Sydney Gruters, the wife of Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters, is running for Congress in Florida.
Sydney Gruters, the executive director of the New College Foundation, aims to succeed Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who's vacating his 16th Congressional District seat later this year.
She has spent her career working for House members, and Buchanan has been her mentor, Politico reported. President Donald Trump endorsed Buchanan last month prior to her entering the race.
"I've spent my career helping people solve problems and get results," Gruters said in a statement.
"Southwest Florida deserves a representative who understands this community, shares its values, and will fight every day to lower the cost of living, expand opportunity, and build a stronger future for our families," Gruters added.
Gruters is the only person to announce her candidacy in a district Trump won by 16 points in the 2024 presidential election.
"There's just a genuine respect — and that's why you don't have a bunch of challengers," said former Florida Senate President Bill Galvano, who has endorsed Sydney Gruters, to Politico.
"This isn't a question of whether you can beat her. It's a question of, 'Is this a good person to fill this role?' And the resounding reaction has been 'Yes'," Galvano added.
During the first Trump administration, she worked as rural development state director for Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Gruters also worked as a district director for Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla.
Since joining the New College Foundation, she has increased the school's assets from $39 million to $54 million, New College President Richard Corcoran told Politico.
"She knows what she believes and is going to fight to the nth degree for those things — but she will do it in a way that's kind," Corcoran told Politico. "I'll be 100% devastated that she's leaving. And I'll be 100% behind her."
Manatee County Democratic Party Chair Christine Kennedy Meier told Politico that Sydney Gruters is a "Trump rubber stamp" who "helped dismantle higher education in Sarasota" and said voters in the district are prepared for "a breath of fresh air and something new."
"It's a consolidation of power through backroom deals and covert conversations that strip the power away from the people," Meier said.
The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the seat as Solid Republican.
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