After Congressman Neal Dunn announces that he won't seek reelection, GOP candidates enter the race
Rep. Neal Dunn (R-District 2) of Panama City announced this week that he wouldn't seek reelection in November, prompting at least two GOP candidates to run.
After representing residents in the Panhandle for nearly a decade, Republican Congressman Neal Dunn isn’t seeking reelection.
“The time has come to pass the torch to new conservative leaders,” Dunn wrote in a statement on Tuesday. “I am deeply grateful for your trust, support and prayers over these years.”
Dunn, who’s also a physician and Army veteran, wrote that he plans to return to his hometown of Panama City and spend time with family. In 2016, Dunn was first elected to represent Congressional District 2, which has always favored Republicans even after the map lines changed to include all of blue Leon County almost four years ago.
Since Dunn’s announcement, two GOP candidates have said that they’re running for the district: Keith Gross, a former prosecutor who now owns a private law firm in Panama City, and Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power, who’s making his first run for federal office. Gross ran and lost in the GOP primary for Congressional District 1 after former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz stepped down in 2024.
Dunn has been a Trump loyalist since the president’s first term, siding with the president 100% of the time on votes he took in Congress last year. Power and Gross have both vowed to carry on that legacy of devotion to Trump’s agenda if elected.
In a campaign announcement, Power touted his work for the party, helping to deliver major wins for Republicans during the last election cycle. “I stood with President Trump then,” Power wrote, “and I’ll stand with him in Congress to stop the radical left, secure our border, strengthen our military, grow our economy, and always put America First.”
Gross describes himself as a “dedicated advocate for America First policies” on his campaign website.
Three Democratic candidates are vying for the seat: former child-welfare and ethics attorney Yen Bailey, entrepreneur and product manager Nicholas Zateslo and Amanda Marie Green, who spent nearly a decade working for a Washington D.C.-based private consulting firm.
Primary Election Day is on Aug. 18. Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Congressional District 2, in its current form, is the state’s largest U.S. House district by land, stretching across mostly rural communities in the eastern Panhandle, from the edge of Walton County to Madison and Taylor Counties and covering all of Panama City and Tallahassee.
The district’s current shape has only been in effect since the 2022 election cycle and could change ahead of the midterm elections after state lawmakers redraw the state’s congressional map in April.
Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis called for the legislature to reconvene April 20- 24 to draw new U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Because 2026 is now a redistricting year in Florida, state Secretary of State Cord Byrd has ordered that congressional candidates may collect signatures from voters registered anywhere in the state, regardless of party affiliation.
Congressional candidates must collect 2,564 signatures to get their name on the 2026 ballot
The candidate qualifying period this year is scheduled to begin at noon on June 8 and close at noon on June 12.