Sarasota County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

Jim DeNiro is a retired Sarasota Police sergeant with a 30-year career spanning investigations, narcotics and marine units; he served on the county's Environmentally Sensitive Lands Oversight Committee, per his campaign site.

$81,555 raised, per Supervisor of Elections filings.

Julie London writes the widely followed Dear Bubbie newsletter on Sarasota school and local-government politics; a first-time candidate, she pledges to be a watchdog on the commission, per WSLR News. No campaign website was found as of September 6, 2026.

$10,540 raised, per Supervisor of Elections filings.

Chip Adams is a retired firefighter and paramedic with 34 years of career service, including 17 years as a shift commander and Battalion Chief, per his campaign site. A Sarasota County resident since 2020, he has served as an IAFF Local union vice president and president and as Firefighters' Pension Board president, per his campaign site.

$5,063 raised, per Supervisor of Elections filings.

Taylor Collins is a Sarasota business owner with a professional background in benefits and risk management, per her campaign site. She grew up in Sarasota and lives there with her husband, Stevan, per her campaign site. Taylor T. Collins appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Sarasota County Charter Review Board District 4, per the Supervisor of Elections' official qualified-candidate list.

$7,266 raised, per Supervisor of Elections filings.

Erin Halstead is a realtor and local business owner of more than 25 years who has served as president of the Englewood Area Chamber of Commerce, president of the Englewood Area Board of Realtors, and president of the Englewood Area Cancer Foundation, per the Your Observer. She has lived in the Englewood area most of her life and exclusively in Sarasota County since 2005, per the Your Observer. Erin Halstead appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Sarasota County Charter Review Board District 5, per the Supervisor of Elections' official qualified-candidate list. No campaign website was found as of September 3, 2026.

$1,070 raised, per Supervisor of Elections filings.

Heidi Brandt is a Southside Elementary PTO president and parent of a district student, from a family of educators; she would expand volunteer literacy programs like Reading Partners, per her campaign site and Suncoast Searchlight.

$58,696 raised, per Supervisor of Elections filings.

Jimmy Glover chairs the board of Star Lab, a private Montessori-style K-3 school, and raised his children in Sarasota public schools; he is focused on college and career readiness and student mentorship, per Suncoast Searchlight.

$118,356 raised, per Supervisor of Elections filings.

Martin Hyde is an independent candidate running to succeed Sen. Joe Gruters in Florida Senate District 22. A Sarasota resident of 27 years born in the United Kingdom, he brings nearly 40 years of business experience, per his campaign site.

Wasserman is an attorney, educator and public servant who practiced law in public education, labor, disability rights and civil rights litigation before joining the faculty at the University of Texas, per the campaign site. The site says Wasserman served as an assistant superintendent of schools, taught graduate courses in constitutional law and public policy at the University of Texas, and holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Hofstra University and a J.D. from St. John's University School of Law, per the campaign site. Wasserman lives in Lakewood Ranch, per the campaign site.