NO ONE OVER THE YEARS KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE SARASOTA/MANATEE POLITICAL SCENE THAN THE SARASOTA PHOENIX/NO LOCAL MEDIA "VETS" AREA POLITICANS LIKE THE SARASOTA PHOENIX
Gruters/Kirschner/Speir
THE DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGGN COMMITTEE (DCCC) BELIEVES THE FLORIDA 16TH U.S CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CAN BE FLIPPED IF GRUTERS IS CANDIDATE
Here is some news that is worth paying attention to if you are a Republican desiring to retain control of the U.S. Congress in November—the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), based in Washington, D.C., believes Florida's 16th U.S. Congressional District is winnable if Sydney Gruters is the Republican candidate..
Jeffries seeking to take control of U.S House in November
The DCCC is led by Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whose job is to determine which of the 435 congressional seats are competitive. Jeffries and the DCCC do not waste time or resources on campaigns they believe are unwinnable.
The DCCC has now sent a clear signal that should be recognized by Republicans in the 16th District, in Tallahassee, and beyond. Those whose job it is to determine which seats are competitive and worth fighting for have looked at Florida's 16th Congressional District race and moved it into the winnable column.
For months, the conventional wisdom was that this district could not be flipped by Democrats. The numbers did not appear to support that conclusion. However, it is no longer a fluke or wishful thinking for local, statewide, and national Democrats to think otherwise. The district has now received recognition from the DCCC as a competitive congressional race.
The reasons cited by the DCCC appear to be the following, and they are significant.
The inclusion of South Pinellas County in the new district changes the math. It gives the Democratic candidate elected in the August 18, 2026, Democratic primary the ability to turn out Democratic voters in large numbers—the kind of numbers that decide close races.
Gruters
The major reason local political operatives and others believe the DCCC considers the 16th Congressional District winnable is Sydney Gruters, the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate and wife of Florida State Senator and Republican National Committeeman Joe Gruters.
Joe Gruters is unpopular with a large segment of Republican America First grassroots activists, especially in Manatee County, where most Republican primary voters are located. That unpopularity has rubbed off on Sydney Gruters.
Power
Joe Gruters, as a significant leader of the Florida Republican Party, took no action while Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chairman Evan Power purged hundreds of Republican America First activists from the Manatee Republican Executive Committee (MREC) in 2024 and installed individuals favorable to multimillion-dollar "Pay-to-Play" donor Pat Neal.
Heisse/Wayman
Power, operating out of Tallahassee and without opposition from Joe Gruters, installed his handpicked MREC chairman, state committeeman, and state committeewoman, replacing the elected MREC committee leaders, Jackie Heisse and Trent Wayman.
GRUTERS REPUBLICAN OPPONENT--SPEIR
Speir
Steube
Sydney Gruters' opponent in the Republican primary is Eddie Speir, who has the strong support of the Republican America First activists dominating Manatee Republican politics, just as they support Florida District 17 U.S. Congressman Greg Steube. Speir supporters are going door to door in large numbers throughout the district promoting Speir over Gruters.
Neal
Gruters' ground campaign is virtually nonexistent, with her relying primarily on hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and endorsements from Republican establishment politicians in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., as well as endorsements from state sheriffs. The Joe Gruters PAC's, which one received a $50,000 contribution from Pat Neal, is beginning to contribute untold thousands of dollars to Sydney Gruters' campaign.
Unfortunately, as the campaign has progressed, serious accusations by political operatives from outside the 16th District have revived documented information concerning Joe Gruters' actions as a Florida state senator and RNC chairman, as previously reported by POLITICO and other media outlets.
Engels with "old school hardball" President Donald Trump political operative Roger Stone
JACOBS ENGEL'S CRITICSM OF JOE GRUTERS AND OTHER FLORIDA POLITICIANS
Jacob Engels, an "old school hardball" political operative and blogger, has publicly targeted RNC Chairman Joe Gruters in a series of online exposés and political commentaries. In one notable appearance, Engels joined a political media program where he "destroyed" Gruters alongside other GOP figures, accusing him of being part of a broader network of conservative operatives engaged in what Engels characterizes as political lawfare and scandal driven attacks.
Hyde
There are also confirmed reports from reliable sources that former Sarasota City Commissioner and former U.S. congressional candidate Martin Hyde is circulating information claiming he possesses salacious information concerning Sydney Gruters, along with text messages that he alleges support his claims. (Hyde is presently an Independent candidate for the Florida State Senate.)
State Rep. Fabian Basabe is found liable for $450K in damages in harassment case
WILL THE RECENT TALLAHASSEE SEXUAL HARASSMENT VERDICT UNRAVEL PAST COVER-UPS OF OTHER SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS?
StateRep. Fabian Basabe is found liable by jury in sexual harassment case
Articles published by the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald on July 15, 2026, reported that a Leon County jury found Florida State Rep. Fabian Basabe, R–Miami Beach, liable in a civil trial involving allegations of sexual harassment by a former aide and intern. Could that verdict become the unraveling of numerous sexual harassment allegations that have, over the years, been covered up? If so, that should unnerve Republicans such as RNC Chairman Joe Gruters.
One can rest assured, unfortunately, that if the personal life of RNC Chairman Joe Gruters becomes an issue for Sydney Gruters' campaign, third-party political operatives connected to Democratic interests—but not directly to the Democratic Party—and funded by individuals close to Democratic organizations, will publish factual or alleged salacious information concerning the sexual activities of Republican politicians.
Christian & Bridget Ziegler
Just remember the media circus surrounding the Christian and Bridget Ziegler controversy involving the private life of former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Christian Ziegler, who succeeded Joe Gruters as chairman of the RPOF.
Sydney Gruters also has an issue with voters in the 16th Congressional District because her husband, Joe Gruters, is tied directly to one of the most unpopular decisions the region has seen in years: the shutdown of the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus and the transfer of its 32 acres and buildings to New College. She served as executive director of the New College Foundation while that takeover moved forward.
Joe Gruters managed the takeover in Tallahassee. Local alumni, students, faculty, and business leaders opposed it. According to local media, it was pushed through during a special session, avoiding meaningful public debate, and it stripped jobs and educational opportunities from the region for one reason.
The reason reported was to give the small, struggling New College additional buildings and property in an attempt to camouflage the financial mismanagement and boondoggle it has become. It has been reported that New College now costs taxpayers nearly $500,000 to produce each degree—far more than any other public university in Florida, where the comparable cost ranges from roughly $49,000 to $151,000 per degree.
Gruters the New College Foundation $200,000 E.D raising funds for Corcoran's $2.1 Million yearly salary as New College President
The $80,000 Gruters assistant at New College and Vice Chairmn of SREC Alice Rothbauer campaigning for SREC Chairman Jack Brill's handpicked candidates
Sydney Gruters' problems with New College are not limited to her husband's involvement. Gruters served as executive director of the New College Foundation and was paid more than $200,000 a year to raise and manage private donations for New College. She admitted she was unqualified for the position and required an assistant, reportedly hired to train her. That assistant, who was paid more than $80,000 annually, was also reportedly found to be unqualified.
Gruters has recently been exposed as the individual who raised millions of dollars so that New College President Richard Corcoran could bypass Florida law capping state spending on his salary at $200,000.
Sunshine Law Hacks, Foundation Finances, Campus Spoils, and the Shadow Lobby of Corcoran's $1.3 million compensation package as New College president, $1.1 million is paid privately through the New College Foundation, led by Sydney Gruters.
While Corcoran controls New College's $120 million annual operating budget, he also controls the New College Foundation led by Gruters. The Foundation holds and invests approximately $57 million in assets.
Kirschner
Another issue the DCCC apparently considered significant was Gruters' likely Democratic opponent if she defeats Speir—Kelly Kirschner, who, in 2010, was considered one of the most promising young state and national political figures to emerge from Florida when he became the youngest person elected to the Sarasota City Commission and Mayor of the City of Sarasota in 2007.
Kirschner comes from a well-established and prominent local family. His father also served on the Sarasota City Commission and was executive director of the Argus Foundation.
Kirschner ended his political career in 2012 and for more than thirteen years, he served as Vice President and Dean of Executive & Continuing Education at Eckerd College. As part of his responsibilities, he spent considerable time in Cuba and became well versed in the country's ongoing political and economic situation.
That position at Eckerd was downsized last year, and Kirschner decided to return to politics and challenge the Gruters political machine. Kirschner and Joe Gruters have been political rivals ever since Kirschner defeated a Joe Gruters-managed campaign to win a seat on the Sarasota City Commission.
Jolly and Graham
The DCCC must believe that even if Kirschner does not defeat Gruters, should she defeat Speir, the well-spoken and well-connected Kirschner would be an added asset to the Democratic ticket headed by David Jolly for governor and Gwen Graham for lieutenant governor.
Former Florida Governor and U.S Senator Bob Graham
Graham is the daughter of former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. In 2018, the Democratic Party's progressive wing supported the now scandal-ridden Andrew Gillum over Graham for governor.
Jolly and Graham, together with the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, would make Kirschner an ideal congressional candidate running against the wife of RNC Chairman Joe Gruters—with all of the political baggage that accompanies the Gruters name.
Goodman
If the race becomes a Gruters-Kirschner contest, it will be extremely difficult for Sydney Gruters' political operative, Max Goodman—who previously worked as a political operative for Jolly—to continue shielding Sydney Gruters from debating Kirschner in a series of public debates.
Gruters has been able to avoid debating the more qualified Speir because neither the local nor state Republican establishment has demanded that she debate the Republican America First activist-supported candidate.
The upcoming debate between Gruters, Speir, and the Gruters "ghost candidate," Ed Pope, put together by major Gruters supporter and local Republican establishment figure Linda DeLozier Ivell, is a farce. It is a insult to the local voters that Goodman has Pope in this campaign as a Ghost candidate.
The Ivell event, approved by Gruters' political operative Goodman, will be held at Michael's On East, where Sarasota's social elite gather. The location is not even within the 16th Congressional District. The event is scheduled for July 28, 2026, shortly before the election and after vote-by-mail and early voting have already begun.
Another major reason the DCCC considers the 16th Congressional District winnable if Gruters defeats Speir is the strong likelihood that many of Speir's Republican America First grassroots supporters will simply sit on their hands in November rather than support Gruters and other like-minded establishment candidates.
It appears to be a no-brainer for local political operatives who are not involved in either campaign to recognize what many already believe—that the more qualified candidate, Speir, is another Greg Steube, enjoying overwhelming support from Republican America First grassroots activists, and should be the Republican nominee to face Democratic candidate Kelly Kirschner.
That would prevent the chairman of the RNC from becoming a major distraction—not only in the local congressional race, but also in Florida's statewide campaigns in November.
Jon Susce
The Sarasota Phoenix team is the last media guardian in the Sarasota/Manatee area and beyond laying bare for all to see how the Sarasota/ Manatee area and beyond is controlled by a UNI Party financed by millionaires and billionaires turning Florida into Paradise Lost.
The only other media guardian in the Sarasota/Manatee area and beyond laying bare for all to see is the Bradenton Times
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s usual, Jon Susce offers great insightfound nowhere else in Suncoast and State Republican politics." Kevin Wright of the Manatee Republican Liberty Caucus.