This piece is part of a series of articles examining where 2026 Southeastern candidates for state and federal offices stand on key energy and climate issues, like data centers and energy costs.
Note: The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy does not support or oppose candidates or political parties. Links to reports, candidate websites, and outside sources are provided as citizen education tools.
In this blog post, we examine the policies and positions of Leela Gray, the Democratic Party candidate running to represent Florida’s Congressional District 13. Also in this series, we profile Republican candidate Anna Paulina Luna. Election Day is November 3.
Leela Gray is a retired Brigadier General who served in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 2018. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Elon University, a graduate degree from the U.S. Army War College, and a law degree from Stetson University College of Law. She has worked at the U.S. State Department and served as a strategic advisor to the U.S. Army Cyber Command.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
We were unable to confirm Leela Gray’s positions on renewable energy and energy efficiency in published media, public records, or on her campaign website.
Climate Change
We were unable to confirm Leela Gray’s positions on climate change in published media, public records, or on her campaign website.
Electric Transportation
We were unable to confirm Leela Gray’s positions on electric transportation in published media, public records, or on her campaign website.
Energy Justice
We were unable to confirm Leela Gray’s positions on energy justice in published media, public records, or on her campaign website.
Energy Affordability
In an article announcing Leela Gray’s endorsement from the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Gray addresses affordability, saying, “With every voter I talk to in this district, I hear the same thing: insurance costs that keep climbing, utility bills that never seem to go down, and a coastline my neighbors depend on for their livelihoods and their safety. This isn’t an abstract fight about the environment. It’s about whether families here can afford to stay in their homes and whether our tourism and fishing economy survives the next storm.”
High-Risk Energy: Nuclear, Coal, Methane Gas
Leela Gray has expressed on her website the need for Floridians to protect our beaches and coastal economy from the threats of offshore drilling: “Protecting our pristine beaches and threatened waterways are essential to the long-term economic security of Pinellas County and all of Tampa Bay. We must treat our beachfronts, rivers, bays, and waterways with the same discipline we apply to any critical infrastructure. We need to permanently ban offshore drilling and protect all our homes, businesses, and coastal economy.”
Data Centers
We were unable to confirm Leela Gray’s positions on data centers in published media, public records, or on her campaign website.
Voting Information
Election Day is November 3. Here are important dates and deadlines to consider:
- Oct. 5, 2026: Voter registration deadline
- Oct. 22, 2026: Absentee ballot request deadline
- Statewide in-person early voting period: Oct. 24 – 31.
- Some counties will have additional in-person early voting dates available between Oct. 19 and Nov. 1. Check your county’s Supervisor of Elections website for the exact dates in your county.
- Nov. 3, 2026: General Election Day
- Nov. 3, 2026: Absentee ballot return deadline. A returned voted ballot must be received, regardless of postmark, by the Supervisor of Elections’ office no later than 7:00 pm (local time) on Election Day.
- For overseas voters only, there is a 10-day extension, provided the ballot is postmarked or dated by Election Day.
For more information about being a Florida voter, including registering, finding your polling place, and requesting an absentee ballot, visit dos.fl.gov/elections.
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