CLEARWATER, Fla. — Celebrating with supporters in Clearwater, Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna won a third term in Florida’s 13th Congressional District on Tuesday, holding off Democrat Leela Gray in one of the closest races on the Pinellas County ballot.
With 99% of precincts counted, Luna had 49.48% of the vote and Gray had 48.67%, a gap of less than a percentage point. No-party candidate Tony D’Arrigo drew about 1.8%. Gray had campaigned on affordability, health care and reproductive rights. At the Pinellas Republican watch party, Luna told the crowd that a one-vote win is still a win.
The race ran on a new map. State lawmakers redrew the district this year in a way that leans further toward Republicans, The new lines dropped the southern end of Pinellas, including Democratic-leaning parts of St. Petersburg and Gulfport, while adding territory to the north in Pasco County.
Even with that shift, the margin was far tighter than two years ago, when Luna beat Democrat Whitney Fox by about 10 points. Campaign finance reports through Oct. 14 showed Luna with about $4.3 million raised to roughly $2.9 million for Gray, and both campaigns drew millions more in outside spending.
Luna, an Air Force veteran, has held the seat since 2023. She said congressional term limits will be among her top goals in the new term and pledged to stop accepting corporate PAC money. Her campaign also listed expanded veterans care, caps on student loan interest, ending taxes on seniors’ Social Security benefits and a ban on insider trading by lawmakers among her priorities, and she has backed beach renourishment in Pinellas.
Results remain unofficial until they are certified.
Section: More St. Petersburg FL politics news
Filed under: St. Petersburg FL Politics News
