Sydney Gruters Wins Florida 16th GOP Primary With Trump's Backing at 44
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 18
Sydney Gruters Wins Florida 16th GOP Primary With Trump's Backing at 44
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 18
Summary
Sydney Gruters, 44, won the Republican primary in Florida’s newly redrawn 16th Congressional District, giving the first-time candidate a clear victory in a seat long held by Republicans.
Trump’s endorsement helped power the race: he called her “one of the fiercest America First advocates,” and Gruters already had deep ties to Florida GOP politics through congressional work and her marriage to RNC Chair Joe Gruters.
The district’s new map — drawn in a statewide redistricting pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis — now spans Black neighborhoods in St. Petersburg, Republican Bradenton and rural cattle-and-citrus areas.
Gruters previously served in Trump’s USDA and later led the New College of Florida foundation, where she helped oversee policies tied to federal funding and the rollback of DEI initiatives.
The seat also covers the proposed 1,300-acre site of a gas-powered data center, an issue in the primary as rival Eddie Speir opposed the project.