Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna defended her House District 13 seat for a third term, narrowly beating her democratic opponent Leela Gray by less than a percentage point.<\/p>\n
With 99% of precincts reporting, Luna had 49.48% to Gray\u2019s 48.67%.<\/p>\n
Luna thanked the crowd at the St. Petersburg Marriott Clearwater Tuesday night, where the Pinellas GOP hosted a watch party.<\/p>\n
The congresswoman said one of her top priorities will be to enact term limits for Congress members. She also vowed to stop taking corporate PAC money.<\/p>\n
When asked about the election results, Luna said they were expecting a tighter race in a midterm election, but were ultimately not worried.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that matters in politics is if you win by one vote, and so we’re very happy tonight,\u201d Luna said.<\/p>\n
Several supporters at the watch party event said they resonated with Luna\u2019s background in military service, including Paul Branesky, a Pinellas resident and 22-year Navy veteran.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur congresswoman takes care of us. I do many things for veterans myself, because that’s what I live for nowadays,\u201d Branesky said.<\/p>\n
Although Luna\u2019s opponent Gray is also a veteran, Branesky said the district was \u201cAnna Luna country.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Luna\u2019s campaign website<\/a>, her priorities this election included expanding care for military veterans, capping student loan interest rates, eliminating taxes on seniors\u2019 Social Security benefits and banning insider trading.<\/p>\n She has also pushed for beach renourishment efforts<\/a> in Pinellas County.<\/p>\n Luna has represented the district since 2023.<\/p>\n In 2024, Luna beat Democratic Whitney Fox by about 10 points. Her priority then<\/a> was to secure the U.S. southern border.<\/p>\n The Republican-dominated legislature redrew district boundaries<\/a> to favor Republican candidates even more this year. The new map<\/a> cuts off the southern part of Pinellas County, including portions of blue-leaning St. Petersburg and Gulfport<\/a>, and pushes north into Pasco County.<\/p>\n Campaign finance reports show Luna raised about $4.3 million<\/a> to Gray\u2019s $2.9 million<\/a>, as of Oct. 14. Both candidates also received millions in outside funding.<\/p>\n Luna graduated from the University of West Florida with a biology degree and served in the U.S. Air Force for five years and the Air National Guard for one. She is the first Mexican American woman<\/a> that Floridians elected to the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n Her campaign page talks about a tough upbringing, which she said shaped her hard-right political views.<\/p>\n \u201cI know the leftist power structures will stop at nothing to prevent someone like me \u2014 someone who looks like me and grew up the way I did \u2014 from influencing public policy if they hold right-leaning beliefs,\u201d her \u2018about\u2019 page<\/a> states.<\/p>\n Luna is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and received his endorsement for her congressional bids.<\/p>\n