Three Democrats are campaigning to unseat GOP Congressman Neal Dunn in north Florida, highlighting health care, inflation, and local issues while sharing personal stories to connect with voters ahead of the 2026 election.
Leon County Indivisible, a group dedicated to hosting public policy discussions, drew more than 100 people Oct. 20 to an Elks Club meeting room in Tallahassee for a 90-minute forum with Yen Bailey, Amanda Green, and Nic Zateslo.
The trio believes the 2026 election will be a once-in-a-generation election and, despite political rating services calling the district “Safe Republican,” each thinks they can beat five-term incumbent Dunn, R-Panama City, by organizing the rural counties.
Nic Zateslo, Amanda Green, and Yen Bailey, wait to be introduced at a Tallahassee town hall hosted by Leon County Indivisible, Monday Oct. 20, 2025
The three criticize Dunn for voting the party line and being more concerned with partisan politics than with the needs of the 16-county, mostly rural congressional district. CD 2 stretches from the Alabama border at Walton County in the Panhandle through to the Big Bend, and south to the Steinhatchee River in Taylor County.
Thirteen of the counties exceed the state poverty level of 12.4% and have a household income less than the statewide median of $71,000. In 14 of the counties, Dunn has scored more than 71% of the vote in five straight elections, while in Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, he picked up more than 46% of votes just once.
Half of the voters live in either Tallahassee or Panama City, Dunn’s hometown, and the other half reside in 13 counties that vote Republican by nearly a two-thirds margin.
Congressman Neal Dunn gives a speech at the Postmaster Oath of Office ceremony Thursday, August 15 2024.
The most pressing issues for North Florida, according to the three campaigns, are inflation, housing costs and health care, and the inability of Congress to serve as a check on the executive, which they say is highlighted by Dunn’s support of President Donald Trump’s policies.
“I am so done with Dunn,” Green said in her opening statement.
“Neal Dunn is a doctor, and he still voted to raise health care premiums for 200,000 people in his district – that’s one of every four of us. Some people paying $250 or more. Some thousands of dollars more a month,” Zateslo said about Dunn’s support for the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump’s signature spending and tax-cut legislation.
Nic Zateslo, a Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District talks to townhall attendees before the meeting, Oct. 20, 2025
A Dunn spokesperson said Zateslo’s statement is “categorically false,” adding that the “ongoing government shutdown is preventing members of Congress from meaningfully working on solutions to address the expiration of COVID-era relief that is reflected in premium rate notices out this month,” Sarah Gilbert said.
Republicans hold a 12.2%, or a 61,847, voter registration advantage over Democrats in the district, with another 101,000 voters registered with a minor party or having no party affiliation. Republican Party of Florida chair Evan Power said the idea Dunn is out of synch with voters and that Democrats can flip the district “is laughable.”
‘They are so worried about their rich donors’
An apparent difference did emerge among the three when asked to explain lessons learned from the Democrats’ disastrous performance in 2024, losing the White House and Senate while the GOP maintained control of the House.
Zateslo’s and Green’s main takeaway was former President Joe Biden waited too long to withdraw from the race, a decision that left the Democrats with no option other than to default to former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Bailey said the Democrats’ have watered down their traditional platform of support for the working class: “They are so worried about their rich donors, they are not taking positions that help working people. We need to get back to talking about working people, about unions, about the things this party started.”
Amanda Green a Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District speaks at a Tallahassee town hall organized by Leon County Indivisible, Oct. 20, 2025
The final question the audience had for the candidates asked for a personal experience that will influence how they approach their job as North Florida’s member of congress.
Zateslo said Wakulla Springs thrilled him as a child, and he was excited for his son’s first visit to the world’s largest freshwater spring. But they found pollution had degraded and clouded the spring so much that glass bottom boat rides were no longer offered.
“The magic was gone … Our politicians did that, and we let it happen … I pledge to you that my thoughts will always be on (how) decisions affect us and make sure we are at least trying to do something better, instead of just letting it get worse,” Zateslo said.
Bailey, who had been drafted as a last-minute candidate in the 2024 effort to unseat Dunn, recalled that when Democrats reached out to her Frodo Baggins, the hero of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, came to mind. Frodo’s dilemma was he could either undertake a difficult challenge or let the world crumble.
Yen Bailey, a Democratic congressional candidate speaks at a Tallahassee town hall organized by Leon County Indivisible, Monday Oct. 20, 2025
“I had always wondered what I would do if I was ever faced with that question. I wanted to believe that I would do the right thing, even though it was hard. That’s the philosophy that I’ve taken with this campaign,” Bailey said.
Green, seven months pregnant, followed Bailey to the lectern and announced that she actually had a “Lord of the Rings” baby shower this past weekend. Green said she thought that she had her life all planned at age seven, but those plans did not include being a pregnant congressional candidate.
“I cannot promise you things will always go according to plan, but I will always know how to pivot. And I will be resilient. And this district will be resilient if we stick together,” Green said.
Andrea Miranda, a 20-year-old Florida State University student, and Anita Parish, a retiree, afterwards both said they could vote for any one of the three.
“Each has a different perspective and I agree, we need a Congress with a backbone to stand up to Trump,” Parish said. Miranda described the candidates’ willingness to field random questions from an audience as an exercise for voters and candidates to get to know each other.
“I haven’t picked a candidate yet. I’m still shopping, sort of kicking the tires … But this was intriguing. Whoever wins, we know what they’re going to work on,” Miranda said.
The turnout and discussion confirmed Green’s belief that more people are more interested in the 2026 election than they are with most mid-terms: “A hundred people came out to listen to primary candidates a year before the election. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tallahassee so active,” she said.
The primary for the 2026 election is nearly 10 months away on Aug. 18.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: North Florida voters hear from Democratic candidates at forum