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Research as of Nov. 1, 2026. Early voting: Mon., Oct. 19 to Sun., Nov. 1. Election Day: Tue., Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m..Early voting runs through 7 p.m. Sun., Nov. 1; Election Day is Tue., Nov. 3.Early voting ended Sun., Nov. 1. Election Day is Tue., Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at your precinct's polling place.Election Day, Tue., Nov. 3: polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at your precinct's polling place.Polls closed at 7 p.m. Tue., Nov. 3; anyone in line by then still votes. Check your voter info at votehillsborough.gov

State House, District 68

State Legislature

Listen: this contest in 1:30

Research as of Nov. 1, 2026

Read by a synthetic voice from this page’s research. A summary, not a recommendation.

Read the transcript

An open state House seat pits a cattle rancher against a retired firefighter. Republican Ryan Gill faces Democrat Tony Smith. Representative Lawrence McClure, a Republican, is term-limited; he won the seat in 2024 with 63 percent. Gill is a cattle rancher whose family has worked the same land in east Hillsborough for generations, and a former chair of the county's Soil and Water Conservation District. He says he wants to protect opportunity and make Florida more affordable. He is endorsed by the Hillsborough Republican Party, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Florida and Florida Realtors. Smith is a retired Tampa firefighter who now teaches EMT courses for Hillsborough schools, and is vice chair of Plant City's Board of Adjustment. His priorities are lowering costs for working families, supporting first responders, matching growth with roads, schools and utilities, and flood infrastructure. In May he lost a Plant City Commission runoff, 53 to 47. The research found no progressive group endorsements in this race. No public poll was found. In state filings through October 29, Gill had raised about 172 thousand dollars, Smith about 7 thousand. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's editors back Smith. The Tampa Bay Times made no picks in state House races. Research as of November 1, 2026. Sources and the full picture are on this page.

This contest is on some Hillsborough County ballots, not on the example ballot this site is built around. Find my ballot shows whether it’s on yours, or check your county’s sample ballot or the official precinct finder.Check your county’s sample ballot or the official precinct finder to see whether it’s on yours.

FactOfficial sample ballot wording

State Representative, District 68 · Vote for one

  • Ryan GillRepublican Party
  • Tony SmithDemocratic Party
Lead recommendationEditorialCreative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct. 22, 2026

Creative Loafing’s pick

Tony Smith

Why

Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up. Its reporting on the race is below.

Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: How to vote in Tampa Bay, and who we're voting for

From the record our summary of sourced facts, not Creative Loafing’s words

  • A Plant City native and retired Tampa Fire Rescue firefighter who went on to train EMTs in Hillsborough schools. (Florida Division of Elections, WUSF)
  • He runs on growth that comes with roads, schools and utilities first, plus flood and transportation fixes for east Hillsborough (his campaign platform). (Tony Smith campaign)
  • His opponent, rancher Ryan Gill, is backed by AFP Action as a “regulatory ally” who would roll back regulations. (AFP Action)

Why this leads: The site owner's choice (Oct. 24): the recommendation that best matches the owner's values, shown first on every contest. Still an editorial: one outlet's opinion, not this site's.

Where it stands

Fact

This is an open seat: Rep. Lawrence McClure (R) is term-limited, and neither candidate is an incumbent. McClure won the seat in 2024 with 63.0% in a three-way race. No public polls were found. Through Oct. 29, 2026, Gill's campaign account had raised about $172,500 to Smith's $7,400.7,6,5,1,2

  • 2024: Lawrence McClure (R) 63.0% (50,568) vs Lisa Carpus (D) 33.9% (27,230) vs Tyrell Hicks (NPA) 3.0% (2,427)6

No polls found in the research.

Research as of Oct 23, 2026.

The money gap

Fact

23×Ryan Gill has raised 23 times as much as Tony Smith.

  • Ryan GillRepublican

    $172,450as of Oct 29, 2026

  • Tony SmithDemocrat

    $7,378as of Oct 29, 2026

Monetary contributions reported to election officials. In-kind contributions and loans are left out here and listed under each candidate below.

Candidates and money

Fact

Ryan GillRepublican

Ryan Gill is a Republican cattle rancher from a family that has worked the same land in east Hillsborough County for generations. He is a former chair of the Hillsborough County Soil and Water Conservation District. He qualified for the ballot on June 10, 2026, and was unopposed in the Republican primary.3,10,7

  • AIF describes him as a sixth-generation Floridian and cattle rancher who manages a multi-generational family ranch.10
  • His campaign site says he was elected to the Hillsborough County Soil and Water Conservation District and served two years as its chairman; The Floridian also describes him as a former chair.13,7
  • His campaign site lists board service with the Plant City Chamber and the Hillsborough County Cattlemen's Association and Foundation, and says he chairs the Beef Breed Show at the Florida Strawberry Festival.13
  • His campaign site says he was named the 2022 Farm Credit Agriculturalist of the Year.13
  • In AIF's endorsement release, Gill said he wants to protect opportunity and make Florida more affordable. His campaign site lists no specific policy platform.10,13

Raised $172,450, spent $123,005 (DOS campaign treasurer's reports, all-dates totals through the period ending Oct. 29, 2026 (G6), as of Oct 29, 2026)Monetary contributions only. The campaign also reported $350.00 in in-kind contributions and $7,841.20 in other distributions besides expenditures. DOS does not show cash on hand on this summary. The totals cover the candidate campaign account only, not any affiliated political committee.1

Tony SmithDemocrat

Tony Smith is a Democrat who, according to his campaign site, worked in retail management and joined the Tampa Fire Department in 2008. After retiring he became an EMT educator with Hillsborough County Public Schools. He is vice chair of the Plant City Board of Adjustment, and he filed and qualified for the race on July 24, 2026.4,14

  • His campaign site says he grew up in Plant City and attended Clark Atlanta University on scholarship.14
  • His campaign site says he founded the community wellness initiative M.A.T.E.S. in 2018 and co-founded Better Together Plant City.14
  • WUSF reported that Karen Kerr defeated Tony Smith 53% to 47% in the May 2026 Plant City Commission Group 3 runoff. WUSF described him as a former Tampa Fire Rescue firefighter and a school-district EMT, the same background his House campaign site gives.8,14
  • His campaign site lists four priorities: lowering costs for working families and small businesses, supporting first responders and crime prevention, matching growth with roads, schools and utilities, and improving transportation and flood infrastructure.14

Raised $7,378, spent $6,151 (DOS campaign treasurer's reports, all-dates totals through the period ending Oct. 29, 2026 (G6), as of Oct 29, 2026)Monetary contributions only. The campaign also reported $65.00 in in-kind contributions. A waiver (W) was filed for the July 25–31 period. DOS does not show cash on hand on this summary.2

Not found in the research

  • Tampa Bay Times: its Nov. 3 recommendations list has no Florida House races, so there is no Times pick for this contest.
  • No progressive endorsements were found for either candidate. Checked: the Florida AFL-CIO 2026 list (no HD 68 entry), the West Central Florida Labor Council list as of Oct. 7, 2026 (no HD 68 entry), the Equality Florida Action PAC guide at eqflpac.org (no HD 68 entry) and WLRN's Oct. 13, 2026 list of Florida Planned Parenthood PAC House picks (no HD 68 entry). Web searches for Moms Demand Action/Everytown, Sierra Club, Florida Conservation Voters, FEA and Democratic party or caucus endorsements of Tony Smith for this seat found none.
  • Blue Voter Guide lists the Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus as endorsing a Tony Smith for the May 2026 Plant City Commission race, not for this seat. The page returned 403 and could not be opened, so it is not recorded.
  • Right-leaning searches for Florida Right to Life, NRA/Florida Carry, Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Medical Association and FOP found no endorsement in this race.
  • Search snippets from Florida Politics say Gill was also endorsed by the Florida PBA, Americans for Prosperity Action, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister, Rep. Lawrence McClure, Sens. Jay Collins and Danny Burgess, and Reps. Danny Alvarez and Mike Owen. Florida Politics returned 402/403 and could not be opened, and no other opened source confirmed these, so they are not recorded.
  • Florida Politics snippets also mention a Gill-affiliated political committee. Its name and finances were not verified, so money covers the candidate account only.
  • Cash on hand is not shown on the DOS treasurer-report summary for either candidate, and the Oct. 17–30 report was not yet posted when checked.
  • Tony Smith filed and qualified on July 24, 2026, after the regular June qualifying period. No opened source explained why, for example whether he replaced an earlier Democratic nominee. Blue Voter Guide lists a Craig Trapino as a Democrat in this race, but no Trapino appears on the DOS 2026 candidate lists, so he is not recorded.
  • The Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections sample ballot and amended ballot certification PDFs returned 403. Ballot status was verified on the Florida Division of Elections candidate list instead.
  • No 2022 general-election result for District 68 appears in the DOS 2022 State Representative summary that was fetched; McClure may have been elected without a general-election contest, but this was not confirmed.
  • Neither candidate has a voting record; neither has held state legislative office. No public polls were found.
  • iVoterGuide (an AFA Action project) labels Gill 'Conservative' and Smith 'Liberal'. That is a rating, not an endorsement, and is not recorded.

Tampa Bay Times

EditorialMoney map

Not found in the research.

EditorialAs recorded in each guide

Endorsements, both lenses

Neither lens is this site's voice

Progressive lens

Lens

Not found in the research.

Right-leaning lens

Lens
Ryan GillREP4 support · 0 oppose

SupportEndorsement

Republican Party & officials
Business & industry
Tony SmithDEM0 support · 0 oppose

No listings found in this guide.

Searched, nothing found

Not found in the research.

Sources

14 for this contest, official records first

Where to vote