Your Republican Ballot This November

The August primary is behind us. The Republican ticket for the November 3 general election is set, and every registered Polk County voter will see most of these names on their ballot. Here is the full slate — who they are, what they have done, and what each race decides.

How to read this. Some races were settled in August. Rick Wilson won County Commission District 2 outright in a universal primary — no Democrat filed, so the August vote decided the seat. Justin Sharpless won School Board District 6 outright, and Kay Fields won School Board District 5 outright the same night. Those seats are decided. Everything below still has an election ahead of it on November 3.

Polk County

School Board, District 3 — Kate Wallace vs. Victor Sims. The only county race still genuinely contested, and the one where a single vote carries the most weight. Wallace was appointed to the board by Governor DeSantis in November 2025 and led the August primary with 45 percent of the vote in a three-way field — ten points ahead of Sims — but because neither cleared 50 percent, they meet again in November. A Bartow native, Wallace is running on student achievement, teacher pay and parental choice; Sims enters with the backing of the county Democratic establishment and national progressive organizations. This race will help decide whether Polk classrooms are run by the parents and educators who know them or by Tallahassee's opposition. Read our case for Kate Wallace.

County Commission, District 4 — Omar Arroyo. The former Mayor of Haines City and small-business owner is the Republican nominee for the District 4 seat, covering Poinciana, Davenport and one of the fastest-growing corners of Florida. Growth is the issue: roads, schools and services have to keep up with rooftops, and Arroyo has governed a city doing exactly that. He faces only a write-in candidate in November. Read our case for Omar Arroyo.

Florida House

District 48 — Rep. Jonathan Albert vs. Alethea Pugh. Albert, a Frostproof business owner first elected in 2024 and endorsed for re-election by President Trump, represents a district that stretches across part of Polk and Osceola counties. He faces Democrat Alethea Pugh of Dundee.

District 49 — Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson vs. Robert Anzalone. Kincart Jonsson represents the Winter Haven corridor — Winter Haven, Bartow, Mulberry and Fort Meade — and now faces her first general-election challenge from Lakeland Democrat Robert Anzalone.

District 50 — Rep. Jennifer Canady. Lakeland's own legislator and the Speaker-designate of the Florida House — on track to lead the entire chamber — faces Democratic nominee Ricky Santiago. Her committee chairmanship gives Polk County a seat at the head of the table on education and budget policy.

District 51 — Rep. Hilary Holley vs. Edwin Pérez. Holley, a nonprofit executive director, won the March special election for this Polk-Osceola seat with 54 percent of the vote. Pérez, whom she defeated then, is back for November.

Florida Senate

District 12 — Sen. Colleen Burton vs. Alfred Reynolds. Burton represented Lakeland in the House before winning her Senate seat, and District 12 covers much of Polk County. Seniority in the Senate majority means constituent service and budget influence that a freshman senator cannot match.

U.S. House

District 9 — Dan Green vs. Darren Soto. Green, a Winter Haven native, Army veteran and career law-enforcement officer, challenges incumbent Democrat Darren Soto in a district that includes southern and eastern Polk County. Green has campaigned on border security and backing the badge, with sheriffs and deputies lining up behind him.

District 16 — Sydney Gruters vs. Kelly Kirschner. Gruters, endorsed by President Trump before she even launched her campaign, won a contested primary for this newly redrawn district that reaches into northeastern Polk. She faces former Sarasota mayor Kelly Kirschner and an unaffiliated candidate to succeed the retiring Vern Buchanan.

District 18 — Rep. Scott Franklin vs. Curtis Gibson. Franklin, a Navy veteran and former Lakeland city commissioner first elected in 2020, seeks another term representing a district anchored in Polk County. He is endorsed for re-election by President Trump.

Statewide

Florida's five statewide offices are all on the ballot, and every Polk voter casts a vote in each:

Governor — Byron Donalds vs. David Jolly. Donalds, endorsed by President Trump, is a Southwest Florida congressman making the case for four more years of Florida-first leadership on taxes, schools and safety. Jolly is a former Republican congressman turned MSNBC analyst running as a Democrat.

U.S. Senate — Sen. Ashley Moody vs. Angie Nixon. Moody served two terms as Florida's Attorney General before her appointment to the Senate; Nixon is a Jacksonville state representative whose record is far to the left of most Floridians.

Attorney General — James Uthmeier vs. Jose Javier Rodriguez. The incumbent Attorney General, endorsed by President Trump, against a former Democratic state senator.

Chief Financial Officer — Blaise Ingoglia vs. Annette Taddeo. The incumbent CFO, endorsed by the Republican Party of Florida, against a former Miami-area state senator.

Commissioner of Agriculture — Wilton Simpson vs. Joey Atkins. Simpson — an actual farmer who has spent nearly four years running the Department of Agriculture — against a trial attorney making his first run for office.

What you can do now

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3; polls open 7 AM to 7 PM, and you will need photo ID with a signature. The deadline to register or change party is Monday, October 5. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Thursday, October 22 at 5 PM — requests from 2024 have expired, so if you want to vote by mail you must ask again. Early voting runs October 18–31, from 9 AM to 6 PM daily, and any Polk voter may use any early voting site in the county.

Check your registration, find your precinct, and request your mail ballot at the Voting Resource Center. Then forward this page to one neighbor who needs it.