Candidates vying to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District will face off in a debate Monday in Tallahassee.
The debate is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, hosted by the nonpartisan Capital Tiger Bay Club.
Jim Rosica, news director of the Tallahassee Democrat, will serve as moderator.
CD 2 is the state’s most rural District and largest by land area, encompassing 15 counties from the Suwannee River to DeFuniak Springs. Dunn, 73, has held the seat since 2017 but is facing “real health challenges and a pretty grim diagnosis,” according to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Businessman Keith Gross and Florida GOP Chair Evan Power have emerged as the front-runners in the race.
Gross, a 42-year-old Army veteran and business owner from Panama City Beach, spent millions of his own funds in an unsuccessful Primary challenge against Sen. Rick Scott in 2024. Power, 44, lives in Tallahassee and has served as Chair of the state’s Republican Party since January 2024, but this is his first run for elected office.
Power touts the significant voter registration gains the state GOP has achieved under his tenure and has attacked Gross for previously running as a Democrat for a seat in the Georgia Legislature.
Gross has defended himself by arguing that President Donald Trump was a registered Democrat in 2008 and supported Hillary Clinton’s Primary campaign that year. He has portrayed himself as a self-made political outsider, in contrast to Power’s 14 years in internal party leadership positions.
Polling has been extremely limited, but the lone poll conducted thus far showed Gross leading the GOP Primary field in February with 34% support and Power close behind at 32%, well within the 4% margin of error.
Other candidates who will be present on Monday include former Gulf County Schools Superintendent Jim Norton; Austin Rogers, former general counsel for then-Gov. Rick Scott, Army veteran and keynote speaker Luke Murphy, and retired law enforcement officer Audie Rowell. The same six candidates met two weeks ago for a debate held by the Bay County Republican Party.
Per the latest available campaign finance reports, Gross is far ahead of the rest of the field with $5.6 million in contributions, all but $70,000 of which are self-funded. Next closest are Rogers at $722,000, Power at $346,000, and Norton at $272,000. In total, eight Republican and four Democratic candidates have filed to run.
The District is unaffected by the recent redistricting and is rated R+8 by Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voter Index, though Democrats have not come within 19 points of winning the seat since former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham — daughter of Florida Gov. Bob Graham — narrowly won in 2014. The seat is considered a safe Republican by Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
The last day to register to vote is July 20.
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Freelance reporter Fabrizio Gowdy reports.
