Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Kimberly Overman has joined the roster of Democrats challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Laurel Lee for Florida’s District 15 seat.
Jose Engell, a 24-year-old first-time candidate, and veterans Robert Peoples and Darren McAuley are the other Democrats who’ve filed for the race. Congressional District 15 includes Hillsborough, Pasco, and Polk counties.
District 15 is Republican-leaning. Lee succeeded Republican Rep. Scott Franklin in 2022, beating Democrat Alan Cohn with 58% of the vote. In 2024, Lee secured reelection against Democrat Pat Kemp—another former Hillsborough Commissioner—with 56% of the vote.
The primary happens next year on Aug. 18, with the general election set for Nov. 3.
Overman told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay she knows it’ll be a long road to get to Washington D.C.
“And so when people have said this is going to be a hard race, I know how to do hard things,” Overman added, noting that her 2018 bid for Hillsborough County Commissioner included a four-candidate primary and three-candidate general election.
“I’m running because communities deserve bold, compassionate leadership that listens and learns and leads with integrity,” Overman affirms. “ And we do not have that now.”
Overman was a commissioner until 2022, and cites her previous role as a necessary prerequisite that qualifies her for the seat.
“I am very aware of issues for 60% of District 15,” she said. And issues like affordable housing and economic justice are two important pillars of Overman’s campaign.
“The foundation of a family is where they live, stable housing, and without having a strong plan and effective policies in affordable housing, we’re going to find ourselves really, not really, truly caring for the people who live here,” Overman said.
Cuts to social programs, such as Medicaid and other housing-related initiatives, will affect Tampa Bay residents as a result of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” Act (what Overman calls the “big, bad, awful bill.”)
Lee was among the wave of Republican representatives who voted in favor of President Trump’s signature bill. She claims that the bill will do the opposite of what economists say it will.
“This legislation gives Florida families real relief…,” Lee said in a statement shortly after the bill was passed. “It also strengthens critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security to ensure they work better and last longer.”
Overman says that instead of serving District 15, Lee serves President Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“She answers to the governor, and she does not answer to the residents that live here,” Overman said. “And that’s not a good idea, not what I call representation.”
Overman also aims to address public education, reproductive rights, and gender equity.
“Everyone in this country has the right to be free and the right to be who they are, and this targeting of individuals in order to make the case for harming our democracy is not okay,” she said. “We don’t need scapegoats.”
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This article appears in Sept. 4-10, 2025.