Sydney Gruters, RNC Chair’s Wife, To Run For U.S. House Seat In FL

SARASOTA, FL — Sydney Gruters, wife of Republican National Committee chair Joe Gruters, launched her campaign to run for Florida’s District 16 U.S. House seat, reports said.

The seat has been held by Rep. Vern Buchanan for 20 years. He announced at the end of January that he won’t seek reelection. He’ll retire as the longest-serving Republican to represent Southwest Florida.

Within five hours of announcing her candidacy, Sydney Gruters raised more than $100,000, according to Florida Politics.

“I’m deeply humbled by the overwhelming support our campaign has received in these first few hours,” the GOP candidate told the news outlet. “Southwest Florida families want conservative leadership that understands the pressure they’re under, will fight rising costs, protect affordability, and go to Washington focused on solving problems, not making them worse.”

• Also Read: U.S. House Rep. Vern Buchanan To Retire, Won’t Seek Reelection

Gruters, who lives in Sarasota with her husband, a former senator, and their children, serves as the vice president of advancement and executive director of the New College Foundation, according to the college’s website.

A week before she even announced her candidacy, she was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who urged her to run.

“Should she decide to enter this Race, Sydney Gruters has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, SYDNEY, RUN!” Trump posted on Truth Social on March 24.

She told Politico at the time that she was “deeply honored” by the president's endorsement and would be making an announcement about whether she would run “very soon.”

Prior to her current role, Gruters served as Buchanan's operations director from 2007 to 2017 and then as district director for Republican Rep. Greg Steube in District 17 from 2019 to 2023, Fox News said.

She’ll face three other candidates — John Peters, Ed Pope and Eddie Speir — in the Aug. 18 Republican primary in the District 16 race, according to the Florida Division of Elections’.

Meanwhile, four candidates, Jonathan Harris, Tamika Lyles, Glenn Pearson and Jan Schneider, are running in the Democratic primary for the same seat.

Two candidates, Mark Davis and Keith Varian, are running with no party affiliation and will face the primary winners in the Nov. 3 general election.