In U.S. Congressional District 17, Republican incumbent Greg Steube has two Democratic opponents and one without party affiliation – or any campaign funds.
Steube, 48, who’s consistently won by nearly 30 points since 2018, is running in the solidly GOP district that includes all of Charlotte and parts of Sarasota and Lee counties.
It’s a district that has shifted shapes in recent years, resulting in a more diverse and urban version than the one voters saw after the 2022 redistricting.
Florida’s latest congressional redistricting pushed 17 deeper into Lee County, adding portions of Fort Myers, including the historically Black Dunbar community, while continuing to include all of Charlotte and much of Sarasota County. That county has gone back and forth and back again: starting with an in-county split between districts 16 and 17, then becoming all 17, then returning to “a pre-2022 scenario,” as Sarasota’s Supervisor of Elections’ website describes it.
The Aug.18 primaries will decide which Democrat will be on the November ballot.
Only registered Democrats can participate in their party’s primary, but all registered voters can vote in the Nov. 3 general election. Candidates with no party affiliation go straight to that November ballot, with no limits on how many unaffiliated candidates can appear, since they don’t belong to a party.
Here are the candidates:
Incumbent attorney Greg Steube is a fifth-generation Floridian with rural roots. He has a bachelor’s in beef cattle science from UF, where he later earned a law degree, before enlisting in the Army after the September 11 attacks.
He says he views issiues through a “Biblical lens” and measures his decisions against the U.S. Constitution. “So if it violates one of those things in my mind, I’m not voting for it,” Steube told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2024. “We are a Judeo-Christian country, we’re founded on that.”
In Congress, he helped lead a successful bipartisan push to restore tax deductions for victims of federally declared disasters. It was signed into law in 2024, a year after he recovered from a 25-foot fall from a ladder (he’d been trimming trees). He had a concussion and multiple fractures, but returned to Congress a few months later.
As of March 31, he had $959,819.10 in transfers and contributions.
Babcock Democrat focuses on prosperity
Allen Spence Jr., 43, is focused on “delivering real economic prosperity for our communities, and securing the long-term stability of our nation (and) protecting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security,” according to his website.
Florida-born, Fort Myers-raised and USF-educated, he works in finance remotely from his Babcock Ranch home. He’s also involved in scouting, and has served as a scout leader.
As of March 31, Spence had $37,660.91 in loans and contributions.
From the Peace Corps to the UN: a career of service
Sarasota Democrat Matthew Montavon was born in South Bend, IN, one of nine children. According to his website, he graduated with honors from the Catholic University of America with a bachelor’s in political science and Spanish
He earned a master’s in public administration at Indiana University, working as a farmhand, janitor, messenger and store clerk as he put himself through school. Montavon spent two years in the Peace Corps, then 27 years with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, according to his bio.
As of March 31, he had $72,321.82 in loans and contributions.
No website, no campaign contributions, no party
Michael Quirk is a bit of a mystery.
The check with which he paid his $6,960 qualifying fee has a Sarasota address, but calls and texts to the number listed on his campaign documents were not returned.
He has no party affiliation, no website and no social media presence – at least, not identifiable as connected to his campaign.
Amy Bennett Williams is a senior reporter. Reach her at awilliams@news-press.com.
Follow The News-Press & Naples Daily News throughout the Election 2026 campaign season, including Q&As with candidates running in key Southwest Florida races coming soon.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Two Dems head to primary election to take on Greg Steube, one NPA in November
Reporting by Amy Bennett Williams, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Amy Bennett Williams, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
