Meet the CD 12 candidates: Kimberly Overman

In Florida’s 12th Congressional District, Democrat Kimberly Overman is competing with Darren McAuley for the chance to oust longtime U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, who is seeking his 11th term in Congress.

The Legislature significantly redrew the district earlier this year to include parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Only 57% of voters in the new district backed Donald Trump in 2024, compared with 64% under the old boundaries.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates the district “Likely Republican,” a shift from its previous “Safe Republican” designation, though an internal poll conducted in June showed a tight race between Bilirakis and McAuley.

Florida Politics asked both Democratic candidates to answer a few questions. We are publishing their responses unedited so voters can hear directly from candidates. Here’s what Overman told us:

— Profession: Retired Certified Financial Planner, former small business owner, former Chair of the Hillsborough County Commission, and economist by training focused on helping families and businesses build financial security.

— Education: Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park.

— Years in the district: More than four decades.

— Community involvement: Kimberly Overman has spent decades serving the Tampa Bay community through public service, economic development initiatives, nonprofit partnerships, neighborhood engagement, and civic organizations. As a former Hillsborough County Commissioner and Commission Chair, she worked closely with residents, business leaders, veterans, environmental advocates, faith communities, and local governments to address housing, transportation, economic development, environmental stewardship, and public safety. As the parent and legal guardian raising her grandson, she is personally invested in building a stronger future for the next generation and remains actively engaged in communities throughout Hillsborough and Pasco Counties.

— Why are you running? What are your top priorities? I am running because Florida families need a representative who will fight for them, not special interests or political agendas.

Families across our community are feeling the strain of rising housing costs, skyrocketing insurance rates, healthcare expenses, and everyday costs that continue to outpace wages. At the same time, many people feel that government has become disconnected from the challenges they face every day.

My career has been dedicated to helping people build financial security, solving problems in local government, and bringing diverse groups together to find practical solutions. I believe Congress should focus on lowering costs, protecting access to healthcare, safeguarding Social Security and Medicare, and creating opportunities for working families to succeed.

I am also running because Congress has an obligation to provide oversight and accountability. Laws passed by Congress should be faithfully implemented, taxpayer dollars should be spent responsibly, and elected officials should be accountable to the people they serve.

My campaign is built on a simple principle: Leadership Matters. Leadership should listen, solve problems, and put the public interest first.

— What are the biggest issues facing residents of this district? The biggest issue facing residents of District 12 is affordability. Families are being squeezed by rising housing costs, property insurance premiums, healthcare costs, and everyday expenses.

My background in economics and financial planning gives me a unique understanding of how federal policies affect household finances. I view every policy question through a simple lens: will this make life more affordable and secure for Florida families?

— What’s one bill you’d like to introduce in Congress? I would introduce the Affordable Homeownership and Insurance Relief Act, a package designed to expand housing supply, encourage workforce housing development, strengthen mitigation programs that reduce insurance risks, modernize infrastructure resilience, and provide federal incentives that help lower housing and insurance costs for middle-class families.

Florida’s affordability crisis requires action, and Congress should be part of the solution.

I would also introduce the Family Financial Security Act. The legislation would expand access to financial literacy education, incentivize emergency savings programs, strengthen retirement security initiatives, and improve protections against predatory lending practices.

For most of my professional career, I helped families build financial security. Washington spends a great deal of time discussing economic growth but not enough time helping families build household stability.

— Democrats blame Trump for inflation, Republicans blame the lingering effects of the Joe Biden administration, while Americans just want their prices to go down. What can Congress do to ease the cost of living for working families? As someone trained in economics and who spent decades helping families develop financial plans, I believe Americans want less finger-pointing and more solutions.

Inflation and affordability challenges stem from multiple factors, including housing shortages, healthcare costs, supply-chain disruptions, market concentration, workforce challenges, and fiscal policy decisions.

Congress should focus on increasing the supply of affordable housing, reducing prescription drug costs, lowering healthcare expenses, strengthening domestic manufacturing, improving workforce development, and pursuing responsible fiscal policies that do not unnecessarily increase deficits.

Families deserve policies that improve their financial security, not political talking points.

— Do you believe AI will ultimately create more jobs than it eliminates, or should government slow its adoption to protect existing workers? What AI regulations or guardrails, if any, do you support? Artificial intelligence will likely create significant economic opportunities and new industries. However, innovation cannot come at the expense of workers, communities, taxpayers, or the environment.

I support transparency requirements for high-impact AI systems, protections against discriminatory algorithms, consumer privacy protections, and workforce development programs that help workers adapt to technological change.

I am also concerned about the rapid growth of AI data centers and the economic and environmental burdens they can place on communities. Congress should establish a federal framework ensuring that data center operators bear responsibility for infrastructure impacts, environmental mitigation, site remediation, and long-term liability.

Communities should not be left paying higher utility bills, funding infrastructure expansions, or assuming future cleanup costs while private companies keep the profits.

America should lead the world in AI innovation, but leadership also means ensuring growth is sustainable, accountable, and beneficial to the communities where these facilities operate.

Americans frequently complain about the cost and complexity of our healthcare system. What realistic solutions do you propose? Healthcare costs are one of the biggest drivers of financial stress for Florida families. As an economist by training and a retired Certified Financial Planner, I have seen firsthand how healthcare costs can undermine a family’s long-term financial security. The goal should be simple: make healthcare more affordable, accessible, and understandable.

We must protect and strengthen Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, continue reducing prescription drug costs, increase price transparency, simplify administration, address provider shortages, and expand access to preventive and behavioral healthcare.

Healthcare policy is also economic policy. When people delay care because they cannot afford it, costs increase for everyone. The measure of success should be whether working families can access quality healthcare without fear that getting sick will create financial hardship.

— How should we counter China’s growing influence and power, and what can we do to ensure America retains its technological, military and economic advantages? The United States will not outcompete China by retreating from investments in innovation, research, manufacturing, education, and strategic international partnerships.

Congress has already enacted major investments to strengthen domestic manufacturing, semiconductor production, infrastructure, clean energy innovation, and advanced technology industries. Those investments were intended to reduce supply-chain dependence and strengthen America’s long-term competitiveness. Walking away from them only creates opportunities for China to expand its influence.

As someone trained in economics, I view competition with China as both an economic and national security challenge. America must continue investing in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity, semiconductor production, energy innovation, and workforce development.

We should also strengthen diplomatic and economic partnerships with democratic allies. China’s influence grows when America creates a vacuum. The strongest response to China’s growing influence is a confident America that invests in its people, honors its commitments, strengthens its alliances, and competes from a position of economic strength.

America wins when we build, invent, educate, innovate, and lead.

— With regard to ending the ongoing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, what should America’s goals and approach be? America’s goals should be stability, deterrence, diplomacy, and the protection of our national security interests.

Regarding Ukraine, we should continue working with allies to support Ukraine’s sovereignty while pursuing conditions that can lead to a durable and just peace.

Regarding Iran, America should prioritize diplomacy whenever possible, maintain strong partnerships in the region, and prevent nuclear proliferation.

Military force should always be a last resort, but American leadership remains essential to global stability.

— Would you vote to continue funding Israel’s defense? Are there any conditions you want to impose on that funding? I support Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend its people against terrorism and external attacks.

However, support for Israel’s defense should not be interpreted as a blank check for military operations that result in widespread civilian suffering, destruction of civilian infrastructure, forced displacement of populations, or the continued expansion into properties legally owned by Palestinian families and businesses.

I would support funding that strengthens Israel’s defensive capabilities and protects civilians from attack. I would also support humanitarian and reconstruction assistance associated with a negotiated and durable peace agreement that improves security and quality of life for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Any military assistance should be accompanied by clear congressional oversight, compliance with U.S. law and international humanitarian standards, and assurances that U.S. resources are not being used to support actions that unnecessarily endanger civilians or make a peaceful resolution more difficult to achieve.

Lasting security for Israel and lasting justice for Palestinians are not competing goals.

— The House recently voted to adopt year-round daylight saving time. How would you have voted? I would have supported a move to permanent daylight saving time if implemented through a coordinated national transition.

Most Americans have strong views on the issue, and there are reasonable arguments on both sides. However, I believe Congress should spend far more time addressing the challenges keeping families up at night: housing affordability, healthcare costs, insurance premiums, economic opportunity, and government accountability.

Those are the issues that deserve our greatest attention and would be my priorities in Congress.

— Has the Democratic Party moved too far left in recent years, or is this the direction Democratic voters want? I think that question focuses on labels that many Americans find less important than the results government is delivering in their lives.

My focus has never been on moving left or right. It has been on solving problems while honoring the principles that define our country: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, equal protection under the law, individual liberty, and accountable government.

Too often today, politics is driven by division and fear. Leaders should be bringing communities together, protecting rights and freedoms, expanding opportunity, and ensuring every person has the ability to pursue their own version of the American Dream without harassment, discrimination, or government overreach.

The real question is not whether a party has moved left or right. The real question is whether our leaders are protecting freedom, strengthening democratic institutions, fighting corruption, lowering costs for families, and improving people’s lives.

— Why are you the best nominee to win this seat in November? I believe I am the strongest nominee because I bring the combination of experience, expertise, and values that voters are looking for in this moment.

My academic training is in Agriculture and Resource Economics. My professional career was spent helping families build financial security as a Certified Financial Planner and small business owner. My public service experience includes serving as Chair of the Hillsborough County Commission, where I worked on budgets, infrastructure, housing, economic development, environmental stewardship, public safety, and the practical challenges that affect people’s daily lives.

Those experiences have given me something that is often missing in Washington: the ability to understand how policy decisions affect real people.

Throughout this campaign, the issue I hear about most is affordability. Families are worried about housing costs, insurance premiums, healthcare expenses, prescription drug prices, and whether the next generation will have greater opportunities than they did. They are tired of political theater and want leaders who focus on results.

I believe Congress must return to its core responsibilities: addressing the economic challenges facing working families, protecting individual rights and freedoms, exercising meaningful oversight of the executive branch, and ensuring government remains accountable to the people.

I believe many voters are exhausted by the politics of division. They want leaders who bring people together, listen before they speak, and seek solutions instead of headlines.

My campaign has always been guided by a simple principle: Leadership Matters.

Leadership means listening to the people you serve. It means making decisions based on facts and evidence. It means protecting constitutional rights and democratic institutions. It means holding every branch of government accountable. And it means never forgetting that public office is a responsibility to serve others, not a platform for personal power.

That is why I believe I am the strongest Democratic nominee to win this seat in November and effectively serve the people of Florida’s 12th Congressional District.