Private school founder Eddie Speir challenging Vern Buchanan in CD 16 GOP Primary

Eddie Speir.

Eddie Speir, founder of a Bradenton private school, has filed to challenge U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in a Republican Primary.

Federal Elections Commission records show Speir this week filed a statement of candidacy in Florida’s 16th Congressional District. He’s the only other Republican to file besides Buchanan. Democrat Jan Schneider, a perennial candidate who has challenged Buchanan several times, has also filed.

Speir was the only one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointments to New College’s trustee board that the Senate refused to confirm. The founder of Inspiration Academy blamed friction with interim New College President Richard Corcoran for the decision, though Speir had voted to hire Corcoran at the same meeting when new trustees fired former President Patricia Okker.

Notably, Speir had been amongst the most outspoken additions to the trustee board. DeSantis appointed a half dozen trustees in an apparent effort to remake the small public university with a conservative vision akin to Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Shortly after his appointment, Speir on his Substack blog called for trustees to immediately fire Okker and replace the school’s general counsel, which they did. But he also called to fire all faculty at the school and only rehire those who fit with a new vision of the school. That never happened.

Speir was the only trustee to attend a confirmation hearing in the Senate. There, he told Senators he regularly visited campus to debate values.

“There’s been different truths that I have shared, that are causing a lot of concern,” Speir said. “But what I’ve done is followed up on those truths and those statements by showing up on campus and engaging in debate.”

He also sparked outrage on campus when he said transgender students suffer from a mental disorder.

Before his appointment to the trustee board, Speir founded Inspiration Academy in Bradenton with his wife, Claire.

“Without any formal background in education, we felt called to start a school. And so the adventure in faith began,” he wrote on the school’s website.

“Faith is not knowing. We didn’t know where we were going and weren’t sure why. But, we came to realize that the new problems facing today’s younger generation required new solutions and a fresh perspective. Previous knowledge and experience would have in fact prevented innovative solutions to new problems facing this generation.”

He ran a software business in Colorado before moving to Florida.

Buchanan also faced a Republican Primary challenge last cycle, where he won more than 86% of the vote against conservative activist Martin Hyde. That turned out to be the highest vote percentage of any Republican in Florida on the August ballot.

He went on to win 62% of the vote in the General Election against Schneider.

Buchanan’s campaign declined to comment on Speir’s entry into the race.