Rachel Grage
Rachel Grage (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 5th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Biography
Rachel Grage was born in Oswego, New York. She earned both a bachelor's degree and a graduate degree from Tulane University. Grage has been affiliated with Catholic Charities, Equality Florida, and the Democratic Women’s Club of Florida.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Florida District 5
Incumbent John Rutherford, Rachel Grage, Mark Heggestad, Eli Johnson, and Mark Kaye are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 5 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | John Rutherford (R) | |
 | Rachel Grage (D) | |
 | Mark Heggestad (D) | |
| Eli Johnson (D) | ||
| Mark Kaye (R) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Wyatt Clark (D)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2024
See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 16
Incumbent Kiyan Michael defeated Rachel Grage in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 16 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kiyan Michael (R) | 60.7 | 56,171 |
| Rachel Grage (D) | 39.3 | 36,340 | |
| Total votes: 92,511 | |||
| = 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. Rachel Grage advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 16.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Kiyan Michael advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 16.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Grage's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Grage in this election.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2024
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released June 30 2024 |
Rachel Grage completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grage's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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At Tulane, I met my spouse, whose military career took us to Hawaii and Kentucky. We were blessed with two children, and after returning to upstate New York, we welcomed twin girls. We spent two decades building a home in our community, where I served as president of our 3500-home community association. We later relocated to Florida, where I became active in local democratic clubs and served as a legislative liaison.
I’m running for District 16 because I'm tired of culture war politics and I think it's time we get back to real issues that matter to most people. I believe in diverse representation and the power of democracy. I’m also deeply involved in volunteer work with Catholic Charities and Equality Florida. I’m passionate about the arts, having performed in numerous plays and musicals in Jacksonville and previously serving on theater boards in New York.
My husband is a radiologist at Mayo Clinic. And family drives my dedication to public service.- Skyrocketing insurance premium and housing costs are a key problem for my district.
We must: - pass legislation for fair insurance practices, increase oversight, and encourage market competition - invest in disaster resilience, support state assistance for low-income residents, and demand clearer rate information - strengthen state reinsurance to stabilize the market and lower premiums - enhance fraud prevention efforts to minimize fraudulent claims, which contribute to higher premiums
- encourage partnerships with federal programs like FEMA to increase resources for disaster recovery, lowering financial pressure on insurers. - Provide more funding for education. Inadequate funding is leading to the closing of some of our beloved local public schools. Florida ranks near the bottom nationally in terms of public education funding, and several steps can be taken to address this, including: - increasing state budget allocation: Florida can raise its education budget by reallocating funds from other areas and increasing the percentage of state revenues dedicated to public schools. - leveraging federal grants: Florida can actively pursue more federal education grants and programs to supplement state funding, especially for low-income or high-need schools. - incentivizing public-private partnerships: Encourage partnerships between local businesses and public schools.
- Economic growth and the need for robust economic and job creation initiatives. I support policies to stimulate economic growth and attract investment through tools like Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemptions. Prioritizing workforce development, apprenticeships, and job training will equip Floridians with skills for high-demand industries. I'll address income inequality and advocate for fair wages, benefits, and strong workplace protections.
Public education is also a top priority for me. As a state, we rank near the bottom nationally in education funding, and our teachers and students deserve far better. I’m committed to increasing funding for our schools, raising teacher pay, and ensuring that every child in Florida has access to a world-class education.
Integrity means staying true to your values and making decisions that genuinely serve the people, not special interests.
Accessibility ensures that I remain available to listen to my constituents, understand their concerns, and keep the lines of communication open.
This means advocating for policies that improve education, lower the cost of housing and insurance, protect healthcare access, and support small businesses. It’s also essential to be transparent and accessible, making sure constituents’ voices are heard and respected. Ultimately, the job is about serving the people and working to build a stronger, more equitable community.
• Sierra Club
• Everytown for Gun Safety
• NOW (National Organization for Women)
• Florida AFL-CIO
• Democratic Women’s Club of Florida
• Duval Democratic Asian Pacific Caucus
• Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida
• Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida
• FL House Rep. Angie Nixon
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.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 8, 2024
