Vernon Gale Buchanan ( ; born May 8, 1951) is an American businessman, politician, and Air Force National Guard veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 16th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2007, representing Florida's 13th congressional district until redistricting. His district is anchored by Bradenton. On January 27, 2026, Buchanan announced he would not run for re-election in 2026.
Buchanan is on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, international trade, health care and Social Security. Before serving in Congress, Buchanan was in business for over 30 years and chaired both the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and Florida Chamber of Commerce. He served as a member of the board and the executive committee of the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Early life and education Buchanan grew up in Inkster, Michigan, a small town outside Detroit, the son of a factory foreman in a family of six children.Lauren Mayk, "Buchanan: Big deals led to big riches" , Herald-Tribune, October 31, 2006 His maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from Finland. When he graduated from high school in 1969, he joined the Michigan Air National Guard, serving there for six years. Buchanan got a bachelor's degree in business administration from Cleary University and a master's in business administration from the University of Detroit.
Business career Buchanan’s estimated net worth is $261.77 million. In his June 2007 financial disclosure filing, Buchanan reported over $100 million in assets, making him among the five wealthiest members of Congress. Most of his wealth is from his automotive empire, which includes several dealerships in Florida. He also reported ownership interests in about 50 other businesses, including offshore reinsurance companies and a charter-jet business. He reported receiving at least $19.5 million in income from these businesses in 2006.Duane Marsteller, "One of richest reps in Congress: Vern Buchanan", Bradenton Herald, June 16, 2007
American Speedy Printing In May 1976, Buchanan convinced the owner of a Michigan printing company, Jim McDonald, that he could help the business grow. The two founded American Speedy Printing, which grew through franchising to more than 730 stores in 44 states. Later, Buchanan and American Speedy Printing were defendants in a string of lawsuits during the late 1980s and early 1990s by franchisees and master franchisees, who said they were not making the money that Buchanan had said they could expect. After filing for bankruptcy, he was accused by a creditors' committee of taking excessive compensation and actions that resulted in overstated earnings for American Speedy Printing. In a 1995 deposition, he said that he had no personal obligation to repay a large corporate loan from Merrill Lynch. A dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over taxes on the money Buchanan received from Merrill Lynch stretched through the 1990s. Buchanan, his business partner, and Merrill Lynch were sued for violating the Michigan Corporation Act. It ended with Buchanan paying $1.5 million.Lauren Mayk, "A success story that's not so simple: Vern Buchanan's messy departure from American Speedy is a seldom-told tale" , Herald Tribune, October 6, 2006
Car dealerships In 1992, Buchanan bought a Honda and Acura dealership in Ocala, Florida. In late 1999, he bought two more dealerships. He continued to acquire dealerships after that, but in 2006 he sold five dealerships and other businesses in order to concentrate on politics. His dealerships had $756 million in sales in 2005.
Reinsurance companies Buchanan owns two reinsurance companies—Jamat Reinsurance Co. and Buchanan Reinsurance Co., in Turks and Caicos, and part of the Bermuda reinsurance company Greater Atlantic Insurance Co. The three companies offer extended warranty policies to car buyers. Buchanan invests some of the proceeds from his reinsurance companies in real estate developments in the Bahamas.Michael Bragda, "Use of offshore companies helps Buchanan reduce his tax burden" , Herald-Tribune, October 31, 2006
Ritz-Carlton In 1999, Buchanan was approached to help to finance the Ritz-Carlton condo-hotel development in Sarasota. Buchanan was cut out of the project. The developers, Robert Buford and Kevin Daves, said he lied about his financial means. Buchanan sued, and the parties settled in 2001.Michael Braga, "Accountants, others question settlement between Buchanan, wealthy developer" , Herald-Tribune, September 10, 2006 Per a structured settlement, Buchanan bought a condo from a nephew of Buford's for $5 million; the nephew had purchased it the day before for $2.368 million. Buchanan owned the unit for a little more than a year and then sold it to another member of Buford's family for $6.35 million. The arrangement resulted in Buchanan paying taxes on his gain at the reduced long-term capital gains rate. Buford benefited from the apartment's increased appraised value and the use of Buchanan's $5 million. In the year he owned the penthouse, Buchanan used it for charity fundraisers.
PPP loans and criticism In 2022, Buchanan had $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven. Buchanan was criticized for his hypocrisy regarding President Biden's student loan debt forgiveness.
Political campaigns
2006
Primary election Buchanan ran in the 13th congressional district in Florida to replace incumbent Republican Katherine Harris, who was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. Buchanan won the Republican primary with 32% of the vote, against four opponents. His closest challengers were Nancy C. Detert, with 25% of the vote, and Tramm Hudson, with 24%.
In the November general election, Buchanan faced Democrat Christine Jennings, a banking executive. There were 216,000 registered Republicans and about 155,000 registered Democrats in the district,Jeremy Wallace, "President Pitches In at Buchanan Fundraiser: Bush touts GOP principles at Vern Buchanan event in Sarasota" , The Ledger, October 25, 2006 but Jennings polled ahead of Buchanan up to election day."Another election mess in Florida" , The Economist, December 9, 2006 Buchanan put more than $5 million of his own money into his campaign.
In October, Vice President Dick Cheney held a fund-raising luncheon for Buchanan;"Vice President's Remarks at a Luncheon for Vern Buchanan for Congress " , press release, October 6, 2006 later that month, President George W. Bush held a fund-raising reception for him."Remarks by the President at Vern Buchanan for Congress Reception" , press release, October 24, 2006 Between the two events, Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Mel Martinez, and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney came to the district to campaign for Buchanan."GOP launches rescue mission in Florida race: Once-secure congressional seat now in jeopardy, polls say", Associated Press, October 20, 2006
General election Initial results of the November election showed Buchanan leading by less than 350 votes. Due to the closeness of the race, and a high undervote of 18,000 in Sarasota County, a recount was ordered. Sarasota County voters had given more votes to a hospital board than they had to their Congressional representative—with 13% of voters not voting, compared to an average of 2% in neighboring counties. The touch-screen voting machines used provided no paper record. On November 20, 2006, the Florida Department of State certified the results of the recount, which showed Buchanan winning by 369 votes.
Jennings challenged the results of the election in court, citing "pervasive malfunctioning of electronic voting machines." In December 2006, a Florida circuit judge ruled that her claim that voting machines in Sarasota County lost up to 18,000 votes was "conjecture" and didn't warrant overriding the trade secrets of the voting machine company. In June 2007, a Florida state appellate court ruled that Jennings did not meet the "extraordinary burden" of proving the lower court judge was wrong. Another suit, filed by voters represented by Voter Action, People For the American Way Foundation, the ACLU of Florida, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation"Sarasota Voters File Lawsuit for Re-vote in Congressional Race " Electronic Frontier Foundation, November 21, 2006 was also dismissed.
The U.S. House of Representatives had the right to make the final determination as to whether Buchanan would hold the seat for the remainder of the term or be replaced by Jennings. In April, a three-person House task force was created to evaluate the election.Phil Davis,, Associated Press, April 17, 2007 In early May, the task force voted along party lines to refer an investigation into Florida's 13th district House race to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).Aaron Blake, "FL-13 task force will turn over investigation to GAO" , The Hill, May 3, 2007 On February 25, 2008, the committee and the House accepted the GAO's findings that no machine error was demonstrated as sufficient to have altered the outcome of the election. The House passed HR 989 affirming the committee's findings, accepting the results of the race, and formally dismissing Jennings's challenge of the election results. Jennings formally dropped her challenge shortly thereafter to focus on a 2008 rematch against Buchanan.
2008
Buchanan defeated Jennings with 55% of the vote to her 38%.Larry Copeland,"Florida Election Results" , "USA Today", November 6, 2008 On election night, he said, "What a difference two years makes."Zac Anderson,"Buchanan Breezes to a Win" , Herald-Tribune", November 5, 2008
2010
In May 2009, Buchanan announced his candidacy for reelection.Duane Marsteller, "Buchanan Announces Re-Election Bid" . Bradenton Herald", May 12, 2009 He defeated Don Baldauf in the Republican primary, and Reverend James T. Golden in the general, with 68.9% of the vote.
2012
In 2012, Buchanan defeated Democratic former state representative Keith Fitzgerald with 53.6% of the vote. This is his narrowest victory since 2006.
2014
In 2014, Buchanan defeated Democratic nominee Henry Lawrence with 61.5% of the vote to Lawrence's 38.4%.
2016
In 2016, Buchanan defeated Democratic nominee Jan Schneider, an attorney and author, with 59.8% of the vote to Schneider's 40.2%.
Results
2018
In 2018, Buchanan defeated the Democratic nominee, attorney David Shapiro, with 54.6% of the vote.
2020
In 2020, Buchanan defeated Democratic nominee Margaret Good with 55.5% of the vote. Good defeated Buchanan's son James in a closely watched special election in 2018.
In February 2021, Buchanan announced his candidacy for reelection in 2022.
2022
In 2022, Buchanan won a 9th term by defeating Democratic nominee Jan Schneider, who was the previous nominee in 2016, with 62% of the vote. Buchanan's constituency changed as a result of the 2020 redistricting cycle. The new 16th district no longer encompasses Sarasota County.
2024 Buchanan faced his biggest primary challenge to date against Eddie Speir. Buchanan won by 20 points with 60% of the vote to Speir's 40%. Buchanan was endorsed by then-former President Donald Trump.
Criminal investigations
In July 2012, the House Ethics Committee cleared Buchanan of charges that he violated House rules by misleading Congress in his financial disclosure forms. After the issue was raised, Buchanan submitted revised forms.John Bresnahan, House Ethics Committee finds no wrongdoing by Rep. Buchanan, Politico (June 24, 2016). The committee "found no evidence that the errors were knowing or willful and unanimously determined that the errors were not substantively different from the hundreds or thousands of errors corrected by amendment at the requirement of the Committee every year."