2026 Voter’s Guide - Florida House District 36, Republican 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 36 Republican candidates

The Florida House District 36 election is a Republican primary for registered Republicans living in the district. The winner will move on to the general election in November.

Florida House District 36 represents part of Seminole 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 Oviedo Community News compiled the candidate responses for Florida House District 36. Below is an excerpt of each candidate’s profile. To see the full responses, go to the Oviedo Community News candidate page link for each candidate.

You can also see the full Oviedo Community News Voting Guide HERE.

Rachel Plakon

WEBSITE: www.rachelplakon.com/

Oviedo Community News Candidate Profile: oviedocommunitynews.org/profile/plakon-rachel/

Candidate Q&A: This candidate did not respond to multiple requests to answer questions that were based on voter questions and expressed priorities. Each of the candidates within a race was asked the same questions and given the same amount of time to respond. OCN reporters emailed, texted and called the candidate, who was given several weeks to respond.

According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say housing affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue?

Plakon did not respond to this questionnaire. On her website, Plakon wrote that she would “fight for tax cuts and inflation relief to help seniors and families,” but no more details were provided.

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?

Plakon did not respond to this questionnaire. Plakon did vote yes to put Amendment 3 on the ballot.

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?

Plakon did not respond to this questionnaire. Plakon did vote in favor of a bill that would allow local governments to make decisions about data centers.

What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in Florida?

Plakon did not respond to this questionnaire. In 2024, though, she did sponsor a bill that would have increased screening for 1,4 Dioxane, a potentially cancer-causing chemical that has previously been found in Seminole County’s water. Her campaign website does not mention environmental issues, but she is a proponent of keeping the rural boundary in Seminole County.

Joshua Sorto

WEBSITE: N/A

Oviedo Community News Candidate Profile: oviedocommunitynews.org/profile/joshua-sorto/

Candidate Q&A: The questions below are based on voter questions and expressed priorities. Each of the candidates within a race were asked the same questions and given the same amount of time to respond. The candidates’ answers were fact checked, checked for spelling and grammar but otherwise unedited.

• What are the three 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: Unaffordable homeowner’s insurance; bring in the national insurance carriers.
  • Issue #2: Lower grocery bills: Solve the supply chain issues and help Florida farmers make food affordable again.
  • Issue #3:
  • Affordability: Ban dynamic pricing before groceries start costing more on Sunday vs. Wednesday.
• For incumbents: Why do you deserve re-election to this race? For challengers and open seats: Why do you deserve to be elected in this race? The incumbent has been in office for four years and has sponsored zero bills on affordability. They literally haven’t even tried.
• 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? It takes time to build homes, so in the short term we need to decrease the number of people moving to Florida. This could be done by putting a tax on people and using those funds to build more homes at affordable prices.
• 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? No, I am against giving large corporations like Disney a tax cut. Any waste that occurs at the local level is peanuts compared to the waste, fraud and abuse coming from Tallahassee.
• 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? Ban data center construction. There is no benefit to having a data center in your city versus having it 1,000 miles away.
• What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida? Keeping our coasts pristine and a major tourist destination.