The Case Against Gus Bilirakis

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After nearly twenty years in Congress, Gus Bilirakis has become a fixture of exactly what’s wrong with Washington: a nepo baby and career politician who inherited his seat, votes in lockstep with his party, and consistently puts wealthy special interests and his party bosses ahead of the people he represents.

Instead of lowering costs for working families, Bilirakis voted to cut health care for more than 1.6 million Floridians to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations. He has a career-long history of voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicare, opposing efforts to lower prescription drug costs for seniors, and backing policies increasing costs for Florida families. Bilirakis continues to rubber stamp chaotic tariffs, back the reckless war of choice in Iran, and vote with Trump 100 percent of the time.

In a seat made 10 points more competitive for Democrats by Florida Republicans’ dummymander, this race provides a clear opportunity to defeat a career politician who puts a broken Washington first.

Gus Bilirakis is a Career Politician Who Puts Washington Over Florida

For Gus Bilirakis, politics is the family business. Bilirakis entered Congress in 2007 after succeeding his father, who represented the district for more than two decades before him. Together, the Bilirakis family has treated this congressional seat like a political inheritance for more than forty years.

Instead of bringing independent leadership to Washington, Bilirakis fell in line to become another reliable vote for the extreme leadership of his party. He was an early backer of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, earning Trump’s personal endorsement, and has voted with Trump 100 percent of the time this Congress. His loyalty to national political figures has never wavered, even as this Administration has stumbled and let down the people of Florida.

And in a district that is home to more than 68,000 veterans, Bilirakis repeatedly voted against giving a pay raise for servicemembers and ensuring they were paid during government shutdowns. Dating as far back as 2007, he voted against minimum rest periods for troops in Iraq, and has been silent on the abysmal conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. This Congress, by casting the deciding vote for the Big, Ugly, Bill, he ripped away health coverage for more than 120,000 veterans in the state who rely on it.

After nearly two decades in office, Bilirakis has become the definition of a Washington insider – more focused on looking out for himself and climbing the ladder than focused on the everyday concerns of the Florida families and veterans he serves.

Gus Bilirakis Voted to Take Health Care Away from Floridians to Fund Tax Breaks for Billionaires

Nothing better illustrates Bilirakis’ priorities than his vote for the Big, Ugly Bill. Bilirakis cast the deciding vote for legislation that cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid – the largest cut in American history, and ripped away health care from nearly 40,000 people in his district all to hand massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations.

Throughout his career, Bilirakis has continuously worked to dismantle affordable health care. He voted at least 15 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, backed at least five budgets that would have cut Medicare, voted against capping the cost of insulin at $35, and opposed allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, siding with pharmaceutical companies instead of Florida seniors struggling to afford lifesaving medications. He also voted to undermine Social Security and against lowering prescription drug costs for Florida seniors, all while voting at least 4 times to increase his own pay in Congress.

For Bilirakis, protecting his own bottom line and wealthy donors has always come before protecting Florida patients, seniors, and families.

Gus Bilirakis Backed Trump’s Cost-Raising Agenda Crushing Floridians’ Wallets

As Florida families struggle to afford groceries, housing, and gas, Gus Bilirakis has repeatedly voted for the very policies making life more expensive.

Bilirakis voted eight different times to preserve Trump’s tariffs despite repeated warnings from local businesses and concerned constituents that they would increase prices on everyday goods, raise the cost of building homes during Florida’s housing affordability crisis, hurt Florida’s citrus industry, and cost the average family roughly $2,500 a year.

He also voted five times to continue Trump’s reckless war of choice with Iran, even as the war drove gas prices to four-year highs across Florida – adding roughly $16 to every fill-up at the pump – increased inflation, and is costing taxpayers billions. The surge in fuel costs wiped out much of the modest tax savings Bilirakis touted, and Florida voters remain desperate for relief.

Whether it’s tariffs, health care, or reckless foreign policy, Bilirakis has consistently backed an agenda that leaves Floridians paying more.

PATH TO VICTORY

For the first time in nearly twenty years, Gus Bilirakis is running in a district that no longer guarantees his reelection. Republicans’ mid-decade gerrymander dramatically reshaped FL-12, making it approximately 10 points more Democratic. Hispanic voters now make up 1 in 5 voters – nearly doubling their registration share post redistricting, and leaving less than half of Bilirakis’ former district intact. The result is a far more competitive seat with a growing coalition of younger, more diverse suburban voters increasingly frustrated by rising costs and Washington dysfunction. Democrats also came within 2 points of winning this district at both the Governor and Senate levels in 2018.

Polling from June shows Bilirakis is down with independent voters – a critical electorate in November – and sits at just 42% support despite his incumbency. Bilirakis also enters the general election having never run a competitive race, with a shockingly low cash on hand for an incumbent. In a district that has been dramatically reshaped, with an incumbent carrying nearly twenty years of political baggage still having to introduce himself to the district’s newest voters, Democrats have a clear opportunity to put FL-12 in play and unseat one of Florida’s longest-serving Republican members of Congress.

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