Cape Coral, Florida sample ballot 2026

Jenna Persons-Mulicka is an attorney and founding partner at Strayhorn & Persons-Mulicka who represented District 78 in the Florida House before being appointed Lee County Supervisor of Elections in May 2026, per WGCU and the Governor's appointment announcement.

Chris Vignieri is an attorney and chief legal counsel for the Suncoast Region at the Florida Department of Children and Families, and a Lee County resident of more than 20 years, per his campaign materials. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Colombo is a trial attorney with more than two decades of courtroom experience, including more than 17 years in law enforcement as a prosecutor, per the campaign site. Colombo previously prosecuted cases and has since defended individuals charged with a range of offenses, per the campaign site.

Javier A Pacheco sits on the Lee County Court bench, appointed in 2025, per the Governor's official appointment announcement. He was previously a partner at Porter Wright and a board-certified specialist in business litigation with over 20 years in practice, per WGCU.

Elliot Taylor is a senior software engineer running for Lee County Commissioner, District 2, per his campaign site. He studied computer science at Florida Gulf Coast University and earned a BA in Art with a focus on graphic design, then worked as a graphic designer and marketing director before founding his own marketing agency and later moving into software engineering.

DeMaria Artis, who goes by "Princess," is a candidate with no party affiliation for Lee County Commissioner District 4. She is a healthcare professional and small-business owner, per her campaign site.

Brian Hamman is a former local TV news anchor and financial advisor who served as president and CEO of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, per his campaign site. Appointed to the commission in 2013, he is the sitting District 4 member, per the county's official board roster.

Cochran and her husband have owned and operated small businesses in Lee County for nearly 30 years, per the campaign site. She has also spent more than three decades in nonprofit leadership, serving as a board member of Larry Ford Ministries, per the campaign site. She describes herself as a wife, mother, business owner and community advocate rather than a career politician, per the campaign site.

Trish Petrosky is a former executive assistant at Evangelical Christian School and real estate agent, appointed District 5 commissioner in December 2025 after Commissioner Mike Greenwell's death, per the Cape Coral Breeze and the Governor's appointment announcement.

Fisher is an attorney and small business owner with a law degree from Mississippi College School of Law, per the campaign site. Fisher previously worked in public administration handling budgeting, staffing, and policy implementation for a multi-county public agency, per the campaign site.

Jenn McDaigle is a technology company executive who has managed multimillion-dollar budgets for the past decade, with 10 prior years working with middle and high school students, per WGCU's candidate interview.

Beougher is a lifelong Lee County resident and Fort Myers High School graduate who built a career in business management, per the campaign site. Beougher's background includes budget balancing and youth mentoring, per the campaign site.

Debbie Jordan is a small business owner in hospitality and event management and the District 4 incumbent, on the board since 2018, per the News-Press candidate roundup and the district's official board roster.

Crystal Johnson is a former paraprofessional and parent involvement specialist, a lifelong Fort Myers resident, and a mother of four, per the News-Press candidate roundup. No campaign website was found as of September 6, 2026.

Armor Persons is a small business owner and Lee County native whose family spans six generations in local schools; he is the District 5 incumbent and current board chair, per the News-Press candidate roundup and the district's official board roster.

Jada Langford-Fleming is a former teacher of 20 years, a student-athlete coach and mentor for more than 25, and a physical fitness business owner; she is the at-large District 6 incumbent, per the News-Press candidate roundup and the district's official board roster.

Palencia describes herself as a Lee County mother and community activist rather than a career politician, per the campaign site. She says her campaign is focused on advocating for a quality education for every child in the county, per the campaign site.

Ashley Moody is Florida's incumbent U.S. senator and the Republican nominee in the 2026 special election for the final two years of Marco Rubio's term. Appointed in January 2025 when Rubio became secretary of state, she previously served as Florida attorney general and as a circuit judge.

• Voted yes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the 2025 tax-and-spending package, which passed the Senate 50-50 in July 2025 with the Vice President breaking the tie. Supported
• Voted yes on the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026, which passed the Senate 77-20 in October 2025. Supported
• Voted yes on the November 2025 funding agreement that ended the government shutdown, which passed the Senate 60-40 in November 2025. Supported
• Voted yes on the March 2025 full-year stopgap funding bill, which passed the Senate 54-46 in March 2025. Supported

Nixon is a Florida state representative from Jacksonville and a former union organizer running for the U.S. Senate, per the campaign site. She has said her mother worked two jobs and that she lost a cousin to gun violence, and she has led opposition to congressional and legislative maps drawn under Governor DeSantis, per the campaign site.

Donalds is a member of Congress representing Florida's 19th District since 2020, per the campaign site. Before Congress, he worked in the finance, insurance and banking industries in Southwest Florida and served in the Florida House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee and led the effort to enact Hope Scholarships for school choice, per the campaign site. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Florida State University in 2002, per the campaign site.

• Voted yes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the 2025 tax-and-spending package, which passed the House 218-214 in July 2025. Supported
• Voted yes on the Laken Riley Act, expanding federal detention of certain immigrants charged with theft or violent crimes, which passed the House 263-156 in January 2025. Supported
• Voted yes on the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026, which passed the House 231-196 in September 2025. Supported
• Voted yes on the November 2025 funding agreement that ended the government shutdown, which passed the House 222-209 in November 2025. Supported
• Voted yes on the September 2025 stopgap funding bill, which passed the House 217-212 in September 2025. Supported
• Voted yes on the March 2025 full-year stopgap funding bill, which passed the House 217-213 in March 2025. Supported

David Jolly is the Democratic nominee for Florida governor, a former Republican congressman from the Tampa Bay area who left the GOP and joined the Democratic Party in 2025. His campaign emphasizes affordability, property insurance reform, public schools, and ending one-party control of Tallahassee.

James Uthmeier is Florida's incumbent attorney general and the Republican candidate in the 2026 election. Appointed in February 2025 after serving as Governor DeSantis's chief of staff, he is seeking a full term. Per the state qualifying list, he and Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez advance directly to the November ballot.

Jose Javier Rodriguez is an attorney, a former Florida state representative and state senator from Miami, and a former U.S. assistant secretary of labor, per the campaign site. His campaign says he would focus the office on crime, costs and corruption and serve as an independent-minded enforcer of the law, per the campaign site.

Blaise Ingoglia is Florida's incumbent chief financial officer and the Republican nominee in the 2026 election. Appointed in July 2025, he previously served in the Florida Senate and House and as state party chair.

Annette Taddeo is a Florida state senator, the first Latina Democrat elected to the Florida State Senate, first elected in a 2017 special election, per the campaign site.

Simpson is a fifth-generation Floridian and lifelong farmer who operates a large-scale egg-laying operation supplying Florida supermarkets, per the campaign site. He currently serves as Florida's Agriculture Commissioner and previously served in the state Senate, per the campaign site.

Joey Mendoza Atkins is the Democratic nominee for Florida agriculture commissioner. A lifelong Floridian, he earned a political science degree cum laude and a law degree, worked as a family-law attorney, and represented athletes as a Miami-area sports agent. His platform focuses on grocery costs, local farmers, and affordability.