Venice, Florida sample ballot 2026

Kristina Sargent is a trial attorney and Army veteran who prosecuted cases in Baltimore and for the local State Attorney's Office, now managing partner of a civil-litigation firm, per her campaign site and Suncoast Searchlight.

Mark Smith is a Siesta Key architect and the sitting District 2 commissioner serving as board vice chair; after the 2024 floods he pushed the county to create a standalone Stormwater Department, per Suncoast Searchlight.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Beth Mayberry is a retired teacher who taught math and science in Sarasota schools for more than 13 years; she calls chronic underfunding the district's top issue and wants to shore up arts programs, per Suncoast Searchlight.

Pozzie is CEO and artistic director of T3 Studios, a performing arts training center, with more than 25 years of experience teaching children in the performing arts, per the campaign site. She also co-founded Open Mic on Patriot TV and Coastal Conservative News, and leads the Sarasota County Turning Point USA Headquarters Chapter, per the campaign site. She holds a bachelor's degree in entertainment business from Full Sail University, per the campaign site.

Nicholas Altier owns Altier and Company and has more than 10 years of experience in commercial insurance and financial planning and analysis, per the Your Observer. A lifelong Sarasota County resident, he says his family has served the community for generations, per the Your Observer. Nicholas Altier was on the August 18, 2026 ballot for Sarasota County Charter Review Board District 1, per the Supervisor of Elections' official qualified-candidate list. No campaign website was found as of September 3, 2026.

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.

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.

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.

Brad Baker is the sitting Hospital Board treasurer and a Sarasota entrepreneur who founded the first company taken public in Sarasota County and served at the U.S. Treasury under two presidents, per his campaign site.

Bill Woeltjen was Sarasota Memorial's chief financial officer for 12 of his 15 years at the hospital and has led nonprofit-healthcare finance since 1990, now semi-retired, per his campaign site and WSLR News.

Angie Nixon is a Florida state representative from Jacksonville, a union organizer and a mother, per the campaign site. She is executive director of Florida for All, a statewide coalition, and runs a bookstore and community hub in Jacksonville, per the campaign site. The campaign site says she expanded child care in the State House and led the fight against the state's new voting maps, per the campaign site.

Donalds is a member of Congress representing Florida's 19th District since January 2021, per the chamber's membership roster. 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.

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.

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.