2026 Voter’s Guide - Florida House District 24, Universal primary

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.

[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.

Florida House District 24 candidates

The Florida House District 24 election is a universal primary to determine who will represent District 21 in Tallahassee. Since only Republicans qualified to appear on the ballot, the election is now open to all registered voters.

Florida House District 24 represents part of Marion County in Central Florida.

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 Florida House District 24. Below is an excerpt of each candidate’s profile.

You can also see the full Central Florida Public Media Voting Guide HERE.

Ryan Chamberlin - Incumbent

WEBSITE: ryanchamberlincampaign.com/

Central Florida Public Media Candidate Profile:

EDITOR’S 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.

• What are the two most pressing problems happening in your district, and what do you suggest to solve them? Please put your responses in the sections below.
  • Top Issue: We could find no information about what Chamberlain believes to be the most important issues in his district.
  • Issue #2: Again, Chamberlain did not respond to this questionnaire and we could find no information about what he believes to be pressing issues in his district.
• 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? Chamberlain did not respond to this questionnaire.
• 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? Chamberlain did not respond to this questionnaire, so we are unable to say how he will vote on the ballot measure. However, he has said that if lawmakers and the governor could get something on the ballot this year, he would be in full support. Chamberlain is on record as supporting the elimination of all property taxes. Earlier this year, he was behind an effort to get a citizen-led constitutional amendment on the 2028 ballot that would have done just that. Chamberlain has suggested replacing the property tax, in part, with funds that could come from charging tourists who may need to use local services.
• 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 were unable to ascertain through readily available information where Chamberlain stands on this issue.
• What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida? We were unable to ascertain through readily available information where Chamberlain stands on this issue.

Scott Wilkins

WEBSITE: www.facebook.com/people/Scott-Wilkins-for-FL-House-District-24/61590219422365/

Central Florida Public Media Candidate Profile:

• What are the two most pressing problems happening in your district, and what do you suggest to solve them? Please put your responses in the sections below.
  • Top Issue: The most pressing issue for District 24 is education. Marion County ranks 58 out of 67 counties and recently received a C grade for our schooling. Our children deserve better than this and I would put forward legislation focusing on stronger literacy goals in K-6. I would work to support our teachers and administrators more, however that may be.
  • Issue #2: The second most pressing issue for District 24 is the lack of a strong growth management plan. Currently, overdevelopment, or rather a lack of strategic planning, is negatively impacting Marion County. If elected I would put forward legislation to slow urban sprawl and hold builders more accountable for infrastructure before building new developments. We also need to focus on more individual home needs, such as providing bigger lots, instead of building blanket communities.
• 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? Home buying is an American dream that is slowly slipping out of reach for the middle and lower class. I believe there should be more incentives for first-time home buyers, such as if you can show a certain amount of years consecutively paying a certain amount of rent on time that you should be able to get a house with a monthly mortgage at that amount. Credit and a high down payment should not be deciding factors.
• 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? Yes property tax should be eliminated but only if we have a strong plan in place to help relieve some of that revenue lost for counties. I believe this can be done by leaning more on the tourist industry and a hospitality tax for out-of-state residents. It can also be managed by charging developers a high-impact fee to build and ensuring that that money paid goes back into the community.
• 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? Data centers should not be allowed in our state for the toll it takes on the environment. As for utility companies, the taxpayers should not have to pay higher prices for the use of those utilities. Meters should be monitored more frequently for accuracy and reliability. They could look into utilizing solar power more without it costing the high price it currently does.
• What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida? The loss of trees and the drain on our local water sources. As we continue to develop, we lose a lot of our natural canopy which in turn provides less shade and makes it hotter. The continued development also draws on natural springs and the aquifer which is depleting those bodies of water. We need to hold developers accountable to plant more trees when they build, we need to invest in technology to find better ways to use water, and incentivize for more local farms.