Sydney Gruters, Eddie Speir and Ed Pope set for CD 16 debate showdown

A hotly awaited debate between Sydney Gruters, Eddie Speir and Ed Pope is now set, giving Republican voters in Florida’s 16th Congressional District a chance to see the full GOP field side-by-side before the August Primary.

Speir, Pope and their supporters have pushed for a direct debate with Gruters, who accepted this week. The Republican Women’s Club of Sarasota will host the July 31 debate at Michael’s On East in Sarasota, with doors opening at 11 a.m. and the program starting at noon. The trio are running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan.

Political advisor Max Goodman said Gruters will not attend some other CD 16 events where her presence has also been requested, such as a Manatee Tiger Bay Club forum scheduled for June 17.

“No reason to debate Democrats before the Primary when we have multiple Republican challengers,” Goodman said. “We’ll do that in the General.”

Gruters’ appearance makes the Sarasota debate one of the most notable events of the Primary calendar, locally. For voters looking to hear from Gruters in a forum setting, it offers a confirmed Republican-only stage where she is expected to appear alongside both GOP opponents.

The Republican Women’s Club of Sarasota, founded in 1950, serves members in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The club is billing the debate as the culmination of its 2026 Candidate Series. 

The program will use a question-and-answer format and give candidates a chance to share their vision and priorities, according to an event flyer. The group expects an audience of 200 to 300 or more attendees, including Republican voters, activists, volunteers, donors and community leaders.

The forum could mark one of the most visible public tests yet for Gruters, who has spent the early stretch of the race consolidating major Republican establishment support. 

She has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and several conservative organizations, including Maggie’s List, Winning for Women, Value In Electing Women PAC and Turning Point Action.

Gruters has also swept endorsements from Sheriffs in all six neighboring counties, including Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells, DeSoto County Sheriff Jim Potter and Hardee County Sheriff Vent Crawford.

Gruters previously served as Executive Director of the New College Foundation, District Director for U.S. Rep. Greg Steube and State Director for USDA Rural Development in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands under Trump. She also spent more than a decade in Buchanan’s congressional offices.

Speir and Pope have been working to break through in a Primary where Gruters has drawn the bulk of major institutional support.

Speir, the founder of Bradenton-based Inspiration Academy, previously built and sold the financial software company Mortgage Cadence before moving to Manatee County in 2010. He later became one of the most visible local figures in the New College of Florida fight after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to the school’s Board of Trustees in early 2023, though the Florida Senate later refused to confirm him.

Pope, a Navy veteran and former Florida Highway Patrol trooper, has campaigned as a political outsider with a background in public safety, business leadership and education. His campaign describes him as an executive business leader and “not a career politician,” leaning into his military service, law enforcement and private-sector experience.

The redrawn CD 16 includes all of Manatee County and parts of Pinellas, DeSoto, Hardee, Polk and Sarasota counties. The Republican Primary is scheduled for Aug. 18.