Anna Paulina Luna
American politician (born 1989) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anna Paulina Luna (née Mayerhofer, later Gamberzky; born May 6, 1989) is an American politician and Air Force veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she is the first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress from Florida.
Anna Paulina Luna | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 13th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Charlie Crist |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anna Paulina Mayerhofer May 6, 1989 Santa Ana, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Andrew Gamberzky |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of West Florida (BS) |
| Website | House website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 2009–2014 |
| Awards | Air Force Achievement Medal |
Luna was born in Santa Ana, California, and graduated from the University of West Florida in 2017. She joined Turning Point USA and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. House in 2020. She was elected in 2022 with the support of Donald Trump in her primary. She supported Jim Jordan and Byron Donalds for Speaker of the House of Representatives in the January 2023 election.
Luna was a member of the House Freedom Caucus from January 2023 to March 2025; her views have been identified as conservative. She has described herself as a "pro-life extremist".[1]
Family and early life
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Anna Paulina Mayerhofer was born in 1989 to George Mayerhofer and Monica Todd, an elementary school teacher and stay-at-home mother, in Santa Ana, California.[2][3][4][5] Luna has said that her father raised her to follow Messianic Judaism, an evangelical movement that incorporates Jewish traditions into Protestant Christianity, and that she is "a small fraction Ashkenazi".[4][6][7][8] Members of her extended family have said her father was Catholic and that "they were not aware of him practicing any form of Judaism while Luna was growing up". Her mother has said that Luna's father was a "Christian that embraced the Messianic faith" after getting clean from drug addiction. Her grandfather, Heinrich Mayerhofer, identified as Catholic when he immigrated to Canada in 1954.[4]
Her father had Mexican and German ancestry. Her paternal grandmother was born in Hidalgo, Mexico. Her paternal grandfather was born in Germany and was in the Wehrmacht during World War II.[4] Her mother has Mexican-American ancestry,[4] although a maternal great-grandfather was the son of an American immigrant to Mexico and a native of Colima, Mexico.[9] Her two maternal great-grandfathers served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II.[4]
Luna's parents never married or lived together;[5] her father had a drug addiction problem[4] and her mother married another man when Luna was nine years old but divorced four years later.[5] Luna was raised in the Orange County cities of Santa Ana, Irvine, and Aliso Viejo, as well as Los Angeles, and has called Santa Monica her hometown.[10] She attended high school in Los Angeles.[2][4]
Luna said that at the age of 10, she found her father's bag of meth.[2] Her maternal grandmother was a long-time heroin user and was HIV positive.[4][11] By 2020, both she (Anna) and her mother (Monica) had chosen the Luna surname as "an homage" to that same woman's maiden name.[4][11]
Luna has said that she "grew up in the welfare system"[12] she was raised by her mother on government assistance with "no family to rely on", and she was raised in a "broken home mentality".[4] Luna has said that both she and her mother lacked "a strong extended network of people" who could help care for them,[4] and that she had attended "over six high schools" before graduating.[2] Luna's cousin has said, "The whole family kind of raised her—my dad was a part of her life when she was younger and we all kind of coddled her ... She was always a part of everything, all these family gatherings and activities". Luna's aunt said, "She had everything. What she needed and more ... And not only did [Luna's mother] provide for her, but [Luna's grandfather] did, too."[4] Luna has disputed these accounts, saying that she "barely spent any time with them in her entire life". Luna's mother said that she had to rely on welfare for periods of time, especially while she was putting herself through college at the University of California, Irvine, and then at the UCLA School of Law, and that she was the only source of meaningful financial support for the family.[11]
Luna's campaign website biography says that throughout her childhood and teenage years, her father "spent time in and out of incarceration", and that she communicated with him "through letters to jail and collect calls". Luna's mother and aunt said that he served several short stints in jail for not paying child support. Luna's mother also said that he spent at least one year in jail for a drug-related charge.[4] Luna's father was sentenced to Orange County jail on at least five different occasions. He was convicted for crimes including carrying a loaded gun in public, violating probation, and driving with a suspended license. He was charged but not convicted for assault and battery and possession of illegal drugs.[5] The drug possession case indicated that Luna's father was in custody around the time of two court appearances. The case information did not specify the length of his confinement; the court proceedings lasted about three months.[11]
Military service, education, and early career
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Luna served as an airfield management specialist in the U.S. Air Force from 2009 to 2014, first at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and then at Hurlburt Field in Florida. Her decorations included the Air Force Achievement Medal. She subsequently joined the Oregon Air National Guard.[2]
While she was in the Air Force, she began to study at the local college.[5] She also modeled during this period, appearing in 2013 in Sport Illustrated's online site, and briefly worked as a cocktail waitress in a gentleman's club.[5][13] She later appeared as a swimsuit model in Maxim magazine in 2014.[2][14][15][3] Luna gained a following as an Instagram influencer.[4]
Luna said that she experienced a 2010 early morning home invasion by her landlord while stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base.[4] Luna's roommate said she did not remember such an incident. Instead, the roommate recalled a daytime break-in when Luna was not home. A Warrensburg Police Department report described the July 2010 incident as a "burglary not in progress".[4]
In 2017, Luna earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of West Florida.[2]
Luna became the director of Hispanic engagement for Turning Point USA in 2018.[16] In a November 2018 Fox News segment, she compared Hillary Clinton to herpes, leading the network to cut the segment short and host Rick Leventhal and anchor Arthel Neville to apologize to viewers.[17] In 2020, she appeared at a We Build the Wall event as vice president of Bienvenido, an organization dedicated to conservative Hispanic outreach.[18]
U.S. House of Representatives
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Elections
2020
Luna decided to run for Congress in 2018. She entered the Republican primary for Florida's 13th congressional district in September 2019, and Matt Gaetz endorsed her in November 2019.[19] She was also endorsed by Charlie Kirk, Elise Stefanik, Students for Trump, and former St. Petersburg, Florida, mayor Bill Foster.[20][21] In July 2020, she and her husband purchased a house in St. Petersburg, near MacDill Air Force Base, where her husband was stationed.[2] Luna won the Republican primary, but lost to incumbent Democrat Charlie Crist in the general election.[22][23]
2022
Luna was elected as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district in the 2022 election, defeating Democratic nominee Eric Lynn, a former senior advisor for Barack Obama. Before the Republican primary, another Republican candidate privately threatened to have her assassinated by a hit squad.[24] In June 2021, Luna was granted a temporary stalking injunction against her primary opponent, William Braddock, after a friend of Luna's recorded Braddock threatening to make Luna "disappear" and claiming he had "access to a hit squad, too, Ukrainians and Russians". Braddock dropped out of the race after the judge granted the temporary injunction. The judge dismissed the request for a permanent injunction, saying she found one instance of harassment when the law required two.[25]
Donald Trump endorsed Luna,[26] and Marjorie Taylor Greene campaigned for her in Florida.[6] She is the first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress from Florida.[27]
2024
Luna was challenged in the general election by Whitney Fox, a moderate Democrat and former communications director for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority.[28] Though seen as the only Florida house seat being in striking distance for Democrats, Luna won re-election with 55% of the vote, compared to Fox's 45%.[29]
Tenure
During the January 2023 Speaker of the House election, Luna voted against Kevin McCarthy on the first 11 ballots, instead nominating Representative Jim Jordan and later Representative Byron Donalds.[30]
In May 2023, Luna co-sponsored resolutions by Marjorie Taylor Greene to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland,[31] FBI director Christopher Wray,[32] Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas,[33] and U.S. attorney for D.C. Matthew M. Graves.[34]
Additionally in May 2023, Luna sponsored a resolution to have Adam Schiff removed from Congress and fined $16 million.[35]
In June 2023, Luna sponsored a resolution censuring Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for his past actions as chair of the House Intelligence Committee in leading investigations into then-President Donald Trump.[36] The House agreed to the resolution with a vote of 213-209.[37]
On July 10, 2024, Luna brought forward a privileged resolution to have U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland found in inherent contempt of Congress.[38] The resolution would have imposed a fine of $10,000 per day on Garland for defying a congressional subpoena.[39] The measure failed to pass in a 204 to 210 vote.[40][41]
In the 118th Congress she co-sponsored a pair of resolutions meant to expunge the impeachments of Donald Trump.[42] In the 119th United States Congress, she again co-sponsored resolutions to expunge Trump's impeachments.[43]
In January 2025, Luna introduced a bill proposing to add Trump's face to Mount Rushmore.[44]
In February 2025, Luna was appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson to lead a House Oversight Task Force on declassification of federal secrets.[45]
In March 2025, Luna worked with Democrats and some Republicans to force a vote on a bill through a discharge petition which would allow new parents to vote by proxy. The petition angered members of the Freedom Caucus, who believe that proxy voting is unconstitutional, and led them to initially vote against a procedural rules vote on Republican supported energy bills. After negotiations with House Republican leadership, the Freedom Caucus would later allow the vote to pass. Freedom Caucus leadership urged Republican leadership to raise the threshold required to force a vote on a bill through a discharge petition.[46] Luna would later resign from the Freedom Caucus. In a letter, she said her decision to resign was due to the loss of "mutual respect that has guided our caucus."[47] On April 1, Republican leadership attempted to pass a rule vote that would prevent Luna's bill from being voted on. Nine Republicans (Luna, Tim Burchett, Mike Lawler, Kevin Kiley, Nick LaLota, Jeff Van Drew, Max Miller, Greg Steube and Ryan Mackenzie) joined all Democrats to block the rule vote.[48] On April 6, Luna and Johnson reached an agreement that would allow absent members to use vote pairing. Their intended vote will still be published in the Congressional Record.[49]
Caucus memberships
- Freedom Caucus (2023–2025)[50][51]
- Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Caucus[52]
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:[53]
Political positions
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2020 presidential election
In June 2022, Luna said of the 2020 United States presidential election, "I believe that President Trump won that election, and I do believe that voter fraud occurred." The previous month, she attended a red carpet event and screening of 2000 Mules, a film that claims to show evidence of widespread electoral fraud in the 2020 election.[54] She authored the 2023 Christian children's book, The Legend of Naranja, which suggests that Biden stole the 2020 election.[55]
Abortion
Luna has said she favors abortion bans, and has called herself a "pro-life extremist".[56][57][58] She has said her anti-abortion stance originates from having dissected a chicken egg in college and seeing the chick react to a scalpel blade: "God was using that opportunity to really wake me up."[3]
Economic issues
In an August 2022 interview, Luna said that she would support a ban on U.S. oil exports to increase the domestic oil supply, saying, "The United States has literally one of the biggest supplies of cleanest oil in the entire world. There's no reason why we need to be going to places like Saudi Arabia or even Venezuela to get those oil sources." She said this view belonged to an "America First" platform, adding, "If it means not selling to other countries so that here in the United States, we can literally lower the gas prices, that's what I agree with."[59]
Luna was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[60]
In March 2025, Luna and Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez co-sponsored legislation seeking to cap credit card interest rates at 10%.[61]
Education
Luna's website states that she opposes "radical left-wing gender theory being pushed on our kids".[62]
Gun control
Luna appeared on the February/March 2020 cover of Ballistic magazine, which called her "DC's Next 2A Warrior".[2] In February 2023, she was one of several members of Congress seen wearing AR-15 rifle lapel pins.[63]
In September 2020, Luna threatened to sue Twitter because the company refused to verify her account, alleging "political prejudice" and calling it "election meddling",[64] and in October 2020, Luna's campaign said it filed a complaint with the FEC over Twitter's refusal to verify Luna's account. The FEC complaint said that Twitter violated the equal time rule by verifying Charlie Crist but not Luna and asked the FEC to force Twitter to verify Luna's account.[65]
During a combative House Oversight Committee hearing on February 8, 2023, Luna alleged that Twitter, the federal government, "leftist nonprofits", and potentially the Democratic National Committee had acted jointly to censor Americans in November 2020 through the Jira project management platform, and that it violated the First Amendment.[66][67][68]
Foreign policy
In 2023, Luna was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[69][70] That same year Luna was among 52 Republicans who voted in favor H.Con.Res. 30, which would remove American troops from Somalia.[71][72]
Luna is a cosponsor of the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution (H.Res.113), sponsored by Florida representative Matt Gaetz. The bill would suspend all U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine for the war there and demand that all combatants in this conflict reach a peace agreement immediately.[73]
In 2023, Luna was among 98 Republicans to vote for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine.[74][75] The same year, Luna voted for a moratorium on aid to Ukraine.[76][77]
In April 2024, Luna voted against the $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine.[78]
In March 2025, Luna expressed opposition to U.S. membership in NATO.[79]
Personal life
Luna identifies as a Messianic Jewish Christian.[4] Luna is married to Andrew Gamberzky, a U.S. Air Force combat controller.[2] In 2019, she took her maternal grandmother's maiden name, Luna, to represent her Hispanic heritage.[2] She did this to follow suit from her mother who had first changed her surname to the same, following a finalized divorce.[11] Luna began describing herself as Hispanic in 2019. However, when she registered to vote in 2015, she had marked her ethnicity as "White, not of Hispanic origin."[4]
During her first campaign for Congress in 2020, Luna sought a stalking injunction request against her uncle, Edward Mayerhofer, after he said her paternal grandfather had Nazi ties.[4]
Luna announced that she had given birth to a child on August 27, 2023.[80]
Books
Luna has authored two books:
- Marrying the Beret: The Untold Stories of US Special Operations, Post Hill Press, 2018, ISBN 978-0578432755
- Bringing them Home: The Untold Cost of Putting Missions First, Post Hill Press, 2021, ISBN 978-1637580189
Electoral history
| Year | Office | Party | Primary | General | Result | Swing | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Total | % | P. | ||||||||
| 2020 | U.S. House | Republican | 22,941 | 36.14% | 1st | 190,713 | 46.95% | 2nd | Lost | Hold | [81] | ||
| 2022 | Republican | 37,156 | 44.48% | 1st | 181,487 | 53.14% | 1st | Won | Gain | [82] | |||
| 2024 | Republican | 225,636 | 54.82% | 1st | Won | Hold | [83] | ||||||
| Source: Secretary of State of Florida | Election Results | |||||||||||||
See also
References
External links
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