Tamika Lyles

Tamika Lyles (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 16th Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on August 18, 2026.

Lyles (Democratic Party) also ran in a special election to the U.S. Senate to represent Florida. She did not appear on the ballot for the special Democratic primary on August 18, 2026.

Lyles completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Tamika Lyles was born in Jackson, Tennessee. She obtained an undergraduate degree in April 2001 and a graduate degree in April 2016. Lyles has served in the U.S. Air Force. Her professional experience includes working as a high school teacher and as a business owner. She is a Florida notary public. Lyles is a member of the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida, the Democratic Veteran's Caucus of Florida, the Osceola County Democratic Executive Committee, and the Osceola County Democratic Women's Club. She is the president of the Osceola County Democratic Black Caucus and the vice president of the Osceola County Democratic Veteran's Caucus.^[1]

Elections

2026

U.S. House Florida District 16

Florida's 16th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 18 Democratic primary)

Florida's 16th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 18 Republican primary)

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Florida District 16

Kelly Kirschner (D), Sydney Gruters (R), and Mark Davis (No Party Affiliation) are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 16 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Kelly Kirschner (D)
		Sydney Gruters (R)
		Mark Davis (No Party Affiliation)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 16

Kelly Kirschner (D) defeated Tamika Lyles (D), Jan Schneider (D), Jonathan Harris (D), and Glenn Pearson (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 16 on August 18, 2026.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kelly Kirschner	43.3	22,825
	Tamika Lyles	19.7	10,370
	Jan Schneider	15.4	8,129
	Jonathan Harris	12.5	6,580
	Glenn Pearson	9.1	4,801

	There were no incumbents in this race. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 52,705
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16

Sydney Gruters (R) defeated Eddie Speir (R) and Ed Pope (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16 on August 18, 2026.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sydney Gruters	63.6	46,185
	Eddie Speir	21.0	15,238
	Ed Pope	15.5	11,240

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 72,663
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Tamika Lyles received the following endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

U.S. Senate Florida

United States Senate special election in Florida, 2026 (August 18 Democratic primary)

United States Senate special election in Florida, 2026 (August 18 Republican primary)

General election

Special general election for U.S. Senate Florida

Incumbent Ashley B. Moody, Angie Nixon, and Neil Gillespie are running in the special general election for U.S. Senate Florida on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Ashley B. Moody (R)
		Angie Nixon (D)
		Neil Gillespie (No Party Affiliation)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Pano Churchill (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Angie Nixon defeated Alex Vindman in the special Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida on August 18, 2026.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Angie Nixon	55.9	690,172
	Alex Vindman	44.1	543,688

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 1,233,860
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Incumbent Ashley B. Moody defeated Chris Gleason, Ernie Rivera, and Neelam Perry in the special Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida on August 18, 2026.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Ashley B. Moody	79.6	1,299,949
	Chris Gleason	13.7	224,378
	Ernie Rivera	4.8	78,776
	Neelam Perry	1.9	30,688

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 1,633,791
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2020

General election

The general election was canceled. Kristen Arrington won election in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 43.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 43

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 43 on August 18, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kristen Arrington	31.5	7,367
	Alex Barrio	21.4	5,006
	Tamika Lyles	16.4	3,838
	Carlos Irizarry	11.4	2,666
	Andrew Jeng	11.3	2,643
	Ricardo Rangel	8.0	1,880

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,400 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Anthony Nieves (D)
John Cortes (D)

Campaign finance

2018

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Florida

Rick Scott defeated incumbent Bill Nelson in the general election for U.S. Senate Florida on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Rick Scott (R)	50.1	4,099,505
	Bill Nelson (D)	49.9	4,089,472
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	1,028

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,190,005
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Joe Allen (Independent)
Joe Wendt (L)
Gregory Bowles (Independent)
Carlos Garcia (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Incumbent Bill Nelson advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Bill Nelson

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Tamika Lyles (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Rick Scott defeated Roque De La Fuente in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida on August 28, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Rick Scott	88.6	1,456,187
	Roque De La Fuente	11.4	187,209

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,643,396
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign themes

2026

U.S. House Florida District 16

Ballotpedia survey responses

Tamika Lyles completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lyles' responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Tamika Lyles is an Air Force veteran, educator, and advocate whose life has been defined by service to people navigating broken systems.

Raised in Tennessee by a single mother working two jobs, Tamika learned early that stability is earned and dignity must be defended. She became the youngest certified nursing assistant in her state’s history, working in public hospitals while completing high school early. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving seven years as a medical technician caring for service members and their families. Following her honorable discharge, Tamika pursued law with a focus on civil rights, mediation, and homelessness prevention. When her father’s illness brought her to Florida, she put down roots and continued her service as a public-school history teacher, where she saw firsthand how rising costs, underfunded schools, and policy failures impact families and children every day. She later founded Standing Heroes for Average Workers, a nonprofit connecting lawmakers to working families facing housing insecurity, healthcare barriers, and veterans’ access issues. Today, Tamika teaches civic engagement at Lynn University, serves in Democratic leadership at the county and state level, and remains deeply embedded in community advocacy across Central and South Florida.

Tamika Lyles is running for Congress because Florida families deserve better, and this country deserves leaders who understand who they work for.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Tamika will fight to expand Medicaid to close Florida’s coverage gap, cap prescription drug costs for seniors and families, protect Medicare and VA healthcare, and ensure caregivers have the resources and support they need to provide care with dignity.
Tamika will fight to fully fund Florida’s public education system. She supports raising teacher pay to competitive, livable levels to recruit and retain high-quality educators, reducing class sizes, and ensuring schools have the counselors, support staff, and modern resources students need to succeed. She will treat education as essential infrastructure for Florida’s long-term economic and civic health.
Tamika will fight for a living wage, protect workers' rights, and ensure that work produces security, not just survival. She will work to ensure that economic dignity is a baseline expectation for all workers. because she believes that if you work for this country, it should work for you.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

U.S. Senate Florida

Ballotpedia survey responses

Tamika Lyles did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

Tamika Lyles completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lyles' responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

As a mother, veteran, teacher, small business owner and advocate, Tamika Lyles has proven to be a dedicated mediator, philanthropist, and passionate advocate. Her enthusiasm for social change, avid interest in law and public policy, combined with her multi-level ideas have led her to seek a seat in the Florida House, as the Representative for District 43 in 2020. Her platform is built around healthcare, education, minimizing poverty, creating affordable housing, building the economy and many other issues that plague underrepresented communities. Upon winning this election, Tamika will once again make history as the first person of African American descent AND the first woman to ever represent District 43.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my mother. My mother participated in sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement and ultimately became the first woman of color to be promoted to management in the company she worked for. In addition, she was the first woman I knew to become a business owner. I admire her strength to fight through adversity and her desire to achieve despite no path being made for her. To achieve such great accomplishments while being a single mother is astounding and rare. She had no idea that the path she was constructing would be the blue print for the path her daughter would also construct.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe our representatives should be "of the people, by the people and for the people." Too often we base our decision on factors of little relevance, such as money and experience. I believe representatives should have experience in leadership and representation in some capacity. However, holding a prior office does not always determine who will do a better job. I believe the closer a person is to the community, the better job he/she can do speaking on behalf of the people he/she represents.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Florida is a battleground state. Therefore, one of the state's greatest challenges will always be "party politics." The focus remains on who the parties want to represent the people and not who the people want to represent them. Money in politics is the biggest influential factor. I would like to see Florida move more toward ensuring the right candidate is one whose first priority is ensuring the constituents are adequately represented and understanding that most people are unable to contribute thousands of dollars to political campaigns. Nevertheless, all people deserve to be heard.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Tamika Lyles campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Florida District 16	Lost primary	$122,215	$66,934
2026*	U.S. Senate Florida	Withdrew primary	$23,287	$23,287
2020	Florida House of Representatives District 43	Lost primary	$6,124	N/A**
Grand total			$151,626	$90,222
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Election Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

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Candidate

U.S. Senate Florida

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 2, 2020

[show]

Florida's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ashley Moody (R)

Rick Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Jimmy Patronis (R)

District 2

Neal Dunn (R)

District 3

Kat Cammack (R)

District 4

Aaron Bean (R)

District 5

John Rutherford (R)

District 6

Randy Fine (R)

District 7

Cory Mills (R)

District 8

Mike Haridopolos (R)

District 9

Darren Soto (D)

District 10

Maxwell Frost (D)

District 11

Daniel Webster (R)

District 12

Gus Bilirakis (R)

District 13

Anna Luna (R)

District 14

Kathy Castor (D)

District 15

Laurel Lee (R)

District 16

Vern Buchanan (R)

District 17

Greg Steube (R)

District 18

Scott Franklin (R)

District 19

Byron Donalds (R)

District 20

Vacant

District 21

Brian Mast (R)

District 22

Lois Frankel (D)

District 23

Jared Moskowitz (D)

District 24

Frederica Wilson (D)

District 25

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)

District 26

Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

District 27

Maria Elvira Salazar (R)

District 28

Carlos Gimenez (R)

Republican Party (22)

Democratic Party (7)

Vacancies (1)

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 2, 2020

[1]

Tamika Lyles

Biography

Elections

2026

U.S. House Florida District 16

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 16

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 16

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 16

Endorsements

U.S. Senate Florida

General election

Special general election for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2020

General election

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 43

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

2018

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign themes

2026

U.S. House Florida District 16

Ballotpedia survey responses

U.S. Senate Florida

Ballotpedia survey responses

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2026 Elections

2027 Elections

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