# Leela Gray **Leela Gray** is a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and the Democratic nominee for **Florida's 13th Congressional District**, the Pinellas County seat held by Republican Rep. [[Anna Paulina Luna]]. She is running on the cost of living and against the Trump administration's health-care cuts and the [[Iran War 2026]]. Ratings, polling and money for the race are at [[FL-13-2026]]. ## Army career Gray entered the Army through ROTC in college and served about 30 years, much of it in the Army Reserve while she held civilian jobs. Commissioned as a finance officer in 1988, she later moved into public affairs and information operations. She deployed to Hungary in support of the Bosnia peacekeeping mission and later served in Baghdad with U.S. Forces–Iraq. She was chief of legislative affairs for the Army Reserve, then, on a State Department assignment, a deputy coordinator at its Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, which worked to counter terrorist propaganda. As a general officer she commanded the 86th Training Division, a Reserve training command based at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, from 2015. She retired in 2018. She holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Elon University, a master's in journalism from Ball State University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. After retiring from the military she earned a law degree. ## Civilian life Alongside her Reserve service, Gray built a civilian career in technology and strategic communications and has served on corporate and advisory boards. She has lived in the Tampa Bay area since 2003. ## The 2026 campaign Gray has the backing of [[VoteVets]] and EMILYs List. On August 18, 2026, she won the Democratic nomination with 65 percent over Brandt Robinson and John Liccione. Her campaign has centered on affordability and corruption in Washington, and she has courted independents and some Republicans. She has attacked Luna's vote for the 2025 budget law known as the [[Big Beautiful Bill]] over its cuts to Medicaid and food aid, and has argued that the war with Iran, which Luna has backed, has pushed up gas prices. In early September she released a Democratic internal poll showing her five points ahead; Luna dismissed it on X. Florida's 2026 map made the district slightly more Republican, and all three major forecasters rate it Lean Republican. ## Connections - [[FL-13-2026]] · [[Anna Paulina Luna]] - [[VoteVets]] · [[Big Beautiful Bill]] · [[Iran War 2026]] - [[2026 House Races Hub]] · [[2026 Midterms Hub]]