Who is running in Osceola County, Florida in 2026
- County Commissioner, District 2
- Viviana Janer and Olga Gonzalez
- County Commissioner, District 4
- Mary Downey and Donald Shroyer
- Circuit Judge, 9th Circuit, Group 1
- Temika Hampton-Johnson and Charles Hart
- Kissimmee City Commissioner, Seat 4
- Janette Martinez and Tiffany Jeffers
- St. Cloud City Council, Seat 5
- Alex Rodriguez and Kirk Zilke
- U.S. Senator
- Angie Nixon, Ashley Moody and Neil J. Gillespie
- Governor and Lieutenant Governor
- David Jolly and Byron Donalds
- Attorney General
- Jose Javier Rodriguez and James Uthmeier
- Chief Financial Officer
- Annette Taddeo and Blaise Ingoglia
- Commissioner of Agriculture
- Joey Mendoza Atkins and Wilton Simpson
- U.S. Representative, District 9
- Darren Soto and Dan Green
- State Representative, District 35
- Eric Gray and Erika Booth
- State Representative, District 45
- Leonard Spencer and Erin Huntley
- State Representative, District 46
- Jose Alvarez, Michael Cruz and Ivan Rivera
Osceola County
Both county commission races are partisan, so party labels appear on the ballot. The commission sets the county budget and decides zoning and development across fast-growing Osceola County. No school board race is on the November ballot: Districts 1 and 3 were settled in August, and Districts 4 and 5 drew one candidate each, so Florida leaves them off.
County Commissioner, District 2
Vote for oneViviana Janer
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratFirst elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022, and has chaired the Board of County Commissioners more than once.
Sources: Around Osceola
Olga Gonzalez
Not enough info RepublicanWas Kissimmee's first Latina mayor and founded the Church and Community Assistance Program, which helps residents with housing, food and social services. Running on smart growth and infrastructure; we found nothing on where she stands on Trump or the state party.
Sources: Campaign site, Around Osceola
County Commissioner, District 4
Vote for oneOpen seat. Commissioner Cheryl Grieb is not running again.
Mary Downey
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRuns Hope Partnership, a nonprofit that helps homeless families and builds affordable housing in Osceola County, and puts housing, health care access and traffic at the top of her list. Endorsed by the Kissimmee firefighters union, the Osceola Chamber's PAC and the Orlando Sentinel.
Sources: The Ballot Brief, News 6, Growing Bolder
Donald Shroyer
Not enough info RepublicanServed two terms on the St. Cloud council and sits on the boards of the Osceola Council on Aging and the Museum of Military History. Wants roads built to keep up with growth and has floated eliminating property taxes; we found nothing on his views of Trump or the state party.
Sources: Around Osceola, Positively Osceola
Circuit Judge, 9th Circuit, Group 1
Vote for oneCovers Orange and Osceola counties. Judge Mikaela Nix finished third in the August primary, so this seat will have a new judge.
Temika Hampton-Johnson
Seems like good people (best choice in this race)Has worked as a public defender, a probation officer and a lawyer for school support staff and the Social Security Administration. Wants every person in her courtroom "treated with dignity"; she led the August primary with 44%.
Sources: Campaign site, Ballotpedia, Florida Election Watch
Charles Hart
Not good people RepublicanRan for the Florida House in 2022 as a "DeSantis Republican From Day ONE" and sued over the county's COVID mask mandate. Endorsed by the sheriff's police union and Florida Family Action, and a Federalist Society member.
Sources: Winter Garden Vox, Around Osceola, Campaign site
Community development districts
Not profiledSome neighborhoods also vote for community development district supervisors, including Anthem Park, Concorde Estates, Gramercy Farms, Harmony, Reunion East, Stoneybrook South and Town of Kindred. We don't rate these.
Kissimmee elections
City races are nonpartisan. Seat 2 was settled in August, when Angela Eady won outright. Seat 4 is a runoff between the top two finishers.
City Commissioner, Seat 4
Vote for oneBoth candidates look like decent people. We give the pick to Martinez for her housing record on the commission.
Janette Martinez
Seems like good people (best choice in this race)Pushed for Haven on Vine, the city's affordable and transitional housing project, and is endorsed by the Kissimmee firefighters union. Ethics complaints about her food business were dismissed in 2026 after a special prosecutor's review cleared her.
Sources: Campaign site, Around Osceola, FOX 35
Tiffany Jeffers
Seems like good peopleLeads the Black Empowerment & Community Council and chairs the Women in NAACP committee of the NAACP Osceola Branch. Running on living-wage jobs, affordable housing and mental health support for first responders.
Sources: Around Osceola, Campaign site, The Ballot Brief
St. Cloud elections
City races are nonpartisan. Seat 5 is a runoff after the August primary; Seat 4 drew one candidate.
City Council, Seat 5
Vote for oneOpen seat. Council member Shawn Fletcher is not running again. Rodriguez made the runoff by one vote after a hand recount.
Alex Rodriguez
Seems like good people (best choice in this race)A first-time candidate running on traffic, careful spending and open government: "local government works best when it is transparent, fiscally responsible, and focused on serving residents."
Sources: Around Osceola, The Ballot Brief, Central Florida Public Media
Kirk Zilke
CompromisedSpent nearly 35 years with the St. Cloud Police Department before retiring as deputy chief in December 2025, and led the August primary with over 40%. Running on managed growth and public safety.
Sources: Campaign site, Around Osceola, Central Florida Public Media
State and federal
Osceola County voters choose a U.S. representative for District 9, which Florida redrew in 2026. The county is split among four state house districts, so check your sample ballot to see which is yours. Rep. Anthony Nieves (District 47) is unopposed and won't appear on the ballot. No state senate seat in Osceola is up this year.
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneAshley Moody was appointed in January 2025 to fill Marco Rubio's vacated seat.
Angie Nixon
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on the idea that health care, child care and housing are human rights, and won the August primary in an upset over Alexander Vindman. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, endorsed by Reps. Maxwell Frost, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.
Sources: The 19th, The Guardian, Wikipedia
Ashley Moody
Not good people RepublicanAs attorney general she joined the Texas lawsuit to throw out the 2020 presidential results in four swing states. On taking her Senate seat she promised to "fight for President Trump to deliver the America First agenda on Day 1."
Sources: Wikipedia, PBS NewsHour, WUSF
Neil J. Gillespie
Not enough info No partyRunning on overhauling the courts, border security and weakening the two-party system. He has filed many lawsuits of his own, including against The Florida Bar.
Sources: PantherNOW, Campaign blog
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat. Also on the ballot: Scott Eckhard Jewett and Nicole Skelly (Libertarian), and five no-party tickets: Charles Burkett and Ruben A. Coto, Frank J. Russo and Rachel Rodriguez, Moliere "Moe" Dimanche and Benjiman Rojas, Dean Ocean Abrams and Joe Van Vactor, and Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto and Juan Santana.
David Jolly
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratLeft the Republican Party and spent years as a TV analyst criticizing Trump and MAGA. Running on property insurance reform, more money for public schools and a pause on AI data centers, and opposes Amendment 3 because sheriffs and cities fear losing public safety money.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign site, WESH 2
Byron Donalds
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump and JD Vance. Running on the Amendment 3 property tax cuts and school choice.
Sources: Wikipedia, WESH 2, Campaign site
Attorney General
Vote for oneJose Javier Rodriguez
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratPromises to be "an independent-minded enforcer of the law, not a hyper-political hack servant of the powerful." Lost his Senate seat in 2020 by 32 votes after an illegal "ghost candidate" scheme siphoned votes from him; endorsed by firefighters, teachers and the Florida AFL-CIO.
Sources: DAGA, Campaign site, Ballotpedia
James Uthmeier
Not good people RepublicanHelped run the 2022 flights that took migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard. A 2026 grand jury found $10 million in Medicaid settlement money was misappropriated through the Hope Florida Foundation and named him, then the governor's chief of staff, as the center of it. It charged no one.
Sources: American Immigration Council, CBS News, WUSF
Chief Financial Officer
Vote for oneAnnette Taddeo
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratSays "Florida needs a watchdog, not a lapdog for the governor," and promises public report cards grading insurers on payouts and claim denials. Criticizes the no-bid contracts and daily costs at the "Alligator Alcatraz" detention camp.
Sources: Campaign site, WFSU, WLRN
Blaise Ingoglia
Compromised RepublicanAs CFO he launched audits of local government spending, including on diversity programs. Opponents fault him for running millions in taxpayer-funded ads during election season and for not auditing the roughly $1 billion spent on the Everglades immigration detention site.
Sources: Florida Trib, Wikipedia
Commissioner of Agriculture
Vote for oneJoey Mendoza Atkins
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratHas given legal help to migrant farmworkers and DACA recipients, and is running to keep farmland from being turned into data centers and to bring grocery costs down.
Sources: Sparker's Soapbox, Campaign site
Wilton Simpson
Not good people RepublicanPassed the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act as Senate president, a real conservation win. Endorsed by Trump, DeSantis and dozens of sheriffs.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign video
Constitutional amendments and Supreme Court retention
Yes or noWe describe what each amendment does and don't make recommendations. A Florida constitutional amendment needs 60% yes to pass.
- Amendment 1: Lets the state keep up to 25% of general revenue in its rainy-day fund (the budget stabilization fund), up from 10%. The Legislature would have to put in $750 million a year, or whatever it takes to reach 25%, unless certain conditions are met, and could pull money out for critical state needs.
- Amendment 2: Exempts equipment and other tangible personal property on agricultural land from property tax, when it is used for farming or agritourism and owned by the landowner or leaseholder. Starts in 2027.
- Amendment 3: Raises the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusts it for inflation, and lets counties and cities go as high as the full value of the home. People who move to Florida after December 31, 2026 get the bigger exemption only from their fifth year. It also cuts the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%, and limits what counties and cities can spend property taxes on (public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources, debt, pensions, and operations). Takes effect January 1, 2027.
- Supreme Court: Justice Carlos G. Muñiz is up for a yes-or-no retention vote. We haven't profiled him.
U.S. Representative, District 9
Vote for oneDarren Soto
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratVoted for the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, and is running in a redrawn district he calls gerrymandered. Endorsed by the Florida AFL-CIO, the federal employees union AFGE and the Orlando Sentinel.
Sources: U.S. House, Central Florida Public Media, Florida AFL-CIO
Dan Green
Not good people RepublicanSays Floridians need leaders "who will stand with President Trump," and is endorsed by Trump and the Florida Police Benevolent Association. Narrowly won a seven-way Republican primary in August.
Sources: Campaign site, Campaign endorsements, WUSF
State Representative, District 35
Vote for oneEric Gray
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratEndorsed by Rep. Maxwell Frost, Rep. Anna Eskamani, the Florida AFL-CIO and the Florida NOW PAC. We found little else on his background.
Sources: Florida AFL-CIO, Florida National News
State Representative, District 45
Vote for oneLeonard Spencer
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratFlipped the seat in 2024 and is running on insurance costs, job training, and more money for public schools and mental health care. Endorsed by the Florida AFL-CIO and 1199SEIU.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign site, Florida AFL-CIO
Erin Huntley
Not good people RepublicanWas one of Florida's 2024 presidential electors for Trump, and DeSantis appointed her to the Florida Virtual School board. Endorsed by Attorney General James Uthmeier and Rep. Mike Haridopolos.
Sources: Orange Observer, AIF
State Representative, District 46
Vote for oneA rematch of 2024, when Alvarez won with 57%.
Jose Alvarez
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWas HUD's regional administrator under President Biden and wants more workforce housing and "responsible development." Endorsed by the Florida Realtors PAC and the hotel and lodging association; he ran as a Tea Party conservative in 2010 before becoming a Democrat.
Sources: Hoodline, Around Osceola, Florida National News
Michael Cruz
Not enough info RepublicanRunning on "strengthening families, supporting economic growth, and improving public safety." Got 39.6% against Alvarez in 2024.
Sources: Ballotpedia