U.S. House, District 16
Represents Florida's 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives; votes on federal laws and spending. Term: 2 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Open seat (Rep. Vern Buchanan retiring). Roster from post-primary reporting by Florida Politics, Florida's Voice, Spectrum News 13 and a Yahoo/Herald-Tribune story that names Republican Sydney Gruters, Democrat Kelly Kirschner and independent (NPA) Mark Davis as the November candidates.
Candidates
Sydney Gruters
Sydney Gruters is the wife of Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters and previously worked as district director for U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (2019-2023); she has also cited work at foundations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She announced for the open 16th District seat after Rep. Vern Buchanan said he w…
Kelly Kirschner
Kelly Kirschner served on the Sarasota City Commission and as mayor of Sarasota, worked in higher-education leadership at Eckerd College, and co-founded the nonprofit UnidosNow, which he says has helped more than 1,000 first-generation students earn scholarships. He entered the open CD 16 race in May 2026 and won the …
Mark Davis
Mark Davis served in the U.S. Air Force from 2005 to 2013 and works as a business owner; Ballotpedia lists a high-school diploma from Western High School. He qualified as a no-party-affiliation candidate for the open 16th District and says he is running to offer a moderate, fiscally responsible alternative. Local outl…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Sydney Gruters Republican | Kelly Kirschner Democratic | Mark Davis No Party Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Gruters says she will fight rising prices 'with conservative solutions that help families keep more of what they earn' and told WSLR that controlling inflation comes down to balancing the federal budget. | Leans disagree· stated position Kirschner says billionaires, lobbyists and corporations 'have treated Congress like a vending machine' with the result that ordinary people 'pay more for groceries, prescriptions and rent while they pay less in taxes'; he has not made tax cuts a priority. | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Leans agree· stated position Lists 'a secure border' among six legislative priorities and says she will 'work with President Trump and ICE to keep our families safe from violent criminals entering our country illegally.' No statement on large-scale deportation beyond people with criminal records was found. | Leans disagree· stated position Kirschner argues the district's economy was built on immigrant labor and that politicians such as Rick Scott and Donald Trump made that population 'a political target'; he cites CBO estimates that the U.S. needs 1.2-1.5 million new immigrants a year for economic growth and Social Security/Medicare solvency. He co-founded an immigrant-integration nonprofit. No statement on specific enforcement measures was found. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Leans disagree· stated position Gruters said she would 'defend the unborn' in Congress and was endorsed by the Faith & Freedom Coalition of Florida, which cited her opposition to abortion. Florida Politics reported she did not answer a conservative questionnaire's specific questions on when abortion should be allowed, so her position on Florida's six-week law is not documented. | No public position found | No public position found |
| GunsGun laws should be stricter (keep the red-flag law and the age-21 purchase rule; expand background checks) rather than looser (permitless or open carry, lower purchase age). | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Kirschner says he is running to 'defend health care': protecting patients with pre-existing conditions, restoring cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, and expanding access to affordable health care. | No public position found |
| Social Security & MedicareSocial Security and Medicare benefits must be protected from any cuts, even if that requires more revenue. | Leans agree· stated position Campaign site says she will 'protect Social Security and Medicare so seniors and those who served can retire with security.' No statement on how to finance the programs was found. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Campaign materials prioritize water-quality protection and addressing 'unchecked development'; endorsed by the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida. | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Energy & utilitiesGovernment should promote renewable energy and tighten oversight of utility rate increases, even at the expense of fossil-fuel production. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Tariffs & tradeTariffs on imported goods are good for the American economy. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| UkraineThe U.S. should continue military aid to Ukraine. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | Leans agree· stated position Gruters was endorsed by President Trump in the primary and says she will work with President Trump and ICE on border enforcement; her husband, Joe Gruters, chairs the Republican National Committee. | Leans disagree· stated position Says working families 'were promised relief eighteen months ago but instead got higher rent, higher insurance, higher gasoline, and higher grocery bills,' and criticizes Donald Trump and Rick Scott for targeting immigrants. | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | Leans agree· stated position Says she will 'strengthen veterans' benefits'; lists seniors and veterans among her six legislative priorities. | No public position found | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
Sydney GrutersMark DavisHow the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Gruters | not enough data | 1.00 (3 statements) |
| Kelly Kirschner | -1.33 (3 statements) | -1.00 (3 statements) |
| Mark Davis | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Sydney Gruters
- Balanced federal budget — Says tackling inflation 'came down to balancing the budget' and cites her budget experience at foundations and the USDA.
- Election security — Names election security as one of six legislative priorities.
- Constituent service — Told WSLR every constituent will have access to her and her staff, citing seniors needing help with Social Security.
- Cost of living and inflation — Lists cost of living and inflation as top priorities, pledging 'conservative solutions' to rising prices.
Kelly Kirschner
- Campaign-finance reform / no corporate PAC money — Says he takes no corporate PAC contributions and wants to end the influence of billionaires and lobbyists on Congress.
- War powers — Calls for an end to the 'blank check' era of foreign wars and pledges to hold Congress to its constitutional duty to declare war.
- FEMA funding and hurricane relief — Platform calls for a fully funded FEMA for hurricane relief.
- National catastrophic reinsurance fund — Proposes a federal catastrophic natural-disaster reinsurance fund to stabilize property-insurance markets.
Mark Davis
- Moderate, nonpartisan alternative — Says he is running as an independent to offer a moderate alternative, emphasizing fiscal responsibility and nonpartisan problem-solving.Sources: Mark Davis (Florida) - Ballotpedia