CLEARWATER, Fla. — Flanked by Colombian and Peruvian flags at La Mordida Restaurant Bar and Grill in Clearwater, seven Democrats made their case for why they are best suited for the congressional seat held by Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.

In an election cycle where Democrats have solid chances of taking back the U.S. House, Luna’s Pinellas County 13th Congressional District is one of only two in Florida that the Cook Political Report ranks as competitive.

Democrats have been disappointed in this district before. Former Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority communications director Whitney Fox lost to Luna by nearly 10 points in 2024.

But overperformance in recent special elections has buoyed Democratic spirits. In two Florida special elections last April, Democrats overperformed by at least 15 points in ruby-red congressional districts compared to 2024. They still lost in those races.

Seven candidates spoke at last Tuesday’s forum held by the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Pinellas County: U.S. Army veteran and attorney Earle Ford; retired Brig. Gen. Leela Gray; Pinellas County teacher Timothy “Brandt” Robinson; mental health advocate John Fay; Air Force veteran John Liccione; insurance agent and sustainability consultant Karla Kemp; and consultant Susan Leff.

Among a crowd of around 100 highly engaged Democrats, many of them white and silver-haired, bold statements — like calls to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement — got the biggest responses.

Most of the candidates jumped into the race early this year. Ford launched his campaign back in October. Most haven’t released fundraising reports yet.

The candidates at the forum are not the only Democrats who have filed to run for the seat this year. And the field is not yet set. Candidates have until June 12 to jump into — or exit — the race before the qualifying deadline.

Here’s a sampling of what each candidate said at the forum.

Earle Ford

Ford, 39, lives in Lutz with his two young sons. He works as an attorney going after trusts and estates, he said.

Ford’s priorities include gun violence prevention, affordable health care and preserving economic opportunity for all, according to his campaign website.

Ford told guests that his campaign has not taken money from political action committees or foreign lobbyists.

“We’re not connected to big donors,” he said. “We’re generating money from small-dollar donors.”

Ford’s campaign reported almost $140,000 raised at the end of 2025. His campaign reported Ford reached $500,000 in contributions this month.

Ford also emphasized the importance of youth engagement. His campaign has been active on Instagram and has about 3,000 followers.

Leela Gray

After entering the race last month, Gray quickly won high-profile endorsements from EMILY’s List, a national abortion rights group that endorses candidates for office, and Fox, the 2024 Democratic nominee.

Gray, who served in the Army for 30 years and reached a one-star ranking as a brigadier general, emphasized that she’s been able to reach out across the aisle to Republicans and independents. And she broke from her opponents on immigration enforcement.

“Before this last administration, ICE was working, right?” she said. “We had four, three previous presidents that had ICE under their control, and they were deporting illegal aliens without violence, without killing Americans, without the horrific things that we’re seeing every day in the news. So my short answer for when we talk about abolishing something is we should be repairing it or fixing it.”

Sarah Arena, 37, of Tarpon Springs, said after the forum that she’s suspicious of Gray’s more moderate tone.

“I think that Leela Gray is too corporate, too Republican and came in way too late,” Arena said.

Gray’s website emphasizes her long history of service. Her campaign hasn’t released a fundraising report.

Timothy “Brandt” Robinson

Robinson is a veteran Pinellas County teacher with a long history of involvement in progressive politics.

Robinson pointed to that history at the forum.

“This campaign is about my life’s work,” he said. “You’re not going to hear me talk about money on hand ... what you’re going to hear me talk about is my life experience.”

In 2022, Robinson gained national attention as one of the few educators willing to publicly criticize efforts to malign critical race theory, denying accusations that teachers were attempting to indoctrinate children with “woke” ideology.

Carol McNamee, 84, of Safety Harbor, who attended the forum, said she’s inclined to support Robinson. When Robinson led a protest outside the first national Moms for Liberty convention in 2022, she was there, she said.

Robinson’s campaign priorities include protecting the Affordable Care Act, defending public education and pursuing environmental justice, according to his website.

Robinson raised about $24,000 at the end of 2025. He filed to run in November.

John Fay

Fay is a founder of Resilience Inc., an organization dedicated to strengthening emotional intelligence to address the root causes of school shootings, domestic violence, suicide and addiction.

His campaign’s priorities include protecting seniors, lowering rent and insurance costs, and protecting children’s safety on the internet.

When asked about artificial intelligence, he said the U.S. should adopt regulations like Europe’s to protect children’s privacy online.

Fay’s campaign reported raising around $900 in 2025, before he filed to run for office.

Susan Leff

Leff serves as CEO of the ESL Consulting and Networking Group in Largo.

Leff said she wants to ease higher-than-average unemployment rates for marginalized groups by investing in reeducation and retraining.

“We need to make sure that everyone has a hand and gets the help that they need,” she said. “This is our country. We’ve got to take it back.”

Leff has not released a fundraising report.

John Liccione

Liccione, founder of the media group RussiLeaks, ran and lost in the 2024 Democratic primary for Congressional District 13. Fox, who had national Democrats’ support, easily dispatched her opponents.

Liccione has since introduced lawsuits alleging election fraud in that race. He’s involved in a public records suit in the 6th Judicial Circuit of Florida.

He emphasized his opposition to child sex trafficking and criticized Luna for not signing a House petition last year that would have forced a vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. (Luna did push Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all the files, and she voted to release unclassified Epstein records in November.)

“This is a unique moment (with) the Epstein files,” he said. “This isn’t 2024.”

Liccione hasn’t released a fundraising report.

Karla Kemp

Kemp drew on her own background in insurance and argued monopolies need to be broken up to lower costs for consumers.

She also offered a blueprint for how the country’s immigration process should be reformed.

She asked the audience to imagine facilities that could help immigrants with the transition to America.

“Let’s start teaching people English,” Kemp said. “Let’s help them get a trade so they can go out into the world and have a job and be part of our community and be welcomed.”

Her campaign hasn’t released a fundraising report.

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(Times staff writer Jeffrey Solochek contributed to this report.)

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