Federal · 2026 Candidate
Kelly Kirschner
Running for U.S. House District 16, District 16
Party: DemocratStatus: QualifiedFiled: Apr 30, 2026
Visit campaign website →Running against
Other 2026 candidates for U.S. House District 16, 16.
What to know
Kirschner is a former Sarasota mayor running for federal office for the first time. His platform is the most detailed of any challenger in these races, and he is one of only three federal candidates on the Tampa Bay ballot with a published data-center position.
Who's Funding This Campaign
Federal Election Commission filings for the 2026 cycle, through July 29, 2026. That is the most recent full report the FEC requires — anything raised since is not public yet. The October Quarterly report covers through September 30, 2026 and is due October 15, 2026.
Raised
$296,507
Spent
$215,769
Cash on hand
$80,738
Money the donor list doesn't show
$35,358 from small-dollar donors. Contributions under a $200 running total are not itemized, so federal law does not require their names to be disclosed at all.
Source: Federal Election Commission. Figures cover the 2026 cycle only and are rounded to whole dollars. Principal committee: Kelly Kirschner for Congress.
Positions on Key Issues
Sourced from campaign websites and public statements. These are the candidate's own claims as published, not independently verified by Activate Pinellas unless marked.
Housing
Expand affordable housing and stop Wall Street from buying up single-family homes and gouging renters.
Expand affordable housing and stop Wall Street from buying up single-family homes and gouging renters.
Source →Education
New College of Florida — ranked last in the state for cost efficiency — was just handed USF Sarasota–Manatee’s property, buildings, and debt. The nursing, teaching, and veterans programs this community built over five decades are gone.
New College of Florida — ranked last in the state for cost efficiency — was just handed USF Sarasota–Manatee’s property, buildings, and debt. The nursing, teaching, and veterans programs this community built over five decades are gone. The bill comes to you and all of us, Florida taxpayers. Press
Source →Environment
This region’s water, wetlands, and working lands have been sold off piece by piece for too long. Protect Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and our coastline by prohibiting offshore drilling, stopping open-water fish farming, and enforcing the Clean Water Act. Hold phosphate companies accountable and strengthen clean air protections, so toxic waste and dirty air don’t become the taxpayers’ cleanup bill.
If the answer isn’t the people who live here, work here, and raise their families here, it’s time to fix it. This region’s water, wetlands, and working lands have been sold off piece by piece for too long. When the algal blooms come, our families, small businesses, and tourism economy pay for someone else’s shortcut. When the next Piney Point happens, our bays absorb it, and our families foot the bill. When disaster money gets handed out, the neighborhoods with the least influence are always last in line. Protect Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and our coastline by prohibiting offshore drilling, stopping open-water fish farming, and enforcing the Clean Water Act. Hold phosphate companies accountable and strengthen clean air protections, so toxic waste and dirty air don’t become the taxpayers’ cleanup bill. Keep AI hyperscale data centers out of District 16 until they prove they won’t drain our aquifers, raise utility costs, contaminate our air, or override local control. Fix stormwater systems and stop rewarding the kind of overdevelopment that causes flooding and polluted runoff Make sure disaster and insurance dollars reach every community based on need, not zip code or political influence. 3 Build an Economy that Works for Working Families + This region’s economy has been built on sunshine and hope for too long. When the hurricanes come — and they come — there’s no cushion. When tariffs shift overnight, our small & medium-size businesses, farme
Source →Healthcare
Kelly is running for Congress to lower costs, defend health care, and bring opportunity home to the Gulf Coast.
Washington has been sold. It's time to take it back. Kelly is running for Congress to lower costs, defend health care, and bring opportunity home to the Gulf Coast. Donate Now Join the Team Stay in the loop. Get campaign updates, event invites, and ways to help — straight to your inbox. First name Email address Sign Up Thanks — you're on the list. About Kelly
Source →Insurance
Affordable home and flood insurance — and an end to the price-gouging and “business-as-usual” corruption that lets insurers lobby for immunity while your premiums skyrocket.
Affordable home and flood insurance — and an end to the price-gouging and “business-as-usual” corruption that lets insurers lobby for immunity while your premiums skyrocket.
Source →Local Government
I am committed to fighting for workers and protecting everyone's rights in Congress.” – Kelly Kirschner --> More than 18 current and former elected officials from across the district—spanning federal, state, and local government, have endorsed Kelly Kirschner. Petersburg Mayor — “His decades of service to others are the antidote to the ‘me-first’ mentality in D.C.” Jennifer Webb, Gulfport City Council Member, former State Representative Press
“I am proud to stand with the working men and women of Florida. It is a true honor to be endorsed by the Florida AFL-CIO and the West Central Florida Labor Council, the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, and the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus. I am committed to fighting for workers and protecting everyone's rights in Congress.” – Kelly Kirschner --> More than 18 current and former elected officials from across the district—spanning federal, state, and local government, have endorsed Kelly Kirschner. Here's a sampling: “Kelly Kirschner will do right by veterans, and bring back value-driven leadership." Rev. Willie Shaw, former Sarasota Mayor — “He has a proven record solving problems.” Rick Kriseman, former St. Petersburg Mayor — “His decades of service to others are the antidote to the ‘me-first’ mentality in D.C.” Jennifer Webb, Gulfport City Council Member, former State Representative Press
Source →Economy
We pay more for groceries, insulin, prescriptions and rent while they pay less in taxes. When tariff chaos hammers Florida small and medium-sized businesses, farmers, and fishermen while Wall Street hedges its bets and becomes a casino, that’s Washington gambling with someone else’s livelihood.
For decades, billionaires, lobbyists, and corporations have treated Congress like a vending machine: insert donation, receive policy. We pay more for groceries, insulin, prescriptions and rent while they pay less in taxes. Our kids inherit the debt while big donors gobble up the tax breaks. Our community recovers from hurricanes alone while they recover their investment portfolios. The system is not working. Kelly Kirschner has spent his life proving that regular people — organized, outraged, and determined — can take power back. With fellow citizens, he did it in Sarasota as a neighborhood activist, City Commissioner and Mayor, taking on and beating powerful interests like Walmart, Florida Power & Light, Marina Jacks, and predatory developers. He's ready to do it for you in Washington. 1 Stop Making You Pay for Their Greed + When oil companies post record profits while we’re struggling to pay for gas, that’s not the market — it’s a rigged game. When insurance companies raise your premiums while lobbying Congress to leave them alone, that’s not business; that’s corruption with a business license. When tariff chaos hammers Florida small and medium-sized businesses, farmers, and fishermen while Wall Street hedges its bets and becomes a casino, that’s Washington gambling with someone else’s livelihood. End price gouging by oil, electric utility, and grocery giants. Hold insurance companies accountable. Invest in affordable energy th
Source →End price gouging by oil, electric utility, and grocery giants.
End price gouging by oil, electric utility, and grocery giants.
Source →Veterans
7 Our Veterans Earned Everything. + As the younger brother of a career Army officer who served tours throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan, Kelly doesn’t just thank veterans for their service — he knows what that service actually costs. We owe our veterans a VA that answers the phone, a crisis line that works at 3 a.m., and a government that doesn’t make them fight a second war just to get their benefits.
Yet, for too long, Washington has treated this solemn duty as a secondary concern. Under the Constitution, Congress — and only Congress — has the power to declare war. It’s a moral outrage that when we face the prospect of “wars of choice,” leadership in Washington often ducks debate, choosing to take two-week vacations before even beginning a serious deliberation on “excursions” that cost American lives and billions of taxpayer dollars. These poorly thought-out conflicts, funded with blank taxpayer checks and met with a Congressional blind eye, are eroding decades of trust throughout the world and putting our children’s future in peril. No more blank checks. No more blind eyes. If it’s worth American blood, it is worth a full, public, and rigorous debate in the halls of Congress. 7 Our Veterans Earned Everything. Stop Nickel-and-Diming Them. + As the younger brother of a career Army officer who served tours throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan, Kelly doesn’t just thank veterans for their service — he knows what that service actually costs. It costs marriages, sleep, and sometimes limbs and lives. We owe our veterans a VA that answers the phone, a crisis line that works at 3 a.m., and a government that doesn’t make them fight a second war just to get their benefits. Fully staff VA clinics. Restore the Veterans Crisis Line to full 24/7 operation. Make sure no veteran ever has to choose between their dignity and their
Source →Frequently Asked
- Who is Kelly Kirschner?
- Kelly Kirschner is a 2026 Democrat candidate for U.S. House District 16, 16. Kelly Kirschner has stated positions on 9 key issues.
- What office is Kelly Kirschner running for?
- Kelly Kirschner is running for U.S. House District 16, 16. Filed: April 30, 2026.
- How can I learn more about Kelly Kirschner's positions?
- Kelly Kirschner's stated positions cover: Housing, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Insurance, Local Government, Economy, Veterans. See full positions below.
Before you vote
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