Florida primary candidates address LGBTQ+ issues

Florida’s primary election is set for Aug. 18, a process that’s well underway.

Candidates have been making their case to voters for months, some of whom — if requested, which can be done until Aug. 6 — have already received ballots by mail. Early, in-person voting will vary per county, beginning as early as Aug. 3 and concluding Aug. 16 before Election Day.

This year’s primary is critically important, says Florida’s largest political committee dedicated to electing pro-equality candidates.

“Every school board election will be on the ballot, and we know how consequential those elections can be especially considering the relentless attacks on our students,” says Equality Florida Action PAC Executive Director Joe Saunders. “Key municipal contests will also be decided across the state, along with a number of legislative races that will effectively be settled in August because there is no general election opponent or because the district overwhelmingly favors one party.”

Among those municipal contests is the race for St. Petersburg mayor, detailed here. The city will be one of the first municipalities to host a Pride celebration after SB 1134 goes into effect next year, the state’s anti-DEI law.

“Turnout is always much lower in the August primary, which means every vote carries even greater weight,” Saunders stresses. “A strong turnout from our community could make the difference.”

Watermark Out News contacted hundreds of candidates across Central Florida and Tampa Bay. We asked them one open-ended question about why readers should support their campaign and four yes or no questions on issues impacting LGBTQ+ Floridians.

Democrats, Republicans and candidates in nonpartisan races — from those seeking to be Florida’s next governor or U.S. senator to those hoping to join county commissions or school boards — weigh in on this year’s primary in these pages. If a yes or no answer wasn’t provided or discernable, we have indicated this with an asterisk.

The first of these questions asked about their support for SB 1134. The second asked if they would support repealing Florida’s SB 254, which restricts gender-affirming medical care for minors, a rarity, and imposes additional requirements on adults seeking such care.

Laws like these “have harmed real families,” Saunders says, “but they are not the final chapter… We know that Floridians are hungry for pro-equality, pro-freedom policies that will expand protections to all.”

The third addresses a candidate’s support for state and local law enforcement participating in federal immigration enforcement policies with ICE. Formal participation in 287(g) agreements deputizes local officers to perform federal duties.

“LGBTQ immigrants face the weight of colliding crises: heightened risks of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and violence, and state-sanctioned harassment and violence because of who they are and where they are from,” Saunders notes. “Policies that weaponize state and local law enforcement against these communities only discourage people from seeking help or reporting crimes and weaken trust between communities and local government.”

Finally, we asked if candidates supported Florida’s congressional district map. It was adopted through the 2026 legislative redistricting process backed by Governor Ron DeSantis, which voter rights groups opposed for favoring Republicans.

“This map is illegal, unconstitutional and a blatant partisan power grab,” Equality Florida Public Policy Director Jon Harris Maurer said earlier this year. “The Governor’s office expressly admitted that the map relies on partisan political data. It will silence voters, especially Black and brown Floridians, LGBTQ Floridians, young people, and others whose representation is already too often diminished.”

Saunders urges LGBTQ+ and ally voters to stay the course.

“The biggest misconception about Florida is that the outcome is already decided, that our state’s destiny is already written,” he says. “It isn’t.”

“Despite the attacks, we’ve helped elect LGBTQ leaders and allies, defeated extremist candidates, and built one of the state’s largest pro-equality voter programs,” he advises. “Our future is a blank canvas and Floridians are ready for a new chapter.”

For details about early voting and more, visit Vote.org or contact your local Supervisor of Elections at MyFloridaElections.com. View candidate responses below:

Statewide Candidates Download