Hernando County ballot — November 3, 2026
Official candidate line-up from the Florida Division of Elections (downloaded September 17, 2026), plus the districts that cover Hernando 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 12
- Gus Michael Bilirakis Republican
- Kimberly Overman Democratic
- Branden Scrivener No Party Affiliation
Florida Legislature
Florida Senate, District 11
Not on the 2026 ballot: odd-numbered Senate districts are next up in 2028.
Florida House, District 52 (part of the county)
Covers: Sumter, Part of Hernando
- Samantha Scott Republican
- Pamala Kaye Bivins Democratic
Florida House, District 53 (part of the county)
Covers: Parts of Hernando, Pasco
- Brian Hawkins Republican
- Tony Claude Democratic
- Christopher Anger Constitution Party
Judges
Fifth District Court of Appeal — merit retention
Hernando County is in the 5th Judicial Circuit, whose appeals go to this court. Each judge is a separate Yes/No question.
- Shall Judge John M. Harris be retained in office?
- Shall Judge Scott D. Makar be retained in office?
- Shall Judge F. Rand Wallis be retained in office?
Circuit Judge, 5th Circuit
No contested circuit-judge seat on the November ballot in this circuit (contested groups were decided in August or all candidates were unopposed).
Hernando County offices
Board of County Commissioners
District 2
Kathryn Birren Republican Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 4
- Write-in line (1 qualified write-in candidate: Donald Bigelow; write-in names are not printed on the ballot)
School Board
District 1
Dana Pearce Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 3
Shannon Rodriguez Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 5
- Kara Champion Nonpartisan
- Susan Duval Nonpartisan
"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 (Community Development District) — contested seats and unopposed members
Community Development District
Seat 1
- Anthony Martino Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Mary Y. Marzulli Nonpartisan Unopposed
- John Hendrik McCoskrie Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 2
- Darrin Bagnuolo Nonpartisan
- Laura Clark Nonpartisan
- Merry - Lyn Orlando Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Richard Pakan Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 3
Christina Miller Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 5
- Margaret Bloomquist Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jane Brekka Nonpartisan Unopposed
Hernando County Supervisor of Elections
- Supervisor
- Denise LaVancher
- Phone
- 352-754-4125
- Address
- 16264 Spring Hill Drive Brooksville, FL 34604
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.