DeSoto County ballot — November 3, 2026
Official candidate line-up from the Florida Division of Elections (downloaded September 17, 2026), plus the districts that cover DeSoto County. Where a district covers only part of the county, your address decides which one you vote in: use the state's voter lookup ↗ or your county sample ballot.
This page is the official line-up from the state's candidate list. For researched positions and the match tool on the races you actually vote in, enter where you vote; races this guide has researched are linked below where they apply.
Statewide (same everywhere in Florida)
U.S. Senate (special election)
Governor & Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Chief Financial Officer
Commissioner of Agriculture
Constitutional amendments 1, 2 and 3
Official language, what Yes and No mean, and who supports and opposes each.
Congress
U.S. House, District 18
- Scott Franklin Republican
- Curtis Gibson Democratic
- Deva Simmons No Party Affiliation
Florida Legislature
Florida Senate, District 27
Not on the 2026 ballot: odd-numbered Senate districts are next up in 2028.
Florida House, District 76
Covers: DeSoto and Parts of Charlotte, Lee
- Vanessa Oliver Republican
- Phillip Ray Carter Democratic
Judges
Second District Court of Appeal — merit retention
DeSoto County is in the 12th Judicial Circuit, whose appeals go to this court. Each judge is a separate Yes/No question.
- Shall Judge Drew Atkinson be retained in office?
- Shall Judge Morris Silberman be retained in office?
- Shall Judge Daniel H. Sleet be retained in office?
- Shall Judge Andrea Teves Smith be retained in office?
Circuit Judge, 12th Circuit
No contested circuit-judge seat on the November ballot in this circuit (contested groups were decided in August or all candidates were unopposed).
DeSoto County offices
Board of County Commissioners
District 2
- Buddy Johnson Republican
- Michael Martin Democratic
- Lorenzo Dixon Independent Party
District 4
Elton A. Langford Republican Elected without opposition — no vote held
School Board
District 1
Jami Schueneman Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 4
Asena Mott Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 5
Kelly Mercer Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
"Elected without opposition" seats do not appear on the ballot. Seats decided in the August primary are not listed. City and town elections and local referendums are run by each county and are not in the state candidate list: check your county's sample ballot.
Special districts (Soil & Water Conservation Districts) — contested seats and unopposed members
Soil & Water Conservation Districts
Seat 1
Trey Barnwell Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 3
Ken Harrison Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 5
Jeffrey Dale Adams Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
DeSoto County Supervisor of Elections
- Supervisor
- Debbie Wertz
- Phone
- 863-993-4871
- Address
- 201 E. Oak Street, Suite 104 Arcadia, FL 34266 PO Box 89 Arcadia, FL 34265 -0089
Sample ballot, early voting and mail ballots ↗
Statewide deadlines: register by Oct. 5, 2026; request a mail ballot by 5 p.m. Oct. 22; mandatory early voting Oct. 24–31 (counties may add days); polls open 7 a.m.–7 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Sources for this page
- Florida Division of Elections Candidate Tracking System, 2026 General Election (ElectionID 20261103-GEN), state and local candidate extracts downloaded 2026-09-17 from https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/downloadcanlist.asp. Contact fields removed. Status meanings per the Division: Qualified = qualified for the ballot; Unopposed = no opponent (elected without a vote); Defeated = lost in the primary; Withdrew / Did Not Qualify / Removed = not on the ballot.
- U.S. Census Bureau 2020 relationship file, 118th Congress districts (Florida 2022 plan) to counties: https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/cd-sld/tab20_cd11820_county20_natl.txt. Percent is the share of county land area in the district.
- House: https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx (2024-2026 term, fetched 2026-09-17). Senate: https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/ (2024-2026 term, fetched 2026-09-17). Even-numbered Senate districts are on the 2026 ballot per the Division of Elections candidate list.
- Judicial circuits: s. 26.021, Fla. Stat. Appellate districts: ss. 35.02-35.044, Fla. Stat. (as amended by ch. 2022-163, effective Jan. 1, 2023). Fetched from leg.state.fl.us 2026-09-17.
- Florida Division of Elections supervisor directory, https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/supervisors/countyInfo.asp?county=<code>, fetched 2026-09-17. The state directory can lag local changes (for Sumter it still lists the previous supervisor); the county website is authoritative.