5 Democrats are running for the shot to take on Anna Paulina Luna, and their campaigns show deep resolve

Five Pinellas County Democrats are foes united in a common goal: defeating U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in November, and making the Republican a one-term Congresswoman.

Each candidate has plenty to say about Luna — most use the term “extremist” frequently — but none has uttered a negative comment about their Democratic opponents, a sign of party unity that can be easy to miss in this modern divisive political environment where name-calling and trading barbs is a daily occurrence.

But being cordial doesn’t mean there isn’t a fight afoot. Democrats are eyeing Florida’s 13th Congressional District as one of its only U.S. House pickup opportunities this cycle.

At R+6 and “likely Republican,” the district will be tough to flip, but Cook Political Report lists it as one of only three competitive congressional races in Florida. The other two are listed as “likely Democrat” — Florida’s 9th Congressional District, represented by Darren Soto, and Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, represented by Jared Moskowitz. Both are incumbent Democrats not facing Primary challenges.

While money can be hard to come by for Democrats under an ever-tightening GOP grip, CD 13 candidates — or at least one of them — have found a bright spot in the Pinellas County-based district.

Whitney Fox, a former Communications Director for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), has emerged a clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Fox has consistently outraised all of her Primary opponents, which include Sabrina Bousbar, Liz Dahan, John Liccione and Mark Weinkrantz. Even considering loans to her opponents campaigns — of which there have been several — Fox still has a major money advantage.

As of the end of the second quarter of 2024, Fox had raised nearly three quarters of $1 million. She brought in $320,632 in total contributions during the second quarter of 2024, which covers campaign finance activity from April through June.

When excluding personal loans to their campaigns, Fox also outraised the entire field combined by more than $100,000. Fox did not loan her campaign any money.

She also ended the quarter with more cash on hand than her opponents, at $355,684. Her closest opponent in total cash on hand is Liccione, who has $216,638 on hand, but that includes more than $233,000 in personal loans. He raised just $425 during the second quarter and less than $1,300 in outside money overall.

Dahan follows with more than $127,000 on hand, but that also includes a $50,000 personal loan. Weinkrantz had nearly $118,000 in the bank heading into the third quarter, buoyed by $200,000 in personal loans. And Bousbar trails with just over $65,000 on hand.

Cash isn’t the only advantage Fox is carrying into Election Day. The mother of two has also been leading the race in endorsements, including some top names in Florida politics and abroad.

She recently landed an endorsement from EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics. And perhaps more importantly, she managed to land a coveted recommendation from the Tampa Bay Times. The paper described her as “a natural on the campaign trail and comfortable in the public eye.” The editorial board wrote that Fox “appears to have the personal fortitude to hold up under what will likely be a withering General Election campaign.”

Before that, Fox earned an endorsement from former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, who served in Congress as a pragmatist who often worked across the aisle to bring home policies, resources and other accomplishments for her constituents in a deeply divided congress. In her endorsement, Murphy said Fox was also a pragmatist.

In all, Fox has earned endorsements from well over 50 current and former elected officials, community leaders, advocacy groups and others, including a recent endorsement from U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and another from SEIU Florida.

The full list includes, among others, U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz; state Rep. Lindsay Cross; state Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith; former St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman; former state Sen. Janet Cruz; former state Reps. Margaret Good and Adam Hattersley; former congressional candidate Alan Cohn; Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers; Pinellas County School Board member Caprice Edmond; St. Pete City Council members Gina Driscoll, Deborah Figgs-Sanders and Lisset Hanewicz; Oldsmar Vice Mayor Andrew Knapp; Oldsmar City Council member Steve Graber; Gulfport City Council members Paul Ray and April Thanos; former St. Pete Beach Mayor Al Johnson; former Seminole City Council member Jim Olliver; Largo City Commissioner Michael Smith; Dunedin City Commissioner Jeff Gow; Largo City Commissioner Jamie Robinson; and the National Women’s Political Caucus.

In her leadership role at PSTA, Fox worked at the local, state and federal level to identify public transportation solutions, including securing funding for and building innovative programs such as the recently launched SunRunner Bus Rapid Transit service in St. Pete.

Under Fox’s and other PSTA leadership, the agency was named the most outstanding public transportation system in the nation for the three-year period covering 2020-2022.

But while all signs point to a Fox advantage, voters likely no better than to count anything as a done deal. The field of candidates includes some impressive résumés.

Dahan, originally from South Florida, worked in communications for 20 years, focusing on business, government and foreign policy.

She most recently worked in Washington, D.C., as a partner at Brunswick, a global firm that provides advisory services on a variety of issues including financial, regulatory, political and social. There, Dahan worked with financial institutions, Fortune 500 companies and others to communicate social values and design sustainability and to chart a path toward environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies.

Dahan also previously worked with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Bank and with former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

And Bousbar also has experience working in federal government.

She served as a senior advisor in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in President Joe Biden’s administration. Bousbar would be the first woman from Generation Z elected to Congress if successful.

While Bousbar trails the field of Democrats in fundraising, she’s been touting her ground game, saying in late July that her campaign had made more than 90,000 voter contacts through door-knocking, phone calls and texts, with more than 200 campaign volunteers and 20 campaign fellows.

She also secured some high-profile support, including from former state Rep. Joe Geller, the Latino Victory Fund, and Peter Owen, a candidate who had been seeking the CD 13 nomination but didn’t qualify for the race.

Weinkrantz brings military service to the campaign as a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and, later, a commercial pilot. He’s a big union supporter, and is running on a platform of protecting Medicare and Social Security; helping veterans; restoring reproductive rights; identifying solutions to the affordable housing crisis; supporting the LGBTQ+ community; and building an economy that works for all.

He has a handful of support from local leaders in politics, including Largo City Commissioner Pat Gerard, former Pinellas County Commissioners Pat Gerard, Susan Latvala and Karen Seel, and former Pinellas County School Board members Terry Krassner and Linda Lerner.

Liccione has gained the least traction of the field. He calls himself “the Rebel Democrat Engineer,” a nod to his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and work in the military on helicopter cockpits and their complicated tech systems.

He’s a U.S. Air Force veteran and formerly worked as an intelligence agent for the NSA, according to his website. His campaign platform includes fighting for veterans, keeping students and teachers safe, restoring reproductive freedom, increasing affordability for seniors, protecting shorelines from red tide, and more.