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.
Democratic U.S. House District 6 candidates
The Democratic U.S. House District 6 primary is open to all registered Democrats residing in District 6, which includes parts of Flagler, Lake, Marion and Volusia counties in Central Florida, as well as parts of the following counties:
- St. Johns
- Putnam
The primary will decide who represents the party in the November general election.
The News Collaborative of Central Florida created a list of common questions to ask the candidates. Questionnaires were sent to all candidates. Where possible, for candidates who did not respond, our collaborative partners sought to fill in details. These are the responses that our partners at Central Florida Public Media received.
You can also see the full Central Florida Public Media Voting Guide HERE.
Robert Cooper II
WEBSITE: robcooperforcongress.com/
If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them? The three biggest problems I hear about in Florida’s 6th District are the high cost of living, access to health care, and support for veterans and seniors. Families are struggling with rising housing, insurance, grocery, and utility costs. I support increasing affordable housing, lowering prescription drug prices, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and improving access to mental health, recovery, and veteran services. Government should focus on people, not politics.
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? Housing should be within reach for working families, veterans, and seniors. I support expanding the supply of affordable homes, offering incentives to builders who include workforce housing, helping first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance, and addressing rising property insurance costs. We also need to increase wages, curb corporate practices that drive up housing prices, and invest in infrastructure so communities can grow responsibly.
Please vote yes or no on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. Yes. Property taxes have become an increasing burden on homeowners, especially seniors, veterans, and working families living on fixed incomes. I support eliminating property taxes only if Florida creates a fair and reliable replacement that does not raise costs on working families or reduce funding for schools, public safety, and local services. Tax relief should help people stay in their homes and build stronger communities.
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? Florida’s utility regulators should ensure families and small businesses are not forced to subsidize the growing energy demands of large data centers. Companies that require significant power should pay their fair share for infrastructure upgrades. Regulators should encourage investments in energy efficiency, modernize the grid, and expand diverse energy sources while maintaining reliability and keeping rates affordable for residents.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in Florida? The government should do more to prepare for and reduce the impacts of climate change. In Florida, that means protecting our coastlines and waterways, strengthening infrastructure against storms and flooding, supporting clean and reliable energy, and encouraging innovation that creates good-paying jobs. We can protect our environment and grow our economy at the same time.
Steve Morgan
WEBSITE: morganforcongress.us/
If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them? Budget - We need to balance the budget and reduce our deficit. We need to do so by amending our tax code so that the billionaires and corporations pay a higher tax rate. Right now, the average billionaire only pays 7.2% in federal taxes.
Affordability - We need to reinstate SNAP, Medicare, Medicaid, and health care subsidies.
Respect - We need to treat one another with respect, treat our public employees with respect, and show respect across party lines even if we don’t agree on everything.
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? We need to repeal the Bodaciously Bad Bill and bring back health care subsidies, SNAP benefits, and fully fund Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, we need to revamp the tax code. The average American pays 14.5% of their income in federal taxes. The average billionaire pays 7.2%. We need to reverse those percentages. We also need to limit new housing development until we have enough affordable housing in Florida.
Please vote yes or no on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. No. The money has to come from somewhere, and without property taxes, the money will have to be made up with more regressive taxes like sales taxes and license fees and others. In other words, the lower-income Floridians who are struggling the most will end up paying even more than they cannot afford.
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 the approval of the hyper data centers. And take a hard look at any data center. They raise energy costs, they pollute the environment, they are horrible neighbors, and they provide low-paying jobs.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in Florida? Much more. We need to get back to the Paris Accord, and we need to incentivize green energy and disincentivize greenhouse gases.
Ronnie Murchinson-Rivera
WEBSITE: www.ron4congress.com/
If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them? The three biggest issues I hear about across FL-06 are affordability, healthcare, and protecting our democracy. Families are struggling with rising housing, insurance, utility, and grocery costs. We must lower costs, protect Social Security and Medicare, expand access to healthcare, and reduce the influence of special interests in politics so government works for everyday people.
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? We must address housing costs, insurance premiums, healthcare expenses, and wages together. I support building more affordable housing, stopping corporate price gouging, lowering prescription drug costs, increasing wages, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and investing in workforce development so families can afford to live and work in our communities.
Please vote yes or no on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. No. Eliminating property taxes would create massive funding gaps for schools, public safety, roads, and local services. Instead, we should focus on lowering insurance costs, increasing affordable housing, and providing targeted relief to seniors and working families without jeopardizing essential public 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? Utility regulators should ensure that residential customers are not unfairly subsidizing large energy users. Data centers and other high-demand facilities should pay their fair share of infrastructure and energy costs. We should invest in grid modernization, energy efficiency, and consumer protections to keep utility bills affordable.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in Florida? More. Climate change is already affecting Florida through stronger storms, flooding, rising insurance costs, coastal erosion, and extreme heat. We should invest in resilience, clean energy, infrastructure improvements, conservation, and disaster preparedness to protect communities, reduce costs, and strengthen our economy.
Eric Yonce
WEBSITE: yonceforcongress.com/
If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them? My priorities are lowering living costs, investing in infrastructure, and managing AI growth responsibly. People are struggling while government often serves special interests. We need reforms that reduce corporate influence and actually strengthen the working class. Our district needs better roads, water systems, and flood protection, with federal investment that keeps pace. AI and data center growth must protect resources, workers, and communities while ensuring broad benefits.
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? Housing affordability is one of the biggest challenges facing our district. We need to push back on large corporate investors buying up large numbers of homes and driving up costs for working families. We also need stronger investment in affordable and workforce housing. Many housing authorities are underfunded while people live in unacceptable conditions. Growth should pay for growth so existing residents are not left covering the cost of overdevelopment.
Please vote yes or no on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. I do not support eliminating property taxes in Florida. Property taxes fund essential local services, and eliminating them would create major revenue shortfalls for municipalities, schools, infrastructure, and public safety. That does not mean government cannot do better. We need stronger accountability and transparency to ensure tax dollars are spent responsibly and reduce wasteful spending instead of creating cuts that shift costs onto working families.
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? Working families should not bear the utility costs created by large-scale data center growth. Florida’s utility regulators should require AI and data center operators to cover the infrastructure and energy costs they create, whether through dedicated power generation, direct cost recovery, or long-term energy investments. Residents should not see higher electric bills to subsidize private corporate expansion.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in Florida? Government should be doing more to address and adapt to climate change. We need to trust science and acknowledge the impacts of human-driven climate change that communities are already experiencing. That means investing in renewable energy, improving resilience, and making clean energy more accessible and affordable. Florida has the opportunity to be a national leader in solar energy, but we have not invested at the scale needed.