{"id":146837,"date":"2026-02-07T02:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T02:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/146837\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T02:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T02:19:15","slug":"florida-challenger-targets-gop-establishment-in-high-stakes-race-to-replace-vern-buchanan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/146837\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida challenger targets ‘GOP establishment’ in high-stakes race to replace Vern Buchanan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Eddie Speir is not afraid of a fight with the Florida GOP establishment. In 2024, he took on 10-term incumbent<\/a> Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., and won just under 40% of the vote, positioning himself as a constitutional conservative outsider against an entrenched moderate Republican.<\/p>\n

Now, with Buchanan’s Jan. 27 announcement that he would be retiring after a nearly two-decade stint in D.C., Speir is launching another grassroots, outsider candidacy to challenge the “RINO Republicans” that he frequently derides.<\/p>\n

FLORIDA GOP REP VERN BUCHANAN TO RETIRE, ADDING TO WAVE OF HOUSE EXITS<\/a><\/p>\n

“This is just a continuation of what I did in ’24, which was run against Vern Buchanan to expose the RINOs [Republicans In Name Only] that are not representing the district\u2026and the taxpayers of Florida. So we need somebody that’s gonna step up and actually represent and go to Washington D.C. with a bold agenda and not compromise to the elite social circles that are up there in D.C.”<\/p>\n

\"Eddie <\/p>\n

Eddie Speir, founder of Inspiration Academy, tech entrepreneur and congressional candidate for Florida’s 16th district, comprising Manatee County and the eastern portion of Hillsborough County. (Fox News Digital)<\/p>\n

Speir said he believes that his messaging and grassroots support will carry him through to victory in the Aug. 18 primary.<\/p>\n

“We were the largest grassroots movement in this district’s history\u2026Nobody else had even come close to earning 40% in the entire state of Florida. \u2026 So, it’s hard to push against an incumbent here in Florida. But now there’s not even an incumbent, so we’re just gonna continue the same momentum that we had and get the message out.”<\/p>\n

DAYLIGHT SAVING REFORM HITS WALL AS LAWMAKERS BLAST ‘OUTDATED PRACTICE’<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida political observers have batted about several possible contenders that might join Speir in the GOP primary. Chief among these is close Trump ally Joe Gruters<\/a>, who cut his political teeth working on Buchanan’s campaign and would be the establishment heir apparent.<\/p>\n

\"Congressman <\/p>\n

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., attends the House Ways and Means Committee meeting. Buchanan announced recently that he is retiring from Congress. (Bill Clark\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

However, Gruters’ potential candidacy is complicated by the three high-level positions he currently holds. He is a sitting Florida state senator, the RNC chairman, as well as the current candidate for Florida Chief Financial Officer in 2026.<\/p>\n

Gruters is seen as the most likely establishment opponent to Speir, and some believe he may abandon his Florida CFO candidacy to run in Florida’s 16th district.<\/p>\n

THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT MODERN ‘ANTI-FASCISM’<\/a><\/p>\n

New College of Florida President<\/a> Richard Corcoran has also been discussed as a potential candidate. Speir was appointed to the New College of Florida board of trustees by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2023, but the Florida Senate refused to confirm his appointment.<\/p>\n

Speir’s controversial tenure at New College, and the subsequent rejection of his confirmation by the Florida Senate, catapulted Speir onto the national stage at a time when the Florida GOP was conspicuously seeking to rebrand the school as the “Hillsdale of the South.”<\/p>\n

Additional candidates who may join the field include former state Rep. Mike Beltran, developer Carlos Beruff, former state Senate President Bill Galvano, and Manatee County Commissioner Mike Rahn.<\/p>\n

\"President <\/p>\n

Speir says he’ll not only be facing off against the local GOP establishment, but President Donald Trump as well. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n

Speir said he realizes he is likely to be facing off not merely against the local GOP establishment, but against President Donald Trump as well:<\/p>\n

“In the ’24 primary, Vern Buchanan had one of the worst records possible, and Donald Trump endorsed him with a number of other horrific candidates. So we’ve got to be able to separate Trump’s priorities and his constitutional conservative push, versus the political machine that he’s working with, because that political machine is not doing any favors to the Republican Party,” Speir said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

“So I think the endorsements mean a little bit less. Now, that doesn’t mean that I won’t try to get Trump’s endorsement, but we already gained [a] historic vote, and as a challenger in 2024.”<\/p>\n

David Unsworth reports on Latin America. You can follow David Unsworth on Twitter @LatinAmerUpdate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Eddie Speir is not afraid of a fight with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,55152,44361,99,32396],"class_list":["post-146837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-midterm-elections","tag-politics","tag-republicans-elections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}