Hillsborough County Republican Party

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Republican Party & officials

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Right-leaning lens

On this ballot

• Commissioner of Agriculture
  Mark your ballot: Commissioner of Agriculture

  Wilton SimpsonREP (Republican)Joey Mendoza AtkinsCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)Write-in

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Joey Mendoza Atkins

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Amendment 1: Budget Stabilization Fund
  Mark your ballot: Amendment 1: Budget Stabilization Fund

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  • It would let the state's rainy-day fund grow from 10% to 25% of general revenue; Florida TaxWatch says reaching that could take 22 years.
  • The fund, created in 1992, is nearly full and hasn't been drawn on since 2008. Nothing needs fixing.
  • CL doesn't want to give Tallahassee more control over tax money, and notes Gov. DeSantis is also urging a No.

  Ray Roa, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Florida's Constitutional Amendments

• Amendment 2: Exemption of Tangible Personal Property on Agricultural Land from Taxation
  Mark your ballot: Amendment 2: Exemption of Tangible Personal Property on Agricultural Land from Taxation

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  • It's a property-tax break for farm equipment, costing local governments roughly $31 million a year.
  • CL calls it a special-interest break that helps big agriculture most; small farms already pay less because every business's first $25,000 of equipment is exempt.
  • Lawmakers should find better ways to help small family farms and farmworkers.

  Ray Roa, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Florida's Constitutional Amendments

• Amendment 3: Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments
  Mark your ballot: Amendment 3: Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  • State economists estimate local governments would lose about $11.8 billion a year by 2031–32. Even police and firefighter unions urge a No.
  • It was rushed through a three-day special session, and a judge threw out the first ballot title and summary.
  • The Florida Realtors lobby has put millions behind it. CL calls it a distraction from property insurance, the real cost problem, and a hypocritical power grab that would leave cities begging Tallahassee for money.
  • CL notes that even some of the amendment's former champions now say they'll vote No.

  Ray Roa, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Florida's Constitutional Amendments

• Attorney General
  Mark your ballot: Attorney General

  James UthmeierREP (Republican)Jose Javier RodriguezCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks José Javier Rodríguez

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Board of County Commissioners — District 1
  Mark your ballot: Board of County Commissioners — District 1

  Jackie ToledoREP (Republican)Harry CohenCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Harry Cohen

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Board of County Commissioners — District 5
  Mark your ballot: Board of County Commissioners — District 5

  Stacy HahnREP (Republican)Neil ManimalaCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Neil Manimala

  • Manimala is the only commission candidate with a comprehensive plan to make it possible to live in Hillsborough without a car: better transit and less strain on the roads, which CL sees as the county's core growth, safety, cost and health problem.
  • CL expects him to work with both parties and calls him a hard worker with fresh ideas.
  • CL credits Stacy Hahn's eight years on the School Board and her primary win over incumbent Donna Cameron Cepeda, but argues Manimala is the one who can fix how the county gets around.

  Valerie Smith, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Hillsborough County Commission, School Board and referendums

• Board of County Commissioners — District 7
  Mark your ballot: Board of County Commissioners — District 7

  Joshua WostalREP (Republican)Aileen RodriguezCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Aileen Rodriguez

  • Against incumbent Joshua Wostal: he opposed the county's health care program for low-income residents and funding for local arts, refused to sign commendations for Tampa Pride and the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs' MLK breakfast, and builds no coalitions; even his popular vote against Rays stadium money drew only one ally.
  • His PAC took a late $50,000 check from developer Homes by West Bay, its largest ever and over $62,000 in all from that developer; its next-largest donor is tied to the lawsuit that killed the All For Transportation tax.
  • Rodriguez, a former director for U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, has long been active in the community and brings steady, practical ideas on transit and responsible growth. She also beat former Clerk of Court Cindy Stuart in the primary.
  • With the commission possibly growing, CL wants a member who unifies rather than divides.

  Ray Roa, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Hillsborough County Commission, School Board and referendums

• Chief Financial Officer
  Mark your ballot: Chief Financial Officer

  Blaise IngogliaREP (Republican)Annette TaddeoCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Annette Taddeo

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Referendum 1: Providing for an Elected, Rather than an Appointed, Superintendent of Schools
  Mark your ballot: Referendum 1: Providing for an Elected, Rather than an Appointed, Superintendent of Schools

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Referendum 2: Amending the County Charter to Increase Number of County Commissioners, All Elected From Single-Member Districts
  Mark your ballot: Referendum 2: Amending the County Charter to Increase Number of County Commissioners, All Elected From Single-Member Districts

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Referendum 3: One-Half Cent Sales Surtax for Public School Air Conditioning and Capital Improvements
  Mark your ballot: Referendum 3: One-Half Cent Sales Surtax for Public School Air Conditioning and Capital Improvements

  For the one-half cent taxCreative Loafing's pickAgainst the one-half cent tax

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Yes (renew the school sales tax)

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Governor and Lieutenant Governor
  Mark your ballot: Governor and Lieutenant Governor

  Byron Donalds and Bryan AvilaREP (Republican)David Jolly and Gwen GrahamCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)Scott Eckhard Jewett and Nicole SkellyLPF (Libertarian Party of Florida)Charles Burkett and Ruben A. CotoNPA (No Party Affiliation)Frank J. Russo and Rachel RodriguezNPA (No Party Affiliation)Moliere "Moe" Dimanche and Benjiman RojasNPA (No Party Affiliation)Dean Ocean Abrams and Joe Van VactorNPA (No Party Affiliation)Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto and Juan SantanaNPA (No Party Affiliation)Write-in

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks David Jolly / Gwen Graham

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Retain Drew Atkinson
  Mark your ballot: Retain Drew Atkinson

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Retain Carlos G. Muñiz
  Mark your ballot: Retain Carlos G. Muñiz

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  • A retention vote asks whether a justice has done the job as it should be done, not whether you like his politics. Here, CL says, the answer turns on respect for settled precedent (stare decisis).
  • In 2020, soon after joining the court with no prior judicial experience, Muñiz joined a majority that dropped Florida's test for overruling precedent, so that reliance and stability no longer count on their own.
  • In April 2024 he joined the ruling that the state constitution's privacy clause never protected abortion, overturning 35 years of precedent and triggering the six-week ban. Nothing in the constitution had changed, only the court's membership.
  • He also joined the 2020 rewrite of Florida's summary-judgment rule, which CL argues takes disputed cases away from juries. Justice Jorge Labarga, a Republican appointee, dissented both times.
  • No Florida justice has ever lost a retention vote; CL argues a No is how this check is meant to work, whatever you think of abortion.

  The guide lists No without a write-up; the reasons are from an op-ed CL published Oct. 13.

  Creative Loafing op-ed (posted by Ray Roa), Op-ed: Vote 'No' on retaining Florida Supreme Court Justice Carlos Muñiz

• Retain Morris Silberman
  Mark your ballot: Retain Morris Silberman

  YesCreative Loafing's pickNo

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Yes

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Retain Daniel H. Sleet
  Mark your ballot: Retain Daniel H. Sleet

  YesCreative Loafing's pickNo

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Yes

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• Retain Andrea Teves Smith
  Mark your ballot: Retain Andrea Teves Smith

  YesNoCreative Loafing's pick

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks No

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• School Board Member — District 6
  Mark your ballot: School Board Member — District 6

  Kenneth "Ken" GayNonpartisanKaren PerezCreative Loafing's pickNonpartisan

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Karen Perez

  • The race is nonpartisan, but Ken Gay's largest donor is the Hillsborough County Republican Party, which gave him $5,000 in September and endorsed him. CL describes that party as anti-union and fixated on DEI, Muslims in classrooms and transgender students.
  • CL says voters are tired of culture-war bait in school board races.
  • Perez, a social worker and strong public school advocate, is the most qualified, and CL sees no reason not to re-elect her.

  Colin Wolf, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Hillsborough County Commission, School Board and referendums

• State Representative — District 64
  Mark your ballot: State Representative — District 64

  Dan WeldonREP (Republican)Luis SalazarCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Luis Salazar

  Creative Loafing listed this pick in its guide without a write-up.

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

• State Senator — District 14
  Mark your ballot: State Senator — District 14

  Josie TomkowREP (Republican)Brian NathanCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Brian Nathan

  • CL calls the Republican ad tying Nathan to the Party for Socialism and Liberation a desperate smear: it is built on a CL photo from a May Day workers' rally that the West Central Florida Labor Council helped organize.
  • Nathan, who won the seat in a special election in March, stands with working people; CL sees that as a belief that honest work should pay for a dignified life, not as socialism.
  • Against Josie Tomkow: in nearly eight years in the Legislature she voted for the 2023 limits on public-sector unions (SB 256), skipped the final vote on the 2024 bill blocking local heat-protection and wage rules (HB 433), and this year voted for a law making public-sector union recertification harder.
  • More broadly, CL says Florida Republicans claim to be the workers' party while resisting minimum-wage increases, banning local living-wage rules for contractors and loosening child-labor protections.

  Ray Roa, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Tampa Bay's Florida State Senators

• Representative in Congress — District 14
  Mark your ballot: Representative in Congress — District 14

  Mike BeltranREP (Republican)Kathy CastorCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)Brian LambertLPF (Libertarian Party of Florida)Write-in

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Kathy Castor

  • Castor is one of the hardest-working members of Congress and has reliably brought federal money home to Tampa Bay projects over her 20 years.
  • CL grants the case against her: a long tenure, and some Democrats cooled on her after she was among a handful who backed a House resolution denouncing socialism.
  • The deciding factor is her opponent. Mike Beltran calls himself "MAGA Mike," and CL argues that loyalty to Trump makes him no check on the executive branch, whatever his reputation for breaking with Florida Republicans.

  Ray Roa, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Hillsborough and Pinellas congressional seats

• United States Senator
  Mark your ballot: United States Senator

  Ashley MoodyREP (Republican)Angie NixonCreative Loafing's pickDEM (Democratic)Neil J. GillespieNPA (No Party Affiliation)

  Clear

  EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Angie Nixon

  • Nixon won the Democratic primary decisively despite being outspent 16 to 1 by the party's preferred candidate, and CL calls her easy to get behind.
  • She was a single mother for 12 years and runs a Jacksonville bookstore and coffee shop. In six years in the Legislature she filed early-learning bills, fought cuts to public schools and limits on abortion, and was arrested protesting the gerrymandered congressional maps.
  • Her agenda, as CL reports it: extend Affordable Care Act subsidies first, lower costs, shore up Social Security and protect families from medical bankruptcy, partly by raising taxes on the very wealthy.
  • CL relays Nixon's case against Ashley Moody: Moody's role in the Hope Florida scandal, her stock trading, her vote for the "Big Beautiful Bill" and its Medicaid cuts, and her refusal to debate.

  The guide lists Nixon without a write-up; these reasons are from CL's Oct. 19 story on her Ybor City rally, which recommends her.

  Ray Roa (with Dave Decker), In Ybor City, Angie Nixon and Bernie Sanders rally against ‘lying, cheating, scheming, thieving Ashley Moody’ (w/photos)

Stances Endorsement

Each endorser's own stated position, as recorded in the progressive and right-leaning guides.

Where it appears