Whitney Fox backs Leela Gray to do what she couldn’t in CD 13

Whitney Fox, the 2024 Democratic nominee for Florida’s 13th Congressional District, is backing a new candidate vying for the seat this year, Leela Gray.

Fox ran two years ago in the red district, coming closer than many prognosticators had expected, earning about 45% of the vote. As of Jan. 8, Republican voters accounted for 42% of the district’s electorate, compared to just shy of 29% for Democrats. Voters with no party affiliation account for another nearly 26% of the electorate.

The math creates a tough challenge for any Democrat running. Cook Political Report lists the district as “likely Republican” with a 5-point advantage for the GOP. But Fox sees hope that Gray can finish what she started.

“When my campaign ended in 2024, I promised myself that when the right candidate came along, I wouldn’t hesitate to endorse her, support her, and share everything I learned competing in this district,” she said.

“Leela is that candidate,” Fox first told POLITICO Florida after Gray’s campaign announcement Tuesday.

Despite the seemingly long odds, CD 13 is among the top pickup opportunities for Democrats in Florida, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already targeted it.

Gray is the ninth Democrat to file against Luna this cycle. But only one candidate so far, Earle Ford, raised more than $100,000 in 2025. That means the nomination remains competitive. And national Democrats have already signaled interest in Gray. Over a 30-year Army career, she rose to the rank of Brigadier General.

Gray served at the Department of State’s Global Engagement Center and as the Chief of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Army Reserve. That makes her familiar with the workings of Washington and Capitol Hill. She brings particular policy expertise in cyber and information warfare.

“My entire background was all about getting things done and things getting done,” she said, noting her various leadership posts in the Army.

“Each one of those commands had a wide variety of people in those commands from a wide variety of backgrounds, and several of those commands were strewn throughout the United States,” she added.

“What I learned very early on was that you learn to work with people from a variety of backgrounds and from a variety of experiences, but if you focus on the fact that you actually have a problem to solve, you can get away from the incivility that’s going on and the distraction that is going on, and focus on the problem and come up with good solutions. That would be the same scenario in Congress.”

Gray earned a law degree from Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, within the district. But she said her family has been rooted in the Pinellas region for 22 years. She moved to the area when her daughter was 2 years old and went to college in Florida.

Luna first won election in 2022 and then won re-election in 2024, both times against nationally backed Democrats. But while she emerged as a darling of national conservative media figures, Gray said she senses Pinellas voters have grown tired of her partisan theatrics.

“Congressman Luna is not focused on the issues, and she hasn’t been in the last three years,” Gray said. “She’s forgotten her district, and we need somebody who’s going to put the needs of Pinellas County above their own agenda. I’ve lived an entire life of service over self, and I’m going to continue to do that.”

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Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics contributed to this report.