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. Senate candidates
The Democratic U.S. Senate primary is a statewide race open to all registered Democrats in Florida to decide who will represent the party in the November general election against the incumbent senator, Republican Ashley Moody.
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.
Our News Collaborative partners at Central Florida Public Media compiled the candidate responses for the U.S. Senate Democratic primary. Below is an excerpt of each candidate’s profile.
You can see the full Central Florida Public Media Voting Guide HERE.
Angie Nixon
WEBSITE: angienixon.com/
If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them? If elected, the top three most pressing issues I will focus on as U.S. Senator are addressing the high cost of living, the health/home insurance industry, and standing against the dismantling of essential services like Social Security, Medicare and SNAP.
Floridians are being crushed by an affordability crisis driven by corporate greed, political corruption and leaders who are afraid to stand up for the needs of the people.
To solve these issues, we must crack down on price-gouging by large corporations, restore power to Floridians by removing power from insurance companies, and invest further in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and VA benefits. We need a system that takes care of our healthcare, not the needs of insurance companies. I am strongly in favor of Medicare For All because it
FOR CHALLENGERS: Why do you deserve to be elected in this race? I am running in this race because the needs of Floridians have not been represented. I have delivered on affordable childcare, raising wages, and home insurance in a bipartisan way in the Florida Legislature. I have experience legislating on behalf of the needs of all Floridians. We need leaders who will fight through anything for the needs of the 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 increase the housing supply in Florida to keep pace with the rapidly growing population. My priorities include incentivizing construction of affordable housing and re-evaluating the zoning laws to allow construction of more duplexes and mixed-use developments. Additionally, part of the problem is the home insurance premiums in the state, which have been driven up by climate disasters, litigation costs, and multiple insurers withdrawing from offering coverage within the state.
Renters also make up a large portion of Florida’s households. Increasing access to rental assistance programs and expanding transparency around fees and rent increases must be looked at as solutions to address this ongoing issue.
Please vote yes or no on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. I would absolutely vote no, and here’s why: It’ll gut local services. State economists say it’ll blow a $12 billion hole in local budgets. That’s going to force cities and counties to drastically cut essential services like fire rescue, public hospitals, and parks, which we all rely on. Otherwise, local governments will be forced to raise other taxes and fees to try to make up for the loss in funding. It’s also a massive permanent tax break for corporate landlords, vacation rentals, and large commercial buildings.
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 are a product of large corporations, and they must pay their fair share and be held accountable for the huge negative impact their technology has. No amount of money should absolve them of being responsible for their actions.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in Florida? Climate change is the most impactful environmental issue in Florida. Climate change comes with a massive human and economic toll and it is something that we must address head-on.
Do you agree with the current federal and state governments’ approaches to immigration enforcement? Why or why not? I do not agree with the way that this administration has gone about immigration enforcement. Many of the policies have been inhumane, illegal, and downright un-American. Immigration is a deeply complex issue; however, there are a few things that are abundantly clear: we must treat people with dignity and create a system that is orderly, efficient and considerate, not a system built on cruelty or chaos.
Alex Vindman
WEBSITE: alexvindman.com/
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? Lowering costs for Floridians is my top priority. As I travel the state to meet voters, everybody tells me that life is unaffordable in our state. We need to lower the cost of housing, groceries, insurance, and health care. I also plan to fight the political corruption catering to special interests that is responsible for this affordability crisis. My campaign released a “Florida First” policy agenda to make Florida more affordable. One of the key planks of this platform is a plan to solve Florida’s homeowners insurance crisis by increasing market competition, holding insurers accountable, and addressing the underlying risks driving up premiums. I will also work to cut red tape that slows construction, support policies that allow first-time homebuyers to break into the market, and take on corporate investors who view housing purely as a speculative asset and are buying up homes and driving up prices across the state.
Please vote yes or no on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. This is a half-measure that fails to address the homeowners insurance crisis that is making Florida unaffordable. Local government officials have said that this proposal will force municipalities across the state to cut funding for law enforcement and fire services, and I will never vote to defund the police. This proposal is just a fig leaf to hide the fact that career politicians in Tallahassee have failed to address rising costs for decades, and Floridians are frustrated and pissed off. That’s why I’m 100% focused on how we can cut costs for Floridians.
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? Our state is suffering from an affordability crisis, and Florida’s utility regulators should respond by making sure that data centers are paying for their electricity and not passing these costs onto the backs of working Floridians suffering from our state’s affordability crisis. I believe we need a moratorium on data center construction until we have a policy ensuring that the extra costs associated with data centers are not passed onto Floridians.
Do you agree with the current federal and state governments’ approaches to immigration enforcement? Why or why not? As an immigrant refugee myself, I am staunchly pro-immigration reform. I oppose efforts to expand inhumane immigration detention that treats all undocumented as criminals and dangers to society. A system that swiftly and fairly adjudicates immigration status aligns with the U.S. Constitution’s expectation of speedy trials. I believe that existing asylum laws are broadly functional and permit asylum seekers access to the U.S. I loathe the policies of family separation and seriously question the policy of family detention that equates to collective punishment, including the innocent. I will always support those coming to this country for a better life, and I will proudly vote for and cosponsor legislation that creates a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status holders, and essential workers. We need clear and fair immigration systems, while also preserving border security that assures U.S. national security.