The high-profile races for governor and Congress are consuming almost all of Florida’s political oxygen, but Broward and Palm Beach counties are battlegrounds for some intensely competitive primary and general election contests for the state Senate and state House of Representatives.
Multiple seats in the two counties are up for grabs, and could go either Democratic or Republican.
As hard as they may campaign, Democrats don’t have any realistic hope of winning control of the majorities in the Florida House or Senate. But if they perform well in November, they could chip away at the Republican supermajorities in the Legislature.
State Rep. Christine Hunschofsky of Parkland, who becomes leader of House Democrats after the November election, said she is optimistic. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity this cycle for us, and I think we have good candidates who are working hard and meeting voters where they are.”
She declined to offer specific assessments of where Democrats see promise and peril. “From week to week, things can change. You can’t make predictions in June about what happens in November.”
Speaker-designate Sam Garrison of Fleming Island, selected by House Republicans to become their leader in November, also declined to delve too far into the party’s strategy. He sees opportunities for Republican gains in South Florida.
“The fact that we are discussing so many competitive legislative races in Southeast Florida is a testament to the growth of the Republican Party and the leadership that has helped expand our coalition over the last several years. There was a time, not that long ago, when many of these districts were considered out of reach for Republicans,” Garrison said in a statement.
Here’s a look at the six hottest 2026 legislative races in Broward and Palm Beach counties, plus two that are simmering, but not yet boiling. The primaries are Aug. 18; the general election is Nov. 3.
House 100
For decades, House District 100 has been the consistent bright spot for Republicans in overwhelmingly Democratic Broward County. Four Republicans are competing for the nomination.
The Republican candidates are:
— Yoni Anijar, a lawyer who works as a corporate counsel and is an Army Reserve JAG captain.
— Raul Gallon, who works in insurance and risk management.
— Eric “Doc” Stelnicki, a pediatric surgeon.
— Chris Vincent, president of a construction company.
Vincent also has experience in elected office, as a former mayor and commissioner in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
Though Republicans have a numerical advantage in District 100, the outcome isn’t guaranteed, outgoing Republican state Rep. Chip LaMarca said in an interview earlier this year.
“Nobody should take for granted that this is somehow a Republican seat. It’s still very much a swing seat.”
LaMarca, who is well known and popular in the district after more than two decades as a Lighthouse Point commissioner, Broward County commissioner, and state representative, can’t run for reelection to the House because of term limits.
Every election season, Democrats proclaim they will finally flip the seat, but continually come up short, even when they’ve spent heavily.
This year, they are again professing several reasons for optimism.
The district has long been home to what were once called “country club” Republicans, more interested in business-friendly economic policies than the kind of populist and culture war fights that have animated the party’s MAGA base under President Donald Trump.
The first elections after a presidential contest are often bad for the party that controls the White House, and Democrats think they could benefit in the 100th District if there is strong anti-Trump sentiment and Republicans are dispirited in November.
The Democratic candidate, Michael Terence Ferguson, is a lawyer and a former Air Force judge advocate. He worked as an Air Force special trial counsel, prosecuting violent crimes.
The coastal Broward County 100th House district straddles Federal Highway from the south end of Fort Lauderdale north to the Palm Beach County line. It includes parts of Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and smaller cities.
Voter registration: 30.71% Democratic, 35.98% Republican, 29.91% no party affiliation/independent, 3.40% minor parties.
Voting statistics compiled by Democratic data analyst Matthew Isbell show Trump won the 100th District over Democrat Kamala Harris 53.3%-45.6% in 2024.
Michael Ferguson is the 2026 Democratic candidate for Florida House of Representatives District 100 in coastal Broward County. (Michael Ferguson campaign/courtesy)
House 101
State Rep. Hillary Cassel of Dania Beach is running for a third term in what could be one of the most hard-fought contests of the year.
Cassel, who was elected to her first two terms in Florida House District 101 as a Democrat, switched parties in late 2024 and became a Republican — prompting a “THANK YOU HILLARY!” social media post from Trump.
She voted with her new party on issues such as a state bill to support Trump’s plan to round up and deport illegal immigrants, called the TRUMP Act, and the law to rename Palm Beach International Airport as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
Democrats were enraged. They quickly coalesced around Todd Delmay, a Democratic activist and leader in the LGBTQ+ community, as their candidate. “My opponent is everything they hate about politics,” Delmay said when announcing his candidacy.
They’ve faced off before. Delmay was one of three candidates in the 2022 Democratic primary, which Cassel won with 40.2% of the 11,003 votes cast. Delmay came in second with 34.3%.
Isbell reported Trump narrowly won the 101st District, receiving 50.6% of the vote in 2024, an improvement of 17 percentage points from 2020.
But the political landscape has changed significantly since the 2024 election with polling showing Trump’s popularity has sagged amid continued voter concerns about the cost of living and uncertainty about the war with Iran.
Hillary Cassel, the Republican incumbent, and Todd Delmay, the Democratic challenger, are 2026 candidates in Florida House District 101 in Broward County. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel & Todd Delmay campaign/Courtesy)
Cassel has broken ranks with her new party this year on some high-profile issues. (When a party has an overwhelming majority and can pass its agenda, leaders are often OK if their members vote no on issues that could cause them political problems back home.)
She was one of only a handful of Republicans who voted against her party’s controversial plan that radically reshaped South Florida congressional districts in ways aimed at electing more Republicans and fewer Democrats in November.
And she voted against the Republican measure that prohibits local governments from spending money or promoting anything that could be seen as advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, a new law that critics have warned could jeopardize events in the Black and LGBTQ+ communities.
The district includes southern and eastern Broward County, mostly south of Interstate 595 and State Road 84. It includes Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and all or parts of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach and Hollywood.
Voter registration: 36.37% Democratic, 27.25% Republican, 33.59% no party affiliation/independent, 2.78% minor parties.
Jayden D’Onofrio, seated, watches Mike Friend speak during a Dolphin Democrats candidate forum in Wilton Manors on May 13, 2026. They are competing in the Democratic primary for House District 102 in Broward County. (Anthony Man, South Florida Sun Sentinel)
House 102
Both parties have primaries to pick nominees to succeed state Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a Democrat who can’t run again because of term limits.
The Democrats’ choice is between Jayden D’Onofrio and Michael “Mike” Friend.
D’Onofrio, 21, founder of the Florida Future Leaders political organization, would be one of the youngest people ever elected to the Florida House.
Friend, 50, a dentist, has been endorsed by Gottlieb as his successor. (Both have an array of endorsements from Democratic elected officials).
In the Republican primary, Mery Lopez-Palma, a lawyer, faces Jason Paul Smith.
Smith is a Cooper City commissioner, battalion chief at Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire Rescue and a former president of the Broward County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics union.
Garrison said Republicans see House District 102 as a pickup opportunity.
The district includes central and western Broward County, generally east of Interstate 75 and the Sawgrass Expressway and west of University Drive, including parts of Cooper City, Davie, Plantation and Sunrise. About two thirds is south of Interstate 595 and one third north of the expressway.
Voter registration: 37.74% Democratic, 28.09% Republican, 31.54% no party affiliation/independent; 2.62% minor parties.
Harris won the district over Trump 51.3%-47.3%.
House 93
Anne Gerwig, the Republican incumbent, will face Democrat August Mangeney in November.
Mangeney is a lawyer who’s been active in the Democratic Party. Gerwig is a former mayor of Wellington.
The contest will attract a frenzy of campaign energy and money because of what happened in House District 93 in 2024.
Gerwig won her first term by defeating a Democratic incumbent, Katherine Waldron, in an exceedingly close election. Finalized after a recount, Gerwig finished 248 votes ahead of Waldron out of 91,558 votes cast.
The district is in central Palm Beach County, south of Southern Boulevard, encompassing Wellington and part of Greenacres on the east. Both State Road 7 and Florida’s Turnpike run through the district.
Voter registration: 35.16% Democratic, 33.16% Republican, 27.93% no party affiliation/independent, 3.74% minor parties.
Harris narrowly won the district over Trump, 49.9%-48.9%.
House 87
The contest, which might be a rematch, is guaranteed to draw outsized attention.
State Rep. Emily Gregory won a special election in March to fill a vacant state House seat, flipping a longtime Republican district to the Democratic column.
The result was an embarrassment for Trump who had endorsed the losing Republican candidate Jon Maples, and because House District 87 includes his Mar-a-Lago residence and Club in Palm Beach.
Almost immediately, Garrison urged Maples to run again, arguing that the low-turnout special election would be far different than a regular November election.
Garrison said the Republican House campaign organization is “all-in” for Maples, who he said “ran a strong campaign in difficult special election circumstances, and we are confident that strong Republican turnout in November will send him to Tallahassee.”
Maples, a financial planner, faces a challenge in the Republican primary from Jonathan Rubin, who is executive director of a coalition of nonprofits, the Clean Earth Initiative, and founder of Fresh Florida Farms.
The district is in the central part of Palm Beach County, running along the coast.
Voter registration: 27.67% Democratic, 41.62% Republican, 26.42% no party affiliation/independent, 4.27% minor parties.
Trump handily won the district over Harris, 54.6%-44.0%.
Senate 26
The District 26 contest features two former state representatives hoping to succeed state Sen. Lori Berman, a Democrat prevented by term limits from running for reelection.
Former Republican state Rep. Rick Roth faces former Democratic state Rep. David Silvers.
The district stretches across the southern part of Palm Beach County from populated areas in the east, including all or parts of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, and runs north and west to include Wellington and the Glades communities of Belle Glade and South Bay.
Voter registration: 37.38% Democratic, 32.38% Republican, 26.39% no party affiliation/independent, 3.85% minor parties.
Harris won the district over Trump, 52.3%-46.6%.
State Rep. Christine Hunschofsky of Parkland was one of half a dozen Broward legislators who didn’t get a Republican challenger in 2026. As incoming House Democratic leader, she will spend the summer and fall helping her party’s other candidates. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
House 89
State Rep. Debra Tendrich, Democratic incumbent serving her first term, will face the winner of the August Republican primary, either Jeff Buongiorno, who has run for other offices before, or Cathy Higgins, a former Atlantis City Council member.
Garrison said District 89 is a Republican pickup opportunity.
The district is near the coast, but landlocked, in central Palm Beach County, including all or parts of Atlantis, Greenacres, Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Worth Beach and Palm Springs.
Voter registration: 37.37% Democratic, 29.59% Republican, 29.23% no party affiliation/independent, 3.80% third parties.
Harris narrowly won the district over Trump, 49.9%-48.7%.
House 91
State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, a Republican from Highland Beach, is running for a third term.
Like LaMarca in Broward County, Gossett-Seidman has been challenged in her previous runs by Democrats who ran energetic campaigns, but fell short.
She will face Democrat Luis Garcia, a retired firefighter-paramedic, in November. He’s written that he’s on an “anti-Trump journey,” and has posted on social media that Election Day is the time to “end the Epstein Class Oligarchy’s 25 year Republican power chokehold on Florida!”
District 91 produced a surprise after the June 12 deadline for candidates to officially get on the 2026 primary and general election ballots.
Alexander Lambridis, a college student and former congressional intern, had planned to run in the Democratic primary. He unexpectedly didn’t qualify, apparently because of an error on the check he wrote to the state to cover the required fee.
An image of Lambridis’ check posted by the state Division of Elections shows the correct amount, $1,781.82, in the area where numerals are used. But on the line where the amount is written out, it said, “One thousand seven hundred and eighty dollars and eighty two cents” — which is $1 less.
The state Division of Elections reports his status as “Did Not Qualify.” He said Tuesday via text message he wasn’t sure of what would happen.
“The matter is currently under review, and I’m working with general counsel regarding my ballot status. Out of respect for that process, I don’t have additional comments at this time,” he said in response to questions.
The district takes in Boca Raton, Highland Beach and some of the unincorporated communities west of Boca Raton.
Voter registration: 29.99% Democratic, 37.63% Republican, 28.64% no party affiliation/independent, 3.74% third parties.
Trump handily won the district over Harris, 53.6%-45.2%.
Political writer Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.