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Florida's 16th Congressional District election, 2026
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| Florida's 16th Congressional District |
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| General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: April 24, 2026 |
| Primary: August 18, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
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All U.S. House districts, including the 16th Congressional District of Florida, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Florida District 16
Incumbent Vern Buchanan, Jonathan Harris, Glenn Pearson, and Jan Schneider are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 16 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Vern Buchanan (R) | ||
Jonathan Harris (D) ![]() | ||
| Glenn Pearson (D) | ||
| Jan Schneider (D) | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "Hello, my name is Jonathan Harris. I’m an Information Security Analyst and a proud U.S. Army Veteran with nearly twenty years of service in both Active Duty and the Reserves. I’m also a husband and the father of two amazing daughters who remind me every day why service matters. I’ve spent my life standing up for others, whether protecting our country in uniform or defending our nation’s digital infrastructure. As I near the end of my military career, I still feel called to serve. But this time, that service means fighting for my neighbors right here at home. Florida’s 16th Congressional District; from Brandon and Riverview to Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch is full of hardworking, resilient people who deserve leadership that listens and delivers. For too long, Washington has been defined by division instead of results. I’m running because I believe we can do better — and because I want to be part of that change. A mentor once told me that to make a difference, you sometimes have to be the difference. I can’t change everything alone, but I can stand up, speak out, and serve our community with integrity, compassion, and purpose."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Florida
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Jonathan Harris (D)
Putting Families and Communities First - The people of Florida’s 16th District deserve a representative who listens, responds, and delivers. I’ll focus on the issues that matter most to working families; lowering costs, protecting Medicare and Social Security, investing in public education, and expanding opportunities for veterans and small businesses.
Restoring Trust and Common Sense in Washington - Our politics have become too divided and too disconnected from the people they serve. I’m running to restore honesty, civility, and common sense in Congress to get results without the partisan games. We can disagree without being disagreeable, and we can put people before party to build a stronger future for our community.
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
Jonathan Harris (D)
You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vern Buchanan | Republican Party | $779,248 | $351,346 | $1,477,116 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Jonathan Harris | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Glenn Pearson | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Jan Schneider | Democratic Party | $12,706 | $1,756 | $51,869 | As of June 30, 2025 |
| Keith Varian | No Party Affiliation | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Florida's 16th Congressional District election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 10/21/2025 | 10/14/2025 | 10/7/2025 | 9/30/2025 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Pending | Pending | Pending | Pending | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Ballot access
This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.
District history
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.
2024
See also: Florida's 16th Congressional District election, 2024
Florida's 16th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)
Florida's 16th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 16
Incumbent Vern Buchanan defeated Jan Schneider in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 16 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vern Buchanan (R) | 59.5 | 247,516 | |
Jan Schneider (D) ![]() | 40.5 | 168,625 | ||
| Total votes: 416,141 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 16
Jan Schneider defeated Trent Miller in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 16 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jan Schneider ![]() | 65.7 | 23,701 | |
Trent Miller ![]() | 34.3 | 12,395 | ||
| Total votes: 36,096 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16
Incumbent Vern Buchanan defeated Eddie Speir in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vern Buchanan | 60.9 | 38,789 | |
Eddie Speir ![]() | 39.1 | 24,868 | ||
| Total votes: 63,657 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 16
Incumbent Vern Buchanan defeated Jan Schneider and Ralph E. Hartman in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 16 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vern Buchanan (R) | 62.1 | 189,762 | |
| Jan Schneider (D) | 37.8 | 115,575 | ||
| Ralph E. Hartman (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 21 | ||
| Total votes: 305,358 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Jan Schneider advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 16.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16
Incumbent Vern Buchanan defeated Martin Hyde in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vern Buchanan | 86.2 | 64,028 | |
| Martin Hyde | 13.8 | 10,219 | ||
| Total votes: 74,247 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 16
Incumbent Vern Buchanan defeated Margaret Good in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 16 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vern Buchanan (R) | 55.5 | 269,001 | |
| Margaret Good (D) | 44.5 | 215,683 | ||
| Total votes: 484,684 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Margaret Good advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 16.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Vern Buchanan advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
District analysis
This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.
See also
| Florida | 2026 primaries | 2026 U.S. Congress elections |
|---|---|---|
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Voting in Florida Florida elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries |
U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
