One of the handful of seats Democrats are looking to flip to take back control of Congress is in Pinellas County. There, first-time incumbent Republican Anna Paulina Luna is facing a stiff challenge from Whitney Fox.
A recent St. Pete Polls survey found the Congressional District 13 candidates locked in a dead heat, with about 8 percent of registered voters undecided. Polls from Republican groups show Luna with a slight lead over Fox.
The race has piqued the interest of the state Democratic party, which has chosen it as one of the few contests in which it's establishing grassroots organizing and fundraising support.
It's also the only district in Florida that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put through its “Red to Blue” initiative, meaning it might be Democrats' only chance to flip a seat in the state.
Fox's most recent job was communications director for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. She has taken centrist positions, saying she would join the Blue Dogs Coalition if elected.
Luna has the endorsement of Donald Trump and has been a reliably conservative vote in Congress — and even showed up at Trump’s trial in New York.
During her first term in Congress, Luna has introduced bills that called for the arrest of the U.S. attorney general. She has also introduced a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Trump. Both bills died in session.
But she recently got flack for voting against emergency funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency just before hurricanes Helene and Milton walloped Pinellas County.
Then, Luna accompanied President Biden when he visited St. Pete Beach shortly after Milton stormed the area.
She has also declined to say how she’ll vote on Florida's abortion ballot referendum, saying it's a state — and not a federal — issue. But she has described herself in the past as “pro-life” and applauded the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.
District 13 used to be Democratic-leaning, electing Charlie Crist to Congress. But it was recently redrawn by the Republican-dominated legislature, carving away more Democratic areas in St. Petersburg and adding that on to the district represented by Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor. The district includes much of Pinellas County to the west of U.S. 19 and Interstate 275.
