Laurel Lee
Laurel Lee has represented Florida's 15th District since January 2023. She previously served as Florida Secretary of State (2019-2022) and as a circuit judge in Hillsborough County. After the 2026 redistricting she announced she would seek re-election in CD 15, which now takes in Citrus and Hernando counties and parts of Pasco and Hillsborough; she is the Republican nominee on the Nov. 3 ballot. House Democrats' campaign arm listed the seat as a 2026 target.
How they got on the ballot: Republican nominee for CD 15 (Ballotpedia; primary details not found in search snippets)
Campaign finance (FEC filings through 10/14/2026): raised $2,711,189, spent $1,825,503, cash on hand $1,320,456; $512,963 from individual donors, $1,006,000 from PACs. FEC filings ↗
Sources last checked 2026-10-06. Report an error ↗
Positions on the major issues
Compare with opponents →Each entry describes what the candidate has said or done, and what they say they will do, in neutral terms with sources. The chip shows how that relates to the statement voters rate in the matching tool.
Taxes & spending Strongly agrees· based on record
Lee voted for H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) on final passage in July 2025. The law made the 2017 individual tax-rate cuts permanent and added new deductions while reducing projected federal spending on Medicaid and SNAP.
Immigration Strongly agrees· based on record
Lee voted for the Laken Riley Act (mandatory federal detention of unauthorized immigrants arrested for theft and certain other offenses) in January 2025 and for H.R. 1, which appropriated funds for border-wall construction, Border Patrol hiring and expanded immigration detention and removal operations. Her campaign site says she voted for legislation investing more than $46 billion to finish the border wall, expand the Border Patrol and support deportation operations; in office she has repeatedly called the Biden-era border situation a national-security and humanitarian crisis.
"Border security is national security."
Abortion Leans disagree· stated position
Lee describes herself as pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade and says abortion regulation should be left to the states. In her 2022 campaign she voiced support for Florida's then-15-week limit; no statement on the state's six-week law was found. SBA Pro-Life America records her as voting consistently against taxpayer funding of abortion.
Guns Leans disagree· stated position
Lee's House website says she is 'a strong supporter of the Second Amendment' and will fight efforts that might infringe on the right of law-abiding gun owners to keep and bear arms; she supported H.R. 1181 (Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act), which would bar special merchant codes for firearm and ammunition purchases. No statement on Florida's red-flag law or the 21 purchase age was found.
"I will always fight to protect the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners."
Health care Leans disagree· based on record
Lee voted for H.R. 1, which added work-reporting requirements and more frequent eligibility checks for Medicaid expansion enrollees and reduced projected federal Medicaid spending. No statement on expanding Medicaid in Florida or extending ACA subsidies was found.
Social Security & Medicare Leans agree· based on record
Voted for the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), the 2024 law repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, raising benefits for some public-sector retirees.
Elections & voting Leans disagree· based on record
Lee voted for the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. No statement on mail voting or drop boxes was found. As former Florida Secretary of State she says she modernized election systems and strengthened cybersecurity, and in Congress advocates 'clear, consistent election laws that promote confidence in the process' (campaign site).
Gender identity laws Leans agree· based on record
Voted for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 28), the 2025 bill barring transgender girls and women from female school sports under Title IX; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward keeping restrictions in place.
Energy & utilities Strongly disagrees· stated position
In an October 2026 Washington Examiner op-ed summarized by Florida Politics, Lee argued the United States has an energy infrastructure problem rather than a shortage, said litigation has stalled natural-gas pipelines such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and promoted her Unleash American Pipelines Act, which would limit lawsuits against approved pipeline projects without eliminating judicial review.
"America does not have an energy shortage. We have an infrastructure problem."
Veterans Leans agree· stated position
Her campaign site says she is 'a strong advocate for the nation's veterans, servicemembers, and their families' and works to ensure they receive the support they have earned; specific VA-expansion proposals were not captured.
No public position found on 7 issues
We searched campaign sites, questionnaires, interviews, votes and official actions and did not find a clear stance on: Housing affordability, Education & school choice, Environment & water, Crime & policing, Tariffs & trade, Ukraine, Trump administration. This is reported as unknown rather than guessed from party affiliation; these issues are excluded from this candidate's match score.
Other issues this candidate has raised
- Border wall, Border Patrol and fentanyl interdiction funding — Campaign site highlights her vote for legislation putting more than $46 billion toward finishing the border wall, expanding the Border Patrol workforce, funding surveillance technology to stop fentanyl smuggling, and supporting deportation operations and local law-enforcement partnerships.
- Election administration and cybersecurity — Cites her tenure as Florida Secretary of State (modernizing election systems, cybersecurity) and says she advocates clear, consistent election laws in Congress.
- Infrastructure, economic development and public safety for the district — Campaign site says she is 'championing infrastructure, economic development, and public safety priorities' and wants an economy that 'rewards work, empowers small businesses, and prepares the next generation of American workers.'
- Firearm-purchase privacy (H.R. 1181) — Supported the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act to stop creation of a special merchant-category code for firearm and ammunition retailers.
- Did not attend Oct. 16 Tiger Bay forum — Lee did not attend the Tampa Tiger Bay Club congressional forum her opponent attended.
Record: votes, actions and documented facts
- Listed by House Democrats' campaign arm (DCCC) as a 2026 target.
- Voted yes on final passage of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 3, 2025), which extended the 2017 tax cuts, funded border and immigration enforcement, and changed Medicaid and SNAP eligibility rules.
- Voted yes on S. 5, the Laken Riley Act (Jan. 22, 2025), requiring federal detention of unauthorized immigrants charged with theft-related and certain violent offenses.
- Voted yes on H.R. 22, the SAVE Act (Apr. 10, 2025), which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
- Reported raising an additional $679,000 for her 2026 re-election effort (Florida Politics).
- Voted for the Laken Riley Act (S. 5), the 2025 law requiring federal detention of unauthorized immigrants charged with theft or violent crimes and letting states sue over immigration enforcement.
- Voted for the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), the 2025 bill requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.
- Voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), the July 2025 budget law that made the 2017 tax cuts permanent and added new deductions while cutting Medicaid and food-assistance spending.
- Voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), the July 2025 budget law that added Medicaid work requirements and eligibility checks projected to reduce coverage.
- Voted for the Protecting American Energy Production Act (H.R. 26), the 2025 bill barring a presidential moratorium on hydraulic fracturing without an act of Congress; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward fossil-fuel production.
- Voted for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 28), the 2025 bill barring transgender girls and women from female school sports under Title IX; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward keeping restrictions in place.
- Voted for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 21), the 2025 bill setting criminal penalties for providers who fail to care for an infant born alive after an attempted abortion; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward more abortion restrictions.
- Voted for the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), the 2024 law repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, raising benefits for some public-sector retirees.
- Voted Nay on H.Con.Res. 93, a War Powers Resolution directing the President to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran (Roll Call 307, Sept. 15, 2026; agreed to 220-204).
- Voted Yea on the motion to table H.Res. 1486, a resolution impeaching President Trump (Roll Call 298, Sept. 15, 2026; tabled 232-147 with 47 voting present). A Yea vote set the resolution aside; a Nay vote would have kept it before the House.
- Voted Yea on H.J.Res. 210 and Yea on H.J.Res. 213, Congressional Review Act resolutions disapproving EPA authorizations of California's at-berth ocean-going vessel and commercial harbor craft diesel-emission rules (Roll Calls 306 and 311, Sept. 15-16, 2026; passed 216-211 and 214-208).
- Sponsor of the Unleash American Pipelines Act, which would limit litigation against federally approved pipeline projects while retaining judicial review.
- Co-signed the Moody-Buchanan letter asking the Department of War to increase Florida's National Guard allocation after Hurricane Isaias.
- Voted for H.R. 1 (2025), the budget reconciliation law that extended the 2017 tax cuts, added Medicaid work requirements, reduced clean-energy tax credits and funded expanded immigration enforcement.
Endorsements (as reported)
- Tampa Bay Times (Gallaty and Brink both chose Lee)