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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 70

State Legislature

Listen: this contest in 1:29

Research as of Nov. 1, 2026

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

Read the transcript

State House District 70, which spans parts of Hillsborough and Manatee counties, is a rematch of 2024. Republican Michael Owen, the incumbent, faces Democrat Luther Keith Wilkins again. Owen won their last race about 59 to 41 percent, in official state results. Owen is an attorney and small-business owner, and a former Hillsborough County commissioner. This year he sponsored the local laws behind two county referendums on Hillsborough's ballot: one to expand the County Commission from seven to nine members, and one to make the school superintendent an elected office. He is endorsed by the Hillsborough Republican Party, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Florida and Florida Realtors. Wilkins is an Army and Army National Guard veteran who has worked in business and real estate development and has served as president of the Manatee County NAACP, according to Pulse of Manatee. The research found no original source for his campaign positions and no confirmed group endorsements. No public poll was found. In state filings through October 29, Owen had raised about 282 thousand dollars, Wilkins about 4 thousand. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's editors back Wilkins, without giving reasons for this race. 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 70 · Vote for one

  • Michael OwenRepublican Party
  • Luther Keith WilkinsDemocratic Party
Lead recommendationEditorialCreative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct. 22, 2026

Creative Loafing’s pick

Luther Keith Wilkins

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 12-year Army and National Guard veteran and former Manatee County NAACP president, running on workforce housing, public schools and veterans. (Pulse of Manatee, Florida Division of Elections)
  • Rep. Michael Owen wrote both Hillsborough referendums CL and the Times urge you to reject, and voted for Amendment 3. (The Florida Senate, Florida House)
  • Owen also floated breaking up HART into a Tampa-only system, which HART’s chair said would strand bus and paratransit riders across the county. (FOX 13 Tampa Bay)

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

Michael Owen is the Republican incumbent. He beat Luther Keith Wilkins 58.8% to 41.2% in 2024, and this year is a rematch. Neither candidate had a primary opponent: District 70 does not appear in the official Aug. 18, 2026 primary results. No public polls were found. Through Oct. 29, 2026, Owen had reported about $282,000 in monetary contributions to Wilkins's about $4,000.6,12,1,15,2,3

  • 2024: Michael Owen (R) 58.8% (65,037) vs Luther Keith Wilkins (D) 41.2% (45,620)12

No polls found in the research.

Research as of Oct 23, 2026.

The money gap

Fact

70×Michael Owen has raised 70 times as much as Luther Keith Wilkins.

  • Michael OwenRepublican · incumbent

    $282,374as of Oct 29, 2026

  • Luther Keith WilkinsDemocrat

    $4,032as 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

Michael OwenRepublican · incumbent

Republican incumbent, elected to the Florida House in 2024. His House biography lists him as an attorney and small business owner, and he is a former Hillsborough County commissioner and former Port Tampa Bay commissioner.5,13,15

  • His 2026 House committee assignments include State Affairs, the Select Committee on Property Taxes, Insurance & Banking, and Natural Resources & Disasters.13
  • He sponsored HB 4029, a local bill to expand the Hillsborough County Commission from seven to nine members and drop its at-large seats, subject to a county referendum; the governor approved it June 8, 2026 (Chapter 2026-197).8,16
  • He sponsored HB 4027, a local bill calling a referendum on making Hillsborough's school superintendent an elected, partisan office; the governor approved it June 8, 2026 (Chapter 2026-196).7,16
  • Three 2026 general bills he sponsored, HB 489 (Florida Housing Finance Corporation terminology), HB 705 (lawsuits over real-property improvements) and HB 609 (bingo games), died in House subcommittees on March 13, 2026.9,11,10
  • In a Tampa Bay 28 questionnaire he names managing growth, costs for families, infrastructure, law enforcement support, natural resources and careful use of tax dollars as priorities.17

Raised $282,374, spent $193,168 (DOS campaign treasurer's reports, all-dates totals through the period ending Oct. 29, 2026 (G6), as of Oct 29, 2026)Raised is monetary contributions since the account's first report (Dec. 2024). The page also shows $1,327.60 in-kind contributions and $9,312.55 under 'Other'. It does not show cash on hand.2

Luther Keith WilkinsDemocrat

Democrat. Pulse of Manatee describes him as a U.S. Army and Army National Guard veteran who has worked in business leadership, real estate development and community advocacy, and who has served as president of the Manatee County NAACP. He was the Democratic nominee against Owen in 2024.4,15,12

  • In the 2024 general election for this seat he received 45,620 votes (41.2%) to Owen's 65,037 (58.8%).12

Raised $4,032, spent $2,646 (DOS campaign treasurer's reports, all-dates totals through the period ending Oct. 29, 2026 (G6), as of Oct 29, 2026)Raised is monetary contributions since the account's first report (Feb. 2026). Waivers (no activity) were filed for 07/25 to 07/31 and 08/14 to 08/21/2026. The page does not show cash on hand.3

Other editorial pages

Opinion columns, not endorsements
  • Editorial Creative Loafing Tampa (Oct 22, 2026): Luther Keith Wilkins. Creative Loafing's 2026 voting guide lists Wilkins for State House District 70 but gives no reasoning for this race.14

Not found in the research

  • Tampa Bay Times: its Nov. 3 recommendations list has no Florida House races, so there is no Times pick (times = null).
  • The Hillsborough all-races sample ballot PDF (votehillsborough.gov DocumentCenter/View/2615) returned a Cloudflare block. The candidate names and parties come from the Division of Elections list. It shows only Owen (REP, incumbent) and Wilkins (DEM) for District 70, with no write-in or minor-party candidates.
  • Progressive endorsements: none found for Wilkins from a source that could be opened. Not listed for HD 70: Florida AFL-CIO 2026 list (flaflcio.org), West Central Florida Labor Council 2026 PDF, Florida Planned Parenthood PAC slate as reported by WLRN (Oct. 13, 2026), Everytown/Moms Demand Action July 29, 2026 round. Searches of Equality Florida, Sierra Club, Florida Conservation Voters and FEA found nothing for HD 70; the Sierra Club pages loaded empty.
  • Blue Voter Guide search snippets suggest the Hillsborough and Manatee County Democratic parties list Wilkins, but every bluevoterguide.org page returned a Cloudflare challenge. Neither party's own site turned up in searches, so this is not recorded.
  • Right-leaning endorsements: found the Hillsborough GOP, Florida Chamber, AIF and Florida Realtors PAC. Searches for 2026 HD 70 endorsements from the NRA, Florida Carry, Florida Right to Life, Americans for Prosperity, Florida PBA/FOP, Florida Farm Bureau and the Florida Medical Association found none. Owen is not in the Chamber's second round (July 13, 2026).
  • Florida Politics reported that Tampa Bay-area sheriffs backed Owen (floridapolitics.com/archives/698728). Search snippets suggest this was in the 2024 race. The page returned 402/403 and could not be opened, so it is not recorded.
  • iVoterGuide gives a rating, not an endorsement: it labels Owen 'Conservative' and Wilkins 'Liberal'. It is not recorded as an endorsement.
  • Wilkins's campaign positions: no original source found. The Tampa Bay 28 questionnaire showed only Owen's answers, and BallotReady (an aggregator) lists issue stances that were not independently confirmed.
  • Wikipedia and its Herald-Tribune citation say Owen won 67% in 2024. Official DOS results show 58.8%, and the official figure is used.
  • Cash on hand: the DOS treasurer-report summary pages do not show it for either candidate, and individual report PDFs were not opened.
  • No public polls found for this contest.
  • Owen's record lists only bills he sponsored. Floor votes on major 2025 and 2026 legislation were not researched.
  • The district covers parts of Hillsborough and Manatee counties (per Tampa Bay 28 and others). The Manatee portion's ballot was not checked separately.

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
Michael OwenREPIncumbent4 support · 0 oppose

SupportEndorsement

Republican Party & officials
Business & industry
Luther Keith WilkinsDEM0 support · 0 oppose

No listings found in this guide.

Searched, nothing found

Not found in the research.

Sources

21 for this contest, official records first

Where to vote