Who's running in Florida's 12th congressional district
3 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
3 candidates · ballot order · Gus Bilirakis currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Reducing property insurance costs, through his Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act offering deductions of up to $10,000.
Affordable housing so families can stay in their neighbourhoods, and tax relief including no tax on tips or overtime.
Expanding mental health services at federally qualified health centres and extending telehealth for seniors through the EASE Act.
Housing, health care and employment support for veterans.
Border security aimed at fentanyl trafficking.
School safety funding and children's health coverage; he secured the longest KidCare reauthorisation in the programme's history.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Representative since January 2007; re-elected in 2024 with 71.0%.
Senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Attorney; son of former Rep. Mike Bilirakis.
Secured $585 million in disaster recovery funds for hurricane relief, $4 million for Moffitt Cancer Center and $6 million for USF cancer research.
Secured $3 million a year in school safety funding for Pasco County Schools.
Opened Magnolia Oaks Veterans Housing in December 2025 and Vincent House Pasco mental health housing in March 2026.
Advanced from the August 18, 2026 Republican primary.
Arguments in favor
His agenda for the new district is a cost-of-living one: "the voters of Florida's 12th District want a Representative focused on helping families by eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and helping homeowners with the high cost of insurance."
— Gus Bilirakis's campaign
He still legislates across the aisle where it costs him nothing politically and helps people directly, co-introducing the Ensuring Medicaid Continuity for Children in Foster Care Act with Democrat Julia Brownley so that children in foster care do not lose mental health coverage.
— Gus Bilirakis's office
Arguments against
He cast the deciding vote for legislation cutting nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, stripping coverage from roughly 40,000 people in this district, has voted at least 15 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and in a district with more than 68,000 veterans has voted against military pay raises and minimum rest periods for deployed troops.
— Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "The Case Against Gus Bilirakis"
He has spent "nearly 20 years in Washington cozying up to special interests" in a seat his family has held for more than 40 years, voting eight times to preserve the tariffs and backing the Iran conflict that added about $16 to a tank of petrol. "Tampa Bay voters are tired" of that record.
— Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Constituents made a related complaint in July 2025, holding a mock town hall outside the West Pasco Government Center because he would not hold one himself
What we couldn’t verify
The claim that he cast "the deciding vote" on the Medicaid legislation comes from his opponents' committee and was not independently verified from the sources found.
His committee assignments were not established from the sources found.
His response to the July 2025 mock town hall, and whether he has held in-person town halls since, were not established from the sources found.
Expanding health care access and lowering prescription costs; defending reproductive rights and mental health services.
Fully funded public schools, better teacher pay, and pathways to college and the trades.
Ensuring veterans receive their earned benefits and health care.
Protecting voting rights and putting constituents ahead of lobbyists.
Public safety policy combining law enforcement with prevention, youth programmes and mental health care.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Former Hillsborough County commissioner.
Small business owner; mother and grandmother.
Won the August 18, 2026 Democratic primary.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Overman by name could be found: not from Gus Bilirakis or his campaign, not from the National Republican Congressional Committee, not from her Democratic primary opponent, and not from Tampa Bay news coverage, including on her switch into this district after the map changed. Because no case against her exists on the record, none is presented for her either, rather than showing her own campaign's case unanswered.
She was unseated from the Hillsborough County Commission in 2022; how she answers that record was not established from the sources found.
She won the primary despite being outspent roughly four to one; her general-election fundraising was not reported in material available.
No-party-affiliation candidate for the 12th District, qualified for the November 3, 2026 general election.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Scrivener by name could be found, and no published case for him beyond his own campaign site. As a candidate with no party organisation behind him he has drawn very little coverage. Because no case against him exists on the record, none is presented for him either.
His fundraising and any endorsements were not reported in material available.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Florida held its primary on August 18, 2026. Three candidates are on the November ballot: Republican incumbent Gus Bilirakis, Democrat Kimberly Overman and Branden Scrivener, running with no party affiliation. Florida enacted a new congressional map in May 2026 that reworked most of the state's districts, this one among them; it moved a large stretch of western Hillsborough County into the district, which House Democrats then added to their list of seats in play. The seat still voted for Donald Trump by about 14 points in 2024. Overman switched into this race from the 15th after the map passed. Roster from the Florida qualifying lists as reported by Politics1 and Wikipedia. Arguments are shown for Bilirakis, a nine-term member with a voting record his opponents have attacked in detail. No published criticism of Overman or Scrivener by name was found, so neither column is filled for them; their positions and records are in their profiles.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Florida ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Florida Division of Elections.