Political advisors to Sydney Gruters are shooting down rumors she will soon launch a campaign for Congress. But they acknowledge she is exploring a possible run.
“Sydney has received a tremendous amount of encouragement and support from people across Southwest Florida urging her to consider the race. She’s grateful for the support and is listening closely, but no announcement will be made at this time,” said Max Goodman, a Southwest Florida political consultant.
The statement pushed back on a report in The Floridian that claimed Gruters was “locked into” running, citing a “source close to Florida Republican politics and attached to the Republican Party of Florida.”
Gruters currently works as Executive Director of the New College Foundation and is married to Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters. Both Joe and Sydney Gruters have been rumored as candidates to succeed U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, who announced he would retire and not seek another term this year.
Many candidates considering a run for the open seat have waited to see if Joe Gruters would run, though such a move could prove complicated months after he took on his role in the national party amid a critical Midterm Election cycle.
That has left speculation more recently surrounding Sydney Gruters, who boasts a strong background herself.
She was named in 2023 to her post in charge of the New College Foundation, a role she took on shortly after a conservative takeover of the Board of Trustees and at a point when many historic donors were cutting ties. Since her arrival, Foundation assets surged from $39 million to $54 million.
She is also no stranger to Congress. Before her current role at New College, Gruters served as District Director to U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, from 2019 through 2023. She also worked as an Operations Director for Buchanan from 2007 to 2017.
Between her stints working for the two Sarasota area Congressmen, Gruters also worked from late 2017 to early 2019 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the Rural Development State Director for Florida.
