Buchanan, Schneider stand worlds apart in race for District 16 congressional seat

Democrat Jan Schneider and Congressman Vern Buchanan stand worlds apart on their approach to hot-button matters that have divided the nation along party lines.

Schneider seeks to overcome Buchanan's massive financial advantage in an uphill bid to unseat the long-entrenched Republican incumbent in the reshaped Congressional District 16.

Buchanan has represented the district since 2013, has served in Congress since 2007, and if re-elected, he has his eyes set on the chairmanship role of the Ways and Means Committee.

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Buchanan has raised $4.5 million for his re-election campaign, in addition to raising $3.1 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee to support other Republican candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

That's a massive advantage over Schneider, who has raised a little over $14,000.

"I think our country is at a crossroads on a lot of issues," Buchanan said. "I've known my opponent for a long time, but I think we are in a very good position, and I think we are right on the issues. I think I'll have a big win as a result of it, but that being said, we are going to go out and earn every vote every day."

Schneider admits unseating Buchanan is an unlikely feat, especially in lieu of recent changes by state-level redistricting. For the first time this November, the district will no longer include Sarasota County, and will only encompass Manatee County and southern portions of Hillsborough.

"This year my chances are much worse, I know that, I'm not stupid," Schneider said.

"(Florida Gov. Ron) DeSantis did a good job at gerrymandering the old District 16 so it is almost twice as red."

Schneider makes her case

Schneider is a lifelong Democrat, and she has a particular distaste for what she believes are divisive far-right policies and rhetoric.

She works as an attorney at her own Sarasota-based private practice and also provides free legal services to residents of public housing.

This is not the first time Schneider ran for the District 16 seat. She lost to Buchanan during the 2016 general election and failed to advance during the 2018 primary after a serious car accident derailed her campaign.

"Mostly I'm a believer," said Schneider, 75. "I believe in equality. I believe in all those good old-fashioned things. I will fight for them; maybe I will run for office until I am 101 years old like that guy Joe Newman. It's a chance to promote things in which I dearly believe."

She criticizes Buchanan for his party-line stance on issues such as women's reproductive rights, student loan forgiveness, Trump-era tax cuts, environmental policy, gun control, and social welfare programs like social security and Medicaid.

"Let's face it, he opposes $20,000 in student loan reduction, and takes himself $2.3 million in PPP loan forgiveness," Schneider said. "We're very different. I'm for creating jobs, he's for creating jobs, but I'm for creating jobs with living wages. He voted against raising the minimum wage, which I think is so essential."

"He wages war on women with his votes," she said. "He voted against ensuring access to abortion, women's health protection, even violence against women, paycheck fairness act, and one that is particularly big for me is equal access to contraception for veterans."

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Chairmanship stake for Buchanan on election night

A lot is at stake on election night for Buchanan, and the long-established congressman is using his fundraising prowess to ensure Republicans win the majority of U.S. House of Representatives seats in November.

If Buchanan is re-elected, and Republicans win the majority, the congressman is one of several leading candidates for the chairmanship role on the Ways and Means Committee. It is the oldest committee in Congress, and its jurisdiction includes tax policy, trade, welfare, social security, and Medicare.

Buchanan agrees that he is different than Schneider, but instead believes it is the far-left political agenda that is divisive and harmful to the local economy.

He believes the federal government needs to reign in spending and the permanent extension of Trump-era tax cuts is the best way to address rising inflation.

Buchanan has criticized President Joe Biden and members of the Democratic party for implementing policies that increase the federal debt, such as student loan forgiveness.

Biden chastised Buchanan and other Republican lawmakers earlier this month for opposing the effort.

"Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida said our plan was reckless," Biden said during remarks delivered on Oct. 21. "Guess how much he got in that program forgiven? Two million three hundred thousand dollars. It is not a joke. Can't make this stuff up."

Buchanan told the Herald-Tribune he believes Biden is just using the measure to buy votes leading up to an election where the Republican party seems to have momentum.

"I think the President sees a lot of these districts slipping away on election night, his policies are not working for a lot of Americans, and I think student loans are just one more thing where people are aggravated,"  Buchanan said. "I think it's just a way for the administration to buy votes, but I don't think it's working."

"If you want to do something like that, take it to the Congress," he said. "Let's have a debate. We're running trillion-dollar deficits. We need a balanced budget amendment for exactly times like this, where they spend a lot of money that we just don't have."

The congressman hopes Republicans take control of the majority of the House of Representatives this year to reign in spending, and he formally introduced legislation in September to make tax cuts implemented by former President Donald Trump in 2017 permanent before they expire in 2025.

"Those tax cuts led to the fastest expansion of business and growth that I've ever seen," Buchanan said. "By growing the economy, you create more taxes. That'll be one of the first things that I'm going to move forward on."

The congressman also represents conservative values on social issues like women's reproductive rights and illegal immigration.

Buchanan is pro-life and believes the federal government should leave policy that relates to women's reproductive rights to state governments. In Florida, state legislators have banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

"The country is very divided on that issue, that's why I think states should resolve it because every state is a little bit different," Buchanan said. "I'm pro-life, I have been consistently over the years, and I think it's a very personal situation between the doctor, your pastor, and what you want to do, but I think it should be decided at the state level."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Vern Buchanan, Jan Schneider vie for District 16 congressional seat