Manatee County ballot — November 3, 2026
Official candidate line-up from the Florida Division of Elections (downloaded September 17, 2026), plus the districts that cover Manatee 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 16
- Sydney Gruters Republican
- Kelly Kirschner Democratic
- Mark Davis No Party Affiliation
Florida Legislature
Florida Senate, District 20 (part of the county)
Covers: Parts of Hillsborough, Manatee
- Jim Boyd Republican
- Gerald Baldi Democratic
Florida Senate, District 22 (part of the county)
Covers: Sarasota, part of Manatee
- James Buchanan Republican
- Lew Wasserman Democratic
- Martin Hyde No Party Affiliation
Florida House, District 70 (part of the county)
Covers: Parts of Hillsborough, Manatee
- Michael Owen Republican
- Luther Keith Wilkins Democratic
Florida House, District 71 (part of the county)
Covers: Part of Manatee
- Jordan Varnadore Republican
- Ocean Fitts Democratic
- Joseph Hoolihan No Party Affiliation
Florida House, District 72 (part of the county)
Covers: Part of Manatee
- William Bill Conerly Republican
- Harvey Shifrin Democratic
Judges
Second District Court of Appeal — merit retention
Manatee 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).
Manatee County offices
Board of County Commissioners
District AD6
- Tara Poulton Republican
- Reggie Bellamy Democratic
District 1
- Elizabeth "Liz" Arnold Republican
- Sari Lindroos-Valimaki Democratic
- Write-in line (1 qualified write-in candidate: Jack D May Jr; write-in names are not printed on the ballot)
District 2
- Amanda Ballard Republican
- Charles B. Smith Sr. Democratic
District 4
Mike Rahn Republican Elected without opposition — no vote held
School Board
District 2
- Sharon Jefferson Nonpartisan
- Cindy Spray Nonpartisan
District 4
Chad Choate Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 5
- Camden "Cam" Bedinghaus Nonpartisan
- Jonathan Mullis 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, Fire Protection Districts, Soil & Water Conservation Districts, Mosquito Control Districts, Special Tax Districts) — contested seats and unopposed members
Community Development District
Seat 1
- Kyle Baber Nonpartisan
- Adam Bailey Nonpartisan
- Joseph Di Bartolomeo Nonpartisan
- Ken Bumgarner Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Joyce Lynn Calderon Nonpartisan
- Margaret Ann Freed Nonpartisan Unopposed
- William John Hathaway Nonpartisan
- Lindsay Bruce Holt Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Nancy Johnson Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Marko Krstic Nonpartisan
- Lianna Litwin Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Frank John Loviglio Nonpartisan
- David Meyers Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Karin Murphy Nonpartisan
- Ken Nicholson Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Leah Ogren Nonpartisan
- Preston Russel Olinger Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jackie Petrovich Nonpartisan
- Theodore R Piwowar Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Nancy Quinn Nonpartisan
- Deborah Ann Reynolds Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Diane Richey Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Grace Russolillo Nonpartisan
- Joe Stanczyk Nonpartisan
- Duane Swetland Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 2
- Keith Davey Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Michael Fondario Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Tracy Joniec Nonpartisan
- Mike Lamb Nonpartisan
- Jasen R Milenkovski Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Larry Powell Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Frank Sacca Nonpartisan
- Bruce R Stolarz Nonpartisan
- Eva Midgley Walker Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 3
- Kathleen Adams Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Angela Albrecht Nonpartisan
- Eileen Creagh Antonelli Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Tony Beazley Nonpartisan
- Christina Brantley Nonpartisan Unopposed
- James P Casement Nonpartisan
- Victor G Colombo Nonpartisan
- Michael A Conner Nonpartisan
- Laura Fox Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Thomas R Fretz Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Kevin G Gagne Nonpartisan
- Mary Gray Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Sarah Hartz Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jim Hengel Nonpartisan Unopposed
- William J Dornetto Jr Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Wendy Pittman Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Bron James Scherer Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Bonnie Sidiski Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Mark Sigman Nonpartisan Unopposed
- John Wisz Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 4
- Timothy Abramski Nonpartisan
- Judy Cummings Nonpartisan
- Jim Emanuelson Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Brian Philip Holliday Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Peter Latessa Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Matthew Ruxton Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Mark A Weber Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Walter E Wolf Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 5
- Louise Desmond Buckley Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Mark E Bush Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Helen Y Carlsen Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Marty Cohn Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jonathan Dayton Nonpartisan
- Sandra K Freas Nonpartisan
- Shannon Gregory Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jack A Knisley Jr Nonpartisan
- Gregory A Kisela Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Bill Mariotti Nonpartisan
- Michael John Monti Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Matthew W Moore Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Michael O'Hair Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Eugene J Rado Nonpartisan
- Vincenzo Russo Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Arthur Taber Nonpartisan
- Carl Teisch Nonpartisan
- Thomas A Tosi Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Kelly Winger Nonpartisan Unopposed
Fire Protection Districts
Seat 1
- James Grote Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Garry Lawson Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Kyle L Moore Nonpartisan
- Edward W Stevens Nonpartisan
- Kellie Stoddard Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Cody Summers Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 2
- Jacob R Kyser Nonpartisan
- Jeremy Laird Nonpartisan Unopposed
- J Stephen Litschauer Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Derrick Warner Nonpartisan
Seat 3
- John Agnelli Nonpartisan
- Rob Bell Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Dana Tindall Nonpartisan
- Kevin L Webb Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 4
- Billy Burke Nonpartisan
- Keith D Miller Nonpartisan
- Betty Stewart Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 5
- Anthony C Evans Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Joseph Houlihan Nonpartisan
- Richard Jacobs Nonpartisan
- Ebson Parrish Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Sawyer Ramsey Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 7
James D Alderman Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Soil & Water Conservation Districts
Seat 1
Michael Ingram Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 3
Julie D Tillett Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Mosquito Control Districts
- Scott Johnson Nonpartisan
- Rodney O'Quinn Nonpartisan
- Charles "Rick" Richards Nonpartisan
Special Tax Districts
Seat 3
- Henry N White Jr Nonpartisan
- Tryn Stimart Nonpartisan
Manatee County Supervisor of Elections
- Supervisor
- Scott Farrington
- Phone
- 941-741-3823
- Address
- 600 301 Blvd. W., Ste 108 Bradenton, FL 34205 PO Box 1000 Bradenton, FL 34206 -1000
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.