The Case Against Anna Paulina Luna

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Anna Paulina Luna is one of the most self-serving, ineffective, and extreme members of Congress – and Florida’s families and veterans are paying the price. She came to Washington chasing fame, enriched herself off political connections, sabotaged bipartisan relief for struggling families, and broke faith with the 60,000 veterans in the district counting on her. Luna is your typical insider who can’t be trusted to take on the system – instead, she has supported every policy making life harder and more expensive for Florida families while putting corporations and special interests first.

Leela Gray offers the exact opposite. A retired Army Brigadier General and third-generation veteran, Leela served 30 years in uniform, including two combat deployments and a peacekeeping mission, before earning her law degree to help fellow veterans access the benefits they earned. A mother, veteran, and longtime Tampa Bay resident, Gray has always put service over self. This race is a clear choice between a chaotic politician who puts herself first and a decorated veteran, attorney, and public servant who shows up, delivers, and puts people over politics.

Luna Puts Herself and Her Wealthy Insider Donors First 

Anna Paulina Luna didn’t go to Washington to fight for Pinellas and Pasco Counties, she went for fame and fortune. This Congress alone, Luna has been caught enriching herself off her donors’ company, and came under fire for allegedly sharing insider political information with a campaign donor for them to profit on prediction markets. Luna isn’t an independent leader fighting for working families, she’s a politician working the system for herself and her wealthy friends.

When it comes to protecting ordinary consumers, Luna has been on the wrong side every time. She voted to let big banks keep charging customers unlimited overdraft fees — a giveaway to Wall Street that costs working families hundreds of dollars a year. She was one of only two dozen House members to vote against a bipartisan bill cracking down on hidden junk fees for concert and sports tickets, a commonsense protection that her colleagues on both sides of the aisle came together to support. Luna’s loyalties are clear: donors and insiders first, Florida’s families last.

In perhaps the most damning example of Luna’s pattern of self-serving politics, Luna loudly promised to release the Epstein files, built a national platform around it, and then failed to deliver. When a bipartisan bill to actually force the release of those files came to the floor, Luna voted to block it. She then blamed Democrats, blamed the DOJ, and changed her story repeatedly — anything to avoid accountability for her own failure. Luna used the Epstein files as a political prop and a means to get attention for herself on social media. When it was time to actually deliver, she folded.

A decorated Army veteran who served her country in uniform for 30 years and a Pinellas County native, Leela is driven by a simple principle: service over self. While Luna has been working the system for personal gain, Gray has been building a serious, well-funded campaign rooted in accountability, transparency, and delivering real results for the families of FL-13. Pinellas and Pasco Counties deserve a representative whose first loyalty is to the people, not to her own bank account and political ambition.

Luna is More Interested in Chasing Headlines Than Delivering for Florida 

While Pinellas and Pasco County families are drowning in rising costs — with Florida ranked the worst state for renters, nation-leading homeowners insurance premiums, some of the country’s highest utility bills, and nearly half of Pinellas households struggling to afford basic necessities — Anna Paulina Luna has been busy nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, introducing legislation to put him on Mount Rushmore, hosting sanctioned Russian lawmakers on U.S. soil, and publicly daydreaming about becoming RNC Chair. All the while, she has refused to hold a single in-person town hall to hear from her actual constituents, instead devoting that time to her online followers. This is not a serious representative, but a reality TV candidate chasing headlines.

When a real opportunity came to lower housing costs, Luna actively sabotaged it. She threatened to derail a bipartisan housing affordability package, encouraged Trump to veto it, and then applauded when Trump canceled the signing ceremony — threatening relief for the very families in her district who are being crushed by Tampa’s foreclosure crisis and skyrocketing rents. Her antics were so disruptive that she even made Speaker Mike Johnson lose his patience with her.

Luna also voted for the Big, Ugly Bill, one of the most harmful pieces of legislation to hit Florida families in a generation. The consequences are devastating and real: nearly 40,000 people in FL-13 alone risk losing health coverage with 1.6 million Floridians statewide at risk, six Florida clinics are closing or have already closed, $3.8 billion in Medicaid funding is being ripped away from the state’s hospitals and health insurance system, health insurance premiums are up more than 30%, and nearly 3 million Floridians are at risk of losing food assistance. Rather than working to solve Florida’s affordability crisis, Luna voted to make it dramatically worse.

Leela Gray is focused on the real work to make life affordable for Floridians. Endorsed by the AFL-CIO, former Representative and Florida House Leader Jim Davis, former Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Mark Kelly, Gray is focused on getting things done for Pinellas and Pasco families. While Luna has been chasing viral moments and sabotaging housing relief, Gray has been listening to constituents and laying out a concrete agenda to tackle the affordability crisis head-on by lowering housing and insurance costs, cracking down on corporate fraud, and fighting back against illegal tariffs, political corruption, burdensome regulations, and corporate monopolies. FL-13 doesn’t need another headline-chaser; it needs a workhorse, and that’s Leela Gray.

Luna Has Broken Every Promise She Made to Veterans 

FL-13 is home to nearly 60,000 veterans, and Luna has betrayed every single one of them. She called to abolish the VA, opposed the PACT Act — landmark legislation expanding health care for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and Agent Orange that supported more than 350,000 veterans statewide — and spent her first term delivering nothing for the veterans in her district.

Luna also championed DOGE cuts that gutted staff at Bay Pines VA Hospital and James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital — facilities that serve many veterans in her own backyard. She backed budget legislation that would have slashed VA funding by 22 percent. She voted for Medicaid cuts despite nearly one in ten veterans relying on Medicaid, and supported SNAP cuts despite thousands of veterans depending on food assistance to survive.

Luna talks about honoring veterans on social media. In Congress, she votes to take away their health care, cut their food assistance, and fire the people who care for them.

On the other hand, a decorated Army veteran who has dedicated her life to public service, Gray understands firsthand what veterans need and what they’ve earned. She has made protecting VA health care, defending veterans’ benefits, and ensuring that no veteran in Pinellas or Pasco Counties goes without food or medical care a central pillar of her campaign. The contrast could not be starker: Luna has broken her promises to veterans. Leela Gray has lived a life of service to them, and she’ll fight for them every single day in Congress.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING 

NBC News: Rep. Luna’s investment in a donor’s energy firm illustrates potential limits of a stock trading ban [NBC News, 9/8/25]

“…Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., threatened to force a vote on legislation banning lawmakers from owning or trading stocks, arguing members can’t represent their constituents when they are focused on their own investments. […]

Luna reported in July on a financial disclosure form that she has invested $250,001 to $500,000 in America First Natural Resources LLC, a company founded and managed by one of her political donors, Bruce N. Rosenthal, who has described it as a private equity firm focused on domestic energy exploration and production.”

Tampa Bay Times: Anna Paulina Luna had insider info, may have helped influencer make bets: report [Tampa Bay Times, 7/20/26]

GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Pinellas County has led the charge against insider trading in Congress, pushing for a bill that would prevent members from trading stocks.

But a new Wall Street Journal report cites an anonymous source who says that Luna is under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates political betting markets. Another unnamed source alleged that Luna said she shared insider information with GOP influencer Rogan O’Handley, known online as DC Draino. 

The Hill: Luna says she would oppose advancing Senate-passed housing bill that Trump endorsed [The Hill, 5/12/26]

Washington Examiner: House delays votes after Anna Paulina Luna threatens to shut down floor until Senate passes SAVE America Act [Washington Examiner, 6/24/26]

POLITICO: Anna Paulina Luna has paralyzed the House, and fellow Republicans are mystified [POLITICO, 6/26/26]

Tampa Bay Times: Could this Democrat unseat Anna Paulina Luna in November? [Tampa Bay Times, 2/3/26]

“I’m hearing the same thing over and over again (from voters), and that is an affordability issue, whether that’s for their businesses or their personal lives,” Gray said. “That’s going to be the focus of this campaign, because Congresswoman Luna is not focused on that.”

Gray slammed Luna and her party for doing little to combat far-reaching tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, which have pushed up the prices of imported goods and strained some of Tampa Bay’s small businesses.

Florida Politics: ‘Stepping up’: Leela Gray brings veteran background to challenge Anna Paulina Luna in CD 13 [Florida Politics, 2/3/26]

“‘I’ve always had a history of stepping up when there’s a need, it’s in my blood to solve problems and to be part of the solution and not part of the problem,’ the Treasure Island Democrat said. […]

‘Congressman Luna is not focused on the issues, and she hasn’t been in the last three years,’ Gray said. ‘She’s forgotten her district, and we need somebody that’s going to put the needs of Pinellas County above their own agenda. I’ve lived an entire life of service over self, and I’m going to continue to do that.’”

CL Tampa Bay: Army vet and Pinellas congressional candidate Leela Gray says she’s driven by the notion of ‘service over self’ [CL Tampa Bay, 3/9/26]

Florida Politics: Leela Gray clears $1M mark in effort to unseat Anna Paulina Luna [Florida Politics, [Florida Politics, 7/2/26]

Florida Politics: Internal poll shows Leela Gray in statistical tie with Anna Paulina Luna [Florida Politics, 5/28/26]

Semafor: Democrats eye Republican-held Florida district [Semafor, 8/14/26]

New polling from GQR… shows retired Army Brigadier Gen. Leela Gray polling at 44% and incumbent Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna at 47% — representing a statistical tie, within the 4.4-percentage-point margin of error.

Democrats believe President Donald Trump’s approval will be a drag on incumbents, with the president polling at 45% favorable and 53% unfavorable in a district he won by 13 points in 2024.

PATH TO VICTORY

FL-13 has significant concentrations of persuadable suburban voters in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and the barrier islands who have shown they will cross party lines when a candidate earns their trust. Internal polling already shows Luna’s favorability underwater with independents — the exact voters Leela Gray is built to win.

Polling shows Leela Gray in a statistical tie with Luna, garnering support from independent voters, and her campaign has already cleared the $1 million fundraising mark. Gray is building the kind of coalition that wins competitive districts, earning endorsements from key figures like former Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Mark Kelly. Luna, meanwhile, is burning goodwill with her chaotic antics.

In a district with nearly 60,000 veterans, Leela Gray’s biography is a decisive winner. Luna’s record of opposing the PACT Act, championing DOGE cuts to the Bay Pines and Haley VA facilities, and voting against veterans’ food and health benefits has left her with a record of broken promises to and deeply exposed with a community she cannot afford to lose. Gray’s bio as a decorated Army veteran driven by service over self is a direct rebuke of everything Luna has failed to deliver. When veterans in Pinellas and Pasco Counties see the choice clearly, they will choose the candidate who is serious about helping them.

In a political environment where voters are increasingly frustrated by rising costs and a Republican majority that has failed to make everyday life more affordable, Luna is especially vulnerable. Gray can bring this race back to the kitchen-table issues voters care about most — and give them a credible alternative focused on lowering costs, protecting the benefits they’ve earned, and delivering for the district.

With independents already open to Gray, veterans primed to hear her message, and voters looking for change, the ingredients all point to FL-13 being one of Democrats’ biggest opportunities in 2026.

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