12, and 11," Gruters said in our questionnaire. Her husband, Joe Gruters, "serves in the Florida Senate and as Chairman of the Republican National Committee," she said.

Education: "University of Florida, Dual Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Criminology," she said in our questionnaire.

Party: Republican

Experience and public service

She has never held elected office.

Describing her work history in our questionnaire, Gruters said: "Most recently, I served as Vice President of Advancement and Executive Director of the New College Foundation, where the endowment posted the nation's top investment returns for the one- and three-year periods and assets grew nearly 40%."

She continued: "From 2019 to 2023, I was District Director for Congressman Greg Steube, serving constituents across nine counties. From 2017 to 2019, I served as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, overseeing a $2 billion portfolio, more than 40 federal programs, nine offices, and about 85 staff."

Of that role, she said in a separate answer: "In 2017, President Trump appointed me State Director for USDA Rural Development for Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands."

Gruters also said she "spent a decade, from 2007 to 2017, in Congressman Vern Buchanan's Washington and Manatee County offices, helping families, veterans, seniors, and small businesses navigate the federal government." She began as a congressional staffer in 2004, according to Florida Politics.

On the issues

Cost of living: Gruters identified "lowering the cost of living" as her top issue. "Families in Southwest Florida are working harder than ever and still falling behind. They're not failing; Washington is failing them," she said. She said she would "fight to protect the Working Families Tax Cuts, cut wasteful spending, and pass a Balanced Budget Amendment so Washington lives within its means … And I'll fight the corruption that keeps anyone from fixing it, with a full ban on congressional stock trading, including spouses, and term limits."

Affordability: "Washington doesn't have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem," Gruters said. She supports the ROAD to Housing Act's "limits on large investors buying up starter homes." On insurance, she said, "we need to invest in storm resilience and protect the flood insurance program families depend on."

Immigration: "I support securing the border and enforcing the law, starting with the criminals, cartels, and traffickers who put families at risk and bring fentanyl into our neighborhoods," Gruters said. "At the same time, we need to streamline our legal immigration system for the people following the law."

Health care: Gruters said she supports the "bipartisan Patients Deserve Price Tags Act." On Medicare, she said, "Medicare is a promise. I will protect it, and I won't support cutting benefits for current seniors or those near retirement."

Energy and environment: "I support the American Shores Protection Act to keep new drilling away from Florida's coast, because our beaches and the Gulf are our economy," Gruters said.