Age
40
Education
College Graduate - St. Petersburg College
Hometown
Jacksonville, FL
County
Hillsborough
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/jonharrisforcongress/
Campaign Phone
813-445-3674
Our immigration system is broken, and we need a fair, practical fix. I support a clear, earned pathway to citizenship for long‑term undocumented immigrants and Dreamers who are working, paying taxes, and contributing to our communities, paired with smart, humane border security. We should keep families together, protect people seeking asylum, and modernize our system so businesses and farms can hire the workers they need without forcing people into the shadows. That approach is better for our economy, safer for our communities, and more consistent with America’s values.
Yes. Climate change is already costing us billions through stronger hurricanes, floods, wildfires, heat waves, and higher insurance premiums, and those costs hit Florida especially hard. When homes become uninsurable, small businesses can’t reopen after storms, and taxpayers keep footing the bill for disasters, that is a direct threat to our national and local economy. If we invest now in clean energy, resilient infrastructure, and protecting our coasts, we can save money over the long term, create good‑paying jobs, and keep Florida a place where families and businesses can afford to stay.
My first priority is protecting our democracy and voting rights. That means fighting partisan gerrymandering, restoring and strengthening the Voting Rights Act, expanding early voting and vote‑by‑mail, and making sure every eligible voter in Florida can cast a ballot that is counted.
My second priority is rebuilding basic economic security for working families. I will work to raise the federal minimum wage to at least 15 dollars as a floor on the way to a true living wage, support unions and small businesses, and lower costs for health care and housing so people are not one emergency away from losing everything.
To me, freedom of speech means that people can speak, write, and express their views, especially about government and public issues, without fear of punishment or retaliation from the government. It protects the right to criticize elected officials, to organize and protest, and for communities who have often been silenced, including religious and racial minorities, to share their experiences and demand equal treatment. Freedom of speech does not mean there are no consequences for what we say, but it does mean the government should not be in the business of banning books, censoring lawful speech, or shutting down peaceful protest, while still enforcing laws against true threats and targeted harassment.
Both branches have a role in overseeing federal agencies, but in different ways. Congress creates and funds the agencies, writes the laws they must follow, holds hearings, and uses its oversight powers to make sure they are carrying out those laws and spending taxpayer money responsibly. The President leads the executive branch day to day and is responsible for making sure agencies faithfully execute the laws, appointing and, when necessary, removing agency leaders. A healthy system requires both: an engaged Congress that asks tough questions and a responsible President who manages the agencies in line with the law, not for personal or partisan gain
I oppose new paperwork barriers that make it harder for eligible citizens to register and vote. Instead of forcing people to hunt down old documents, I support automatic voter registration, where eligible citizens are added to the rolls when they interact with government agencies, similar to how draft registration works. Agencies already collect the information needed to confirm citizenship and identity, so we should use that data to keep our rolls accurate and complete while making sure women, older voters, and low‑income citizens are never blocked from voting just because they cannot afford or easily access a certified birth or marriage certificate.
I believe the federal government should be a partner in education, not a micromanager. At every level, from pre‑K through college, the federal role should be to set basic civil rights protections and high expectations for quality, while helping states and local districts meet them.
That means expanding access to quality pre‑K, setting and supporting strong K‑12 standards so every child gets at least a basic floor of opportunity no matter their ZIP code, and helping fund schools so they can pay teachers fairly and provide up‑to‑date books, technology, and safe buildings. For higher education, the federal government should rein in predatory lending, expand grants and affordable paths like community college and trade programs, and make sure cost is never the reason a qualified student can’t continue their education.
Age
51
Education
B.S. / M.A. - Georgetown University
Hometown
Sarasota
County
Sarasota
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/kirschnerforcongress/
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellykirschner/
Campaign Phone
(727)351-3453
Our broken immigration system has created victims of congressional failure: families
who want a secure border, people who have lived, worked, and raised families here for years, those who followed the legal immigration process, employers trying to do the right thing, and communities frustrated that Washington keeps choosing politics over solutions.
I support reforms that secure the border, enforce the law firmly, fairly, and humanely, speed up legal immigration and asylum cases, create an earned pathway to legal status for long-term undocumented residents who have contributed here, and hold employers accountable when they knowingly exploit undocumented workers.
We can’t keep spending billions on political spectacle while employers who knowingly profit from illegal labor walk away clean.
We can protect our borders without abandoning
our values. Government exists to solve real problems, not create new ones.
Yes. Call it climate change or risk management, Gulf Coast families are paying the price. Our economy depends on tourism, agriculture, fishing, and real estate, and every one of those industries is absorbing the costs. Insurance premiums are skyrocketing, families are losing coverage, hurricanes leave communities rebuilding for years, and our farmers and fishermen face growing financial risks from stronger storms and changing conditions. This isn't tomorrow's problem; it's today's bill. As Mayor, I held Florida Power & Light accountable, and I've seen firsthand what happens when families are left waiting for insurance payments and federal help after a hurricane.
Government's job isn't to debate reality. It's to respond to it. In Congress, I'll fight for a national reinsurance backstop to lower insurance costs, a fully funded and proactive FEMA, disaster and crop insurance that work when families need them, and investments that make our communities more resilient before the next storm.
Government is supposed to solve problems for the people it serves. My first priority is lowering the cost of living for Gulf Coast families. That means lowering insurance and healthcare costs, reducing prescription drug prices, expanding affordable housing by increasing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, preventing Wall Street investors from buying up single-family homes, and restoring competition by enforcing antitrust laws so dominant corporations can’t use their market power to drive up costs for families.
My second priority is protecting the healthcare and retirement security people have earned. I’ll work to make healthcare more affordable and accessible, protect people with pre-existing conditions, strengthen Medicare and Medicaid, restore recent healthcare cuts, protect a woman’s freedom to make her own healthcare decisions with her doctor, and ensure Social Security remains a promise kept. Congress should be solving these problems, not making them worse.
Freedom of speech protects every American’s right to question those in power without fear of government retaliation. That protection matters most when the speech is unpopular, critical, or uncomfortable.
As Mayor, I welcomed tough questions from residents, neighborhood activists, and the press because accountability makes government better. It should never matter whether I agree with what someone says because that’s exactly when constitutional rights matter most. I also believe every citizen’s voice should matter more than unlimited money in politics.
That’s why I led the successful passage of Florida’s toughest municipal campaign finance reform law. I’ll bring that same commitment to Congress by working to overturn Citizens United and restore the principle of one person, one vote. Freedom of speech means the government can’t punish you for your political views, your criticism of those in power, or your peaceful dissent. Full stop.
Congress. Oversight isn’t about protecting Congress or limiting a President. It’s about protecting us. The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility to ask hard questions on our behalf because executive branch decisions affect our families, our freedoms, and our future. When Congress stops asking those questions or demanding answers, we lose one of our strongest protections.
Today, Congress too often refuses to do that job. Representatives should ask: Is it lawful? Is it constitutional? Is it serving the public? Is anyone using public office for private gain? When there is credible evidence, Congress must investigate and follow the facts. Those aren’t partisan questions. They’re the job. As Mayor, I held Florida Power & Light, developers, and my own city government accountable because accountability matters. I’ll bring that same commitment to Congress, regardless of who is President. That’s what representation means.
Every eligible American should be able to vote, and every legitimate vote should count. If Congress considers new proof-of-citizenship requirements, the first question should be: does this improve election integrity, or does it simply make it harder for eligible citizens to vote? Government exists to solve real problems, not create new ones.
If government creates a new requirement, it has a responsibility to make compliance free, simple, and accessible. It shouldn’t pull the rug out from under people by changing the rules right before an election. That means no-cost replacement of vital records, straightforward ways to resolve name changes, extended timelines so no one loses their right to vote because of a paperwork backlog, and a secure process for eligible voters to resolve documentation issues without being disenfranchised. The goal should be protecting both election integrity and every eligible citizen’s constitutional right to vote.
Every child deserves access to an excellent education that opens doors, regardless of how much money their family has. Opportunity shouldn’t depend on wealth or political connections. The federal government’s role is to expand opportunity and protect the public institutions that serve students. I’ve dedicated much of my career to that mission.
I co-founded UnidosNow, which has helped more than 1,000 first-generation students earn admission to the nation’s top universities debt-free, and I built workforce and lifelong-learning programs at Eckerd College. I’ve also seen what happens when politics supersedes students.
Our community recently lost nursing, teacher education, hospitality and veterans’ programs when USF Sarasota-Manatee was dismantled and its campus transferred to New College. Education funding, whether state or federal, should expand opportunity, not be diverted for political patronage. I’ll fight to ensure education dollars serve students, families, and communities.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Masters in Law, and currently completing her dissertation for her Doctorate in Law & Policy
Hometown
Jackson, Tennessee
County
Madison
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lylesforflorida
Campaign Phone
904-438-4772
Tamika Lyles supports comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border while protecting constitutional rights and human dignity. She supports modern border security technology, increased efforts to combat human trafficking and drug smuggling, expanding legal immigration pathways, reducing visa backlogs, protecting Dreamers, and creating an earned pathway to citizenship for law-abiding undocumented immigrants.
Tamika also supports abolishing ICE. She believes immigration enforcement should focus on genuine security threats, not indiscriminate civil enforcement.
As a veteran, Tamika believes America can have secure borders without sacrificing its constitutional values. She supports reform because the current system is inefficient, backlogged, and too often fails both immigrants seeking a legal process and the American people, who deserve a secure, fair, and functional immigration system.
Yes. Tamika Lyles believes climate change is both an environmental and economic threat to the United States. More frequent hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, droughts, and rising sea levels increase disaster recovery costs, disrupt businesses and supply chains, damage infrastructure, drive up insurance premiums, and threaten agriculture and tourism, particularly in Florida.
Tamika believes failing to address climate change will cost far more than investing in solutions. She supports the Green New Deal's goal of accelerating clean energy, strengthening climate resilience, and creating millions of good-paying union jobs while protecting workers during the transition.
She sees climate action not only as an environmental responsibility, but as an economic opportunity to modernize infrastructure, reduce long-term costs, improve public health, strengthen energy independence, and position the United States as a global leader in clean-energy innovation.
Healthcare and Affordability
To Tamika Lyles, the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech means every American has the right to express their views, criticize the government, peacefully protest, organize, publish ideas, and advocate for change without fear of government censorship or retaliation. She believes this protection applies regardless of political ideology and is essential to a healthy democracy.
Tamika supports robust protections for free expression, freedom of the press, peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government. She also believes the government has a constitutional duty to protect public safety by enforcing laws against true threats, criminal conduct, and incitement to imminent violence, consistent with longstanding First Amendment principles.
Her guiding belief is that democracy is strengthened when ideas are debated openly, rights are protected equally, and government remains accountable to the people.
The President oversees federal agencies through the executive branch because most agencies are responsible for carrying out federal law under presidential administration.
But Congress has constitutional oversight authority because Congress creates agencies, funds them, writes the laws they enforce, conducts investigations and hearings, and can reform, restrict, or eliminate agencies through legislation.
Tamika’s position is: no federal agency should operate beyond constitutional accountability. The President may administer agencies, but Congress must oversee them, fund them responsibly, investigate misconduct, and protect the people from abuse of power.
Tamika Lyles believes election integrity and voter access must go hand in hand. If documentary proof of citizenship is required to register to vote, no eligible citizen should be denied the right to vote because they cannot afford or easily obtain the necessary documents.
She would support federal funding to reduce or eliminate the cost of obtaining certified birth certificates and other required records, streamline document replacement processes, and establish assistance programs for seniors, women who have changed their names through marriage or divorce, veterans, rural residents, and low-income Americans. She also supports secure electronic verification systems that minimize unnecessary paperwork while protecting election integrity.
Tamika believes the right to vote should never depend on a person's financial means or ability to navigate burdensome bureaucracy. Every eligible citizen should have a fair and accessible path to exercising this fundamental constitutional right.
Tamika Lyles believes education is a shared responsibility, with states and local communities leading curriculum while the federal government ensures every child has an equal opportunity to succeed. She supports expanding access to affordable, high-quality preschool, strengthening K-12 public education through increased funding, teacher support, and equitable resources, and protecting students' civil rights.
For higher education, Tamika supports making community college tuition-free, expanding access to affordable public colleges and universities, investing in trade schools and apprenticeships, and reducing the burden of student debt. As an educator, she believes the federal government should help remove financial barriers to education while respecting local control over instruction.
Her goal is simple: every American, regardless of zip code or income, deserves access to a quality education that prepares them for success.
County
Manatee
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/glennforcongress
I support comprehensive immigration reform that secures our borders while creating a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system. In Congress, I will work to pass legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers and long-term law-abiding residents, modernizes the legal immigration system to reduce backlogs, increases the number of immigration judges to speed legitimate asylum claims, and strengthens border security by focusing resources on fentanyl trafficking, human trafficking, and violent criminal organizations rather than mass workplace raids. I also support ending the misuse of private detention centers, ensuring due process, and protecting Temporary Protected Status for people fleeing war or natural disasters. Our immigration system should reflect both the rule of law and America's values.
Yes. Climate change is already increasing costs for families, businesses, and taxpayers through stronger storms, flooding, wildfires, rising insurance premiums, crop losses, and damage to infrastructure. In Congress, I will support investments in resilient infrastructure, strengthen flood mitigation and coastal restoration, expand clean energy and energy efficiency, and protect programs that help communities prepare for climate impacts. These investments reduce long-term costs, create jobs, and help protect our economy from increasingly expensive climate-related disasters.
1. Lower the Cost of Living Through Universal Healthcare:
Healthcare costs are one of the biggest financial burdens facing American families. I will work to establish universal healthcare so everyone has access to affordable care regardless of income or employment. I also support allowing Medicare to negotiate more prescription drug prices, capping out-of-pocket costs, and preventing medical debt from pushing families into financial hardship. Lower healthcare costs mean more money in working families' pockets.
2. End the Influence of Big Money in Politics:
·Our government cannot effectively address the challenges facing working families while billionaires and special interests dominate our elections. I will support legislation to overturn Citizens United, require full disclosure of political spending, strengthen campaign finance laws, and expand public financing of federal campaigns. Congress should answer to voters—not wealthy donors and corporate interests.
For more than 30 years as a journalist, I saw firsthand why freedom of speech and a free press are essential to a healthy democracy. The First Amendment protects every American's right to speak, criticize the government, worship freely, assemble peacefully, and hold those in power accountable without fear of censorship or retaliation. It protects ideas we agree with and those we don't. As a member of Congress, I will defend those constitutional rights and oppose efforts by any administration to silence journalists, punish political opponents, or interfere with the public's right to know. Democracy cannot survive without the free exchange of ideas and facts.
The Constitution establishes a system of checks and balances. The President is responsible for managing the Executive Branch, but Congress has the constitutional authority to create federal agencies, fund them, conduct oversight, and, when appropriate, provide statutory protections that preserve the independence of agencies charged with enforcing the law without political interference. I believe concentrating too much power in any one branch threatens our democracy. As a member of Congress, I will defend Congress's oversight role and support legislation that protects the independence and integrity of agencies whose decisions should be based on law, science, and the public interest—not politics.
If such a law were enacted, I would work to repeal it. Until then, I would support federal funding to help citizens obtain required documents at little or no cost, establish a simple process for replacing lost birth and marriage certificates, require states to accept a broad range of government records to verify citizenship, and ensure that married women, seniors, military members, rural residents, people with disabilities, and low-income Americans are not disenfranchised because of paperwork. Every eligible citizen should be able to exercise the fundamental right to vote.
Education is primarily a state and local responsibility, but the federal government has an essential role in ensuring every child has an equal opportunity to succeed. I support expanding access to high-quality early childhood education, fully funding programs that serve disadvantaged students and children with disabilities, investing in public schools and teacher recruitment, and enforcing civil rights protections. I oppose diverting public education funds to private school voucher programs. For higher education, Congress should partner with states to make tuition-free attendance at public colleges and universities a reality, expand Pell Grants, strengthen career and technical education, and substantially reduce or eliminate the crushing burden of student loan debt. In the richest nation on earth, higher education should be an opportunity—not a lifetime of debt.
Education
Yale Law School – JD (Law Journal), Yale University – MPhil & PhD (Political Science), University of Geneva – Certificate (International Organizations), Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs – MIA & Certificate (Russian Institute) & Brown University -- BA summa cum laude (in 3 years)
Hometown
Sarasota
County
Florida
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/votejanfl16/
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-schneider-9304751b7/
Campaign Phone
941-706-5251
Jan Schneider will fight to end ICE and Border Patrol abuses and illegalities and to reduce ICE funding and staffing; to end appalling treatment of detainees, including in inhumane facilities; to create a path to citizenship for deserving immigrants; and to uphold legal requirements and civil liberties.
I would have voted for the Bipartisan Border Bill of 2024. Republicans killed it to preserve the border as a campaign issue.
A new immigration bill needs: a fair process for considering asylum claims; strengthened provisions against drug and human trafficking and currency smuggling; and assurances of humane treatment. It should also include: a path to citizenship for “Dreamers” and DACA recipients; preservation of Temporary Protected Status for people from countries afflicted by armed conflict, environmental disasters, epidemics or other extraordinary conditions; and accelerated transition to permanent status for Afghan allies who entered under Operation Allies Welcome.
Yes. Climate change is a clear financial threat to the U.S. economy.
Among other things, coastal flooding from rising sea levels is already causing governments, companies and people huge amounts of property damage. For businesses, floods, fires and droughts interrupt supply chains and damage inventories. For families, hotter summers lead to higher air conditioning bills; escalating storm and other risks lead to declines in property values and vastly increased or unaffordable insurance rates; and droughts and other catastrophes increase food and other prices.
The United States should – again – rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. But that is a beginning rather than a solution. In order to limit climate change, the United State must itself accelerate transition to clean and renewable energy sources, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and implement the “polluter pays” principle. And the federal government should reform its reinsurance programs and expand FEMA.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE. Just 300 billionaires poured $3 billion into federal elections in the 2024 cycle, 19% of all reported contributions.
In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court exacerbated the previous big money situation, by equating money and speech and corporations and citizens. Recently, the Court made it worse in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC, by striking down limits on political party expenditures. I will fight: to prohibit corporate PACs from contributing to federal candidates; to ban lobbyist fundraising; and to close "dark money" loopholes.
HEALTHCARE. The United States healthcare system is sick. We spend 18% of GDP on health, the highest per capita, and still rank worse than other developed countries on health indicators.
Healthcare should be a right. Congress should: revive Affordable Care Act tax credits; transition to Medicare for All; restore Medicare, Medicaid and VHA cuts; reduce drug prices; and restore access to reproductive care.
First Amendment “freedom of speech” means the right to express ideas and opinions without government interference. It includes not only spoken and written words, but also symbolic expression such as artwork, flag burning, protesting and even expressive clothing. The highest level of protection is accorded political and civic commentary, however unpopular.
What free speech does not include is incitement to violence or danger (e.g., yelling “fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire), false statements constituting slander or libel, or patently obscene material. Although free speech protects the utterer from government interference, governments may enforce time, place and manner restrictions.
These days, free speech also apparently covers anything President Trump wants to say, even if knowingly false, contradictory or intended to incite insurrection. On the other hand, it has been argued to preclude a perceived enemy from sharing a photo of seashells arranged to spell "86 47".
Both are supposed to – in different ways:
Congress makes the laws that create federal agencies; define their rights, responsibilities and restrictions; and provide funding for their operations. Congressional control continues through the power-of-the-purse over the "discretionary" part of the federal budget (national defense, justice, education, etc., but excluding automatic expenses like Social Security). Congress can also conduct oversight hearings, with attendant subpoena powers over documents and testimony and the possibility of contempt citations.
The president, as the head of the executive branch, is supposed to make sure that laws are carried out. The president oversees agencies by appointing their heads and other officials (some subject to Senate confirmation), setting priorities and managing spending, and broadly managing day-to-day operations.
This is part of the Constitutional design of checks and balances and separation of powers. At present, these are often undermined.
The SAVE America Act would block millions of eligible citizens from voting. Its “show your papers” provisions specify photo IDs to register and vote, with a list much more restrictive than current requirements. This would disproportionally affect women, who could become ineligible to vote because their married names do not match those on birth certificates or passports. If the SAVE Act passes, I will fight to repeal it or at the least amend its ID and other requirements.
The SAVE Act would also require voter registration to be in person. This would disproportionally affect younger, older, minority, military, tribal, rural and newly-naturalized citizens (particularly now with ICE threats). And multiple other provisions also threaten our freedom.
President Trump’s cherished SAVE Act addresses a non-problem. Voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering. As dozens of courts have held, fraud in this regard is virtually non-exist
With regard to pre-school education, the federal government should continue to fund Head Start Preschool programs and to fund Child Care and Development Block Grants to help low income families with childcare, including preschool.
Regarding K-12, the Every Student Succeeds Act, replacing No Child Left Behind, is the main federal law. The federal government should continue to require states to measure performance and to help students from low-income families pursuant to the ESSA. The government should also continue to provide for special education students under the Disabilities Education Act and prevent discrimination under the Civil Rights Act.
As to higher education, the federal government is the primary source of student assistance for college and beyond. The Department of Education administers billions of dollars in grants, work-study programs, and student loans under the Higher Education Act. Other agencies fund academic research.
These activities should be expanded
