Planned Parenthood backs Whitney Fox to ‘fight tirelessly’ for reproductive freedom in CD 13

Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the funding arm of the reproductive rights advocacy group, is endorsing Whitney Fox for Florida’s 13th Congressional District.

While the group only mentioned the incumbent Republican Fox hopes to unseat — U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna — the endorsement comes as a last-minute boon to Fox in her Primary race, in which she faces four other Democrats.

All of her Primary challengers support reproductive rights. The endorsement indicates that Fox stood out among the crowd, and perhaps signals that the national organization sees a glimmer of hope in CD 13 to flip a red seat blue.

“Planned Parenthood Action Fund is proud to endorse Whitney Fox, who will fight tirelessly to protect reproductive freedom,” Planned Parenthood Action Fund President & CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said.

“Her commitment to protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion, stands in stark contrast to Anna Paulina Luna, who would set our rights back even further for generations to come. The people of Florida’s 13th congressional district deserve a representative who trusts them to make their own health care decisions and will fight for their freedom to do so.”

Fox faces Sabrina Bousbar, Liz Dahan, John Liccione and Mark Weinkrantz in the Democratic Primary on Aug. 20. She has emerged as a clear front-runner in the race, carrying both funding and endorsement advantages.

“I’m honored to have Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s support in this fight. While Luna tells Floridians who want reproductive freedom to ‘move somewhere else,’ I say it’s time to move Luna out of office. Her extremism and alignment with the creators of Project 2025 is a threat to women’s lives and our freedoms,” Fox said of her latest endorsement from Planned Parenthood.

“Luna may call herself a ‘pro-life extremist,’ but there’s nothing pro-life about forcing a rape victim to carry a pregnancy or denying critical healthcare to women. I’ll be the voice for the vast majority of Americans who support legal abortion, IVF, and access to birth control, not a rubber stamp for radical agendas that put lives and the ability to start a family at risk.”

Fox has consistently outraised all of her Primary opponents. 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 outraised the entire field combined by more than $100,000. Fox did not loan her campaign any money.

And at about 60 so far, Fox is far and away leading her opposition in endorsements.

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.

She also recently earned an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and another from SEIU Florida.

Other backers include 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.

Whoever emerges from the Democratic Primary victorious will have a big challenge ahead. Luna won CD 13 for Republicans in 2022 following redistricting, which shifted the district from a slight Democratic advantage to a GOP-leaning seat. Cook Political Report lists it as an R+6 district.

But while the outlet lists CD 13 as “likely Republican,” it is one of only three congressional races in Florida classified as competitive. 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.