Three Candidates, One New Congressional District: What Lakewood Ranch Voters Need to Know Before Nov. 3

Every registered voter in Lakewood Ranch now falls inside a newly drawn congressional district, and the choice of who represents that district in Washington comes down to three names on the Nov. 3 ballot. Redistricting has placed all of Manatee County, Lakewood Ranch included, inside Florida's redrawn 16th Congressional District, replacing retiring U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, who has held the seat since 2007.

The new map, approved by the Florida Legislature and signed into law in May, stretches across all of Manatee, DeSoto and Hardee counties plus parts of Pinellas, Sarasota and Polk counties. Buchanan announced his retirement in January.

Who's on the ballot

Republican Sydney Gruters won the Aug. 18 primary outright, taking about 63.5% of the vote. She's a former aide to Buchanan who served as Florida's USDA rural development director during President Trump's first term and later led the New College Foundation. Trump endorsed her in March. She's also married to Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters. Her campaign centers on cutting taxes and regulations, border security, lowering the cost of living, and support for veterans.

Democrat Kelly Kirschner, a former Sarasota city commissioner and mayor, won his primary with about 43% of the vote against four challengers. A Cardinal Mooney High School graduate with degrees from Georgetown and nearly four years in the Peace Corps in Guatemala, Kirschner is campaigning on lowering costs, health care, affordable housing and protecting the Gulf Coast. He's picked up crossover support from several local Republicans, including Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse, former GOP U.S. Rep. Dan Miller, Longboat Key Town Commissioner B.J. Bishop and Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth.

Mark Davis, 42, is running with no party affiliation. He describes himself as an Air Force veteran and business owner and has built a sizable social media following, with more than 105,000 Instagram followers as of late July. Davis was arrested in late July on an obstruction charge without violence during a welfare check at his Parrish home and released the same day on a $500 bond. He has said the arrest followed repeated false reports and threats made against him during the campaign and that he intends to stay in the race. The status of that charge has not been made public.

All three appeared together at a virtual candidate forum on Sept. 25, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Manatee County alongside the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area and moderated by veteran journalist Trevor Pettiford. At the forum, Gruters pointed to two decades in public service as her qualification for the job, while Kirschner said voter frustration over high prices, and its ties to politics and corruption, is what pushed him to run.

Key dates for Lakewood Ranch voters

Lakewood Ranch residents can cast an early ballot at the Lakewood Ranch Library on Rangeland Parkway or at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, along with any other early voting site in Manatee County. Voters aren't tied to their home precinct during the early voting window and can use whichever site is convenient.

Mail ballots are already moving. Neighboring Sarasota County has sent out more than 77,000 vote-by-mail ballots ahead of the election. Manatee County voters who want a mail ballot, or who need to check their registration status, can look up details directly through the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections.

Whether the Sept. 25 forum turns out to be the only time voters hear all three candidates answer questions side by side remains to be seen. No additional joint appearances had been scheduled as of late September, leaving mail ballots, early voting and the candidates' own campaign events as the main ways local voters will get to know their choices before Nov. 3.

For more on how this and other decisions affect daily life here, visit the Lakewood Ranch Community Website, or head over to our Community Forum to join the conversation about the race. You can also find more government and politics coverage and local news updates as the election approaches.

Header photo: Mark Collins / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)