The gerrymandered District 16 now includes Manatee, DeSoto, Hardee and parts of Polk, Sarasota and – most importantly – Pinellas County.
By Noah Bookstein
Original Air Date: July 10, 2026
Host: The DCCC – the national Democratic fundraising arm for congressional candidates – this week declared District 16 to be “in play.” WSLR News reporter Noah Bookstein explains what that means.
Noah Bookstein: National Democrats are preparing to pump money into the race for Florida’s 16th congressional district. This week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats’ official campaign funding arm, added FL 16 to its “Districts In Play” list, the group’s roster of Republican-held seats it believes Democratic candidates can win in November. It’s one of just five Florida districts on that list.
David de la Fuente is deputy director for politics and research at Third Way, a national political think tank. He also worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. De La Fuente spoke to WSLR News about how it works.
David de la Fuente | Photo courtesy Third Way
David de la Fuente: When the DCCC places a district in their Districts In Play designation, it means that they are very likely to help the nominee to fundraise at a national level as well as consider investment such as advertising, doing voter contact, doing polling in the race and coordinating with the eventual Democratic nominee. One thing that’s important to note here—because Florida has a late primary compared to most places around the country—is districts in play can be nominee-neutral; there is an ongoing Democratic primary in Florida’s 16th district. It does not indicate that DCCC wants a specific Democratic nominee. In fact, based on how they designated this, it’s likely that they’re looking for this to play out naturally within the district.
With the DCCC adding Florida 16th to Districts In Play, they’ve actually already set up a nominee-in-waiting fundraising page, so people around the country can give money to the eventual Democratic nominee for Florida 16, and that money will automatically transfer to the nominee once they win the primary.
Screenshot via dccc.org
NB: The Democratic primary field is crowded. Five Democrats are running in FL 16 ahead of the August 18 primary: Jan Schneider, Tamika Lyles, Glenn Pearson and John Harris—and former Sarasota Mayor Kelly Kirschner.
DDLF: For the DCCC, this is like a wait-and-see moment. It’s not like Florida Seventh with Bill Dalton. They have really said, “We want it to be Dalton. We’re going to make sure it’s Dalton.” This district, they’re just waiting and seeing how the district plays out. The strategy is going to adjust post-primary. If any serious investment comes, it’s going to be coming in September, October.
NB: The pre-gerrymander District 16 elected Donald Trump by a 7% margin. But to conquer the long-time Democratic stronghold in the Tampa Bay area currently held by Democrat Kathy Castor, the governor’s mapmakers split the area around St. Petersburg and pushed tens of thousands of Democratic voters into the solidly Republican district. FL-16 now includes Manatee County, Hardee County, DeSoto County, and parts of Polk, Sarasota and Pinellas County.
For WSLR News, Noah Bookstein.
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