As part of our commitment to providing you with what you need to make an informed decision in the 2026 elections, News 6 joined with the News Collaborative of Central Florida to present the Voting Central Florida 2026 Voter’s Guide.
Tuesday, Aug. 18 is the Florida Statewide Primary election, a mix of party primaries and nonpartisan local elections, such as school board races, judicial races, and county commission races in some counties.
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[ELECTION 2026: Make sure you’re eligible to vote|How to vote by mail|Election Myths]
Florida has a closed primary system, which means only members of a political party may vote in party primaries. To be eligible, a voter had to identify with that party by July 20.
However, judicial races and local races, for the most part, are open to all registered voters, regardless of political party.
Everything you need to know in order to vote in the Aug. 18 Statewide Primary, including how to vote by mail, vote early, and vote on Election Day, can be found in our Election 2026 section HERE.
Brevard County Commission District 1, Republican Primary
The Brevard County Commission has five districts, and these are partisan races, which means you must be a member of a political party to vote in August. All voters will be able to choose from a final slate of candidates in November.
The winner of the Republican primary for the District 1 commission seat will go on to face Democrat Aldon Bookhardt, Libertarian Nathan Slusher, and write-in candidate Stuart Buchanan.
County Commission District 1 encompasses voters in the northern part of the county, including Titusville, Mims and Cocoa. You can see a map of the district HERE.
The News Collaborative of Central Florida created a list of common questions to ask the candidates. Questionnaires were sent to all candidates.
Not all of the candidates responded. Where candidates did not respond, we have filled out the information to the best of our abilities.
Our News Collaborative partners at Central Florida Public Media compiled the candidate responses for Brevard County Commission District 1.
You can see the full Central Florida Public Media Voting Guide HERE.
Pam Avery
WEBSITE: votepamavery.com
NOTE: This candidate did not respond to our request to fill out this voter guide. To best serve you, we searched candidate websites, social media and interviews they’ve done to provide answers to the following questions.
FOR INCUMBENTS: Why do you deserve to be re-elected in this race? FOR CHALLENGERS AND OPEN SEATS: Why do you deserve to be elected in this race?
Avery did not respond to the questionnaire but on her campaign website, she describes herself as a connector of people and said the following:
I’m running for County Commissioner because I truly care about this community and how decisions being made affect all of us. North Brevard can sometimes be overlooked, which is why effective leadership matters. Actions speak louder than words. I will work with others, lead with integrity, and treat everyone with respect.
According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue? Avery did not respond to this questionnaire. We could not find any information about her views on housing affordability.
Will you vote YES or NO on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue – fees and/or service reductions? Avery did not respond to this questionnaire. We could not find any information about her views on the property tax amendment.
Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond? Avery did not respond to this questionnaire. We could not find any information on how she feels about how Florida regulators should respond to rising utility costs.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida? Listed on her campaign website, Avery lists the Indian River Lagoon as one of the things she’d like to tackle. She says the following: Protecting our natural resources with practical, fact-based solutions for now and for generations to come.
Stel Bailey
WEBSITE: votestelbailey.com
NOTE: This candidate did not respond to our request to fill out this voter guide. To best serve you, we searched candidate websites, social media and interviews they’ve done to provide answers to the following questions.
FOR INCUMBENTS: Why do you deserve to be re-elected in this race? FOR CHALLENGERS AND OPEN SEATS: Why do you deserve to be elected in this race? Bailey did not respond to the questionnaire; however, at a forum hosted by the Brevard County Republicans, Bailey spoke of her work in the community by saying the following:
For the past 12 years, I started fighting for clean water, but I also began fighting for constitutional rights. I’ve been doing thousands of public records requests. I’ve done investigative journalism. I’ve done government accountability, and I’ve been able to teach people about civic engagement, and I became very passionate about our government and bringing it back to the people. So I am running today because I want to bring that same experience to the county commission. I want to be able to focus on infrastructure, transparency, accountability and putting the residents back into the government where they belong.
According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue? The candidate did not respond to this questionnaire. On her campaign website, she focuses on responsible growth rather than affordability. We could not find information about how she would deal with the affordability issue.
Will you vote YES or NO on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue – fees and/or service reductions? The candidate did not respond to this questionnaire and found no information about where she stands on this issue.
Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond? In a YouTube short video found on Bailey’s campaign website, she addresses the issue of AI data centers. She states the first question you should ask is what is the impact on the community vs. what the community will get in return. Bailey says she agrees with Brevard County’s decision to stop offering tax incentives for AI data centers. She says if a project is beneficial for Brevard County, it should be able to stand on its own merits. Bailey did not address how regulators should respond.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida? Bailey did not respond to this questionnaire; however, the centerpiece of her campaign and her work has been clean water. She’s stated that she and several members of her immediate family were all diagnosed with cancer at around the same time. Bailey has blamed the water that she says was contaminated with PFAS. At a forum put on by the Brevard County Republicans, when asked whether she supports the renewal of a sales tax that Brevard residents pay for the Indian River Lagoon, Bailey said not as it currently stands. She wants to see the amendment modified to specify that the money to infrastructure to keep things like stormwater out of the lagoon. Bailey does not support things like planting sea grass in the Indian River Lagoon, which has been a focus.
Rick Heffelfinger
WEBSITE: stickwithrick1.com
NOTE: This candidate did not respond to our request to fill out this voter guide. To best serve you, we searched candidate websites, social media and interviews they’ve done to provide answers to the following questions.
FOR INCUMBENTS: Why do you deserve to be re-elected in this race? FOR CHALLENGERS AND OPEN SEATS: Why do you deserve to be elected in this race? Heffelfinger did not respond to the questionnaire but on his campaign website, he states that after attending commission meetings over the past eight years, we can’t keep increasing property taxes to pay for growth.
According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue? Heffelfinger did not respond to this questionnaire and we could find no information about how he would deal with Florida’s affordability issue.
Will you vote YES or NO on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue – fees and/or service reductions? We could find no public statements made by Heffelfinger about the property tax amendment but his campaign centers around “DOGEing” the budget and not continuing to raise property taxes to pay for growth.
Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond? Heffelfinger did not respond to this questionnaire, but earlier this year, he spoke in support of a Brevard County ordinance that would prohibit tax incentives to open data centers in the county.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida? Heffelfinger did not respond to this questionnaire and we could not find any information to provide an answer to this question.
Micah Loyd
WEBSITE: www.micahloydcampaign.com/
NOTE: This candidate did not respond to our request to fill out this voter guide. To best serve you, we searched candidate websites, social media and interviews they’ve done to provide answers to the following questions.
FOR INCUMBENTS: Why do you deserve to be re-elected in this race? FOR CHALLENGERS AND OPEN SEATS: Why do you deserve to be elected in this race? Loyd did not respond to this questionnaire; however, on his campaign website, he says the following: Micah is running because he has seen what poor leadership can do to a community. North Brevard struggled after the loss of space jobs in 2011, and today the community is facing a very different challenge: record growth. A lifelong member of this community, Micah has spent years giving back, supporting the SPCA, the Humane Society, and countless local causes that make North Brevard a better place to live. As a Canaveral Port Authority Commissioner, he’s stood up for residents when it mattered most, leading the effort to reject the Merritt Island LNG plant to protect our families and our lagoon. And as a local business owner, he understands firsthand what it takes to grow responsibly, manage a budget, and create good jobs. With that experience, Micah is ready to work alongside state and federal agencies, space companies, and local leaders to deliver real results for District 1. Micah believes Brevard County needs leaders who can balance healthy growth with quality of life, protect taxpayers, improve infrastructure, and work effectively with state and federal agencies, space companies, local businesses, and community leaders.
According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue? Loyd, on his campaign website, doesn’t focus on housing affordability but more so on responsible growth. We could not find any information about how he would deal with the affordability issue.
Will you vote YES or NO on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue – fees and/or service reductions? Loyd did not respond to this questionnaire and we could not find any information about where he stands on this amendment.
Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond? We could not find any information about where Loyd stands on how regulators should respond to data centers.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida? Loyd did not respond to the questionnaire but on his campaign website, he does talk about the Indian River Lagoon by saying the following: The Indian River Lagoon is part of North Brevard’s identity, economy, and future. Micah supports practical planning and responsible decisions that protect this natural resource for the next generation.