With Trump’s endorsement, she’s running against Ed Pope and Eddie Speir in the Republican primary.
By Nic Steinig
Original Air Date: August 7, 2026
Host: Florida District 16 is heavily gerrymandered, blending Gulf Coast communities with inland agricultural areas and expanding suburban neighborhoods. Despite the recent redistricting that favors Republicans, Democrats consider this district to be attainable. With the August 18 primary fast approaching, we bring you our profile of Republican candidate Sydney Gruters. Nic Steinig takes a look at her platform and campaign finances.
Nic Steinig: Since the start of the latest election cycle, Sydney Gruters has received institutional support from the overwhelming consensus of the Republican establishment for her campaign to become a U.S. congresswoman.
Sydney Gruters | Photo: Nic Steinig
She has also raised over $1 million in campaign contributions, dwarfing her competitors’ fundraising by many multiples, and has been generously supported by Super PACs, which so far have contributed an additional over $1.5 million in media advertisements, mailers and other forms of political support for her campaign.
Notably, Sydney Gruters is the wife of RNC Chair Joe Gruters, who pulls the levers for the Republican Party nationwide. President Donald Trump endorsed Gruters before she had formally announced through a social media post on Truth Social in March.
Sydney formalized her run less than a month later and has continued to collect prominent endorsements from Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Senator Rick Scott, all of the county Sheriffs encompassing District 16 and many more.
Her endorsement page also recently added the retiring congressman who has represented District 16 for nearly 20 years, Vern Buchanan, to the list—despite no observable public announcement by Buchanan.
Trump circled back to offer a more formal endorsement of Gruters’ campaign at the end of last month, on July 30, when Trump filmed a video of the endorsement from the Oval Office.
Donald Trump: A very special hello to Florida. I’m asking you to get out and vote for Sydney Gruters. I know her husband Joe—fantastic man. Sydney will fight tirelessly to create jobs, cut taxes, slash regulations and create the greatest economy that the world has ever seen.
NS: Trump’s endorsement has been front and center in Gruters’ campaign strategy. For most of the campaign, Gruters appeared set to coast on that endorsement and avoided attending public events or conducting campaign interviews.
Her campaign’s political platform was displayed on her website through a group of titled banners, with a single sentence placed below each. These emphasized six legislative priorities: cost-of-living, a secure border, inflation, election security, seniors and veterans and housing costs.
With her opponents pushing for a head-to-head public engagement, Gruters attended a debate between the candidates last month on July 31.
Speaking to the public for the first time, Gruters described her first priority once elected in this way:
From left to right: Sydney Gruters, Ed Pope and Eddie Speir | Photo: Nic Steinig
Sydney Gruters: Day one, my number one priority will be setting up my global district offices and making sure that the community has the resources that this community has had under the leadership of Congressman Buchanan for the last 20 years.
When a senior calls and needs help with their Social Security, they don’t care that there is a new representative. Every constituent will have access to myself and my staff.
NS: Gruters was also able to highlight parts of her campaign platform during the debate, including affordable housing.
SG: One of the things I support the most is preventing these huge investors from coming in and buying these starter homes. We bought our first home 20-plus years ago. There is no way we could have competed with a big firm that’s paying cash.
NS: Immediately after the debate, WSLR spoke with Gruters in an interview. We asked her to elaborate on how she plans to tackle inflation, and she said it came down to balancing the budget.
SG: Absolutely. You have to balance the budget. 49 of the 50 states do it. It’s not impossible. I have experience doing that at foundations and when I spent time at the USDA, and it’s possible. You have to have somebody that’s willing to make hard choices and make cuts. We cannot continue spending the way that we’re spending, and that’s why we have this high inflation.
NS: Gruters has a twenty-year history serving in various public office roles and emphasized her background and standing record as the basis for her support from Republican leadership, an argument which acts as a rebuff to the nepotism claims her opponents have levied against her.
From 2007 to 2023, she worked under two congressmen and was briefly the USDA State Director.
Former New College Vice President of Advancement Sydney Gruters – now congressional candidate – and Richard Corcoran
Her last and most controversial appointment was to act as the Executive Director of the New College Foundation, a position she held from 2023 until the start of her campaign run this year. This appointment came at the same time as Governor DeSantis’s so-called hostile takeover of New College, a political project intended to transform the college’s makeup to align with a conservative vision for higher education. Former GOP House Speaker Richard Corcoran was appointed president, and the college began dismantling the Gender Studies program, among other changes.
During Gruters’ tenure, foundation board members alleged donor-restricted funds were mishandled and routed to pay Corcoran’s million-dollar salary. Critics were purged from the board. A demand letter from former board members was issued but never resulted in a lawsuit.
The one lawsuit that stuck came from the Lentini family, who say their $156,000 diversity donation went unused after the board dismantled DEI and the foundation refused to return it.
Her most aggressive opponent has been Eddie Speir, who repeatedly referred to Gruters as “developer-owned” and tied to “dark money.”
At the debate, Gruters addressed this claim.
SG: I think you’re going to hear a lot about all of my donors, many of whom are in this room today. Thank you for your support.
What you’re not going to hear is where do you stand on the issue as it relates to inflation, and dealing with the cost of living that our families, our seniors and our small businesses are struggling with.
NS: She directly responded to Speirs’ allegation that her legislative decisions will be compromised by her donor network in our interview with her.
SG: 85% of our donors are right here in southwest Florida. They’re not in Washington, D.C., and I make no apologies about the large support that we have. If people want to go through and analyze, maybe they should spend their time working on their own fundraising.
NS: WSLR examined Gruters’ FEC filings, and three things stand out.
First, Joe Gruters’ state PAC routed $250,000 to the Conservatives for American Excellence Inc, which then spent $1 million on Sydney Gruters’ campaign.
A transfer with just one layer of separation does little to counter claims that Joe Gruters’ RNC chairmanship is tilting the race.
Second, while most individual donors are Floridians, the million dollars raised came from just 400 donors averaging $2,500 each. That speaks to powerful networks, not grassroots support.
Third, she received $500,000 from a super PAC lobbying for cryptocurrency which is actively seeking to pass legislation that changes regulation.
The primary will be held August 18. Both Speir and Pope will face an uphill battle to overcome the large financial backing Gruters has assembled with her Trump endorsement.
While an insurgent victory is always possible, Gruters’ camp is looking formidable.
Reporting for WSLR News, Nic Steinig.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.