Florida House, District 1
Represents District 1 (Part of Escambia) in the Florida House; votes on state laws and the state budget. Term: 2 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Candidate list taken from the Florida Division of Elections, 2026 general election candidate list on 2026-09-18 ; statuses Qualified/Unopposed only. Counties from the Legislature's district listings.
Debates and forums
- No debate or candidate forum has been scheduled in this race (checked Oct. 17, 2026). Checked Vote411's Florida debates-and-forums calendar, the League of Women Voters of Florida newsroom, the county Leagues, chambers of commerce, Tiger Bay clubs and local NAACP branches; every legislative forum they list was held during the primary.
Candidates
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Michelle Salzman
Michelle Salzman is a U.S. Army veteran and small-business owner from Pensacola who represents House District 1. She founded the Mental Health Task Force of Northwest Florida and chairs the House subcommittee covering housing, agriculture and tourism. She holds a master's degree in applied politics and policy from Flo…
Francesca Yabraian
Francesca Yabraian is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Argentina. She has more than 20 years of experience in information technology and has held emergency-management roles with USDA and DHS, and she holds a degree in government and world affairs from the University of Tampa. Her campaign cent…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Michelle Salzman Republican | Francesca Yabraian Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Salzman says government should be held to a household-budget standard, root out waste and let Floridians keep more of what they earn. | No public position found |
| Property taxesFlorida should eliminate or sharply reduce homestead property taxes, even if local governments must cut services or find other revenue. | Strongly agrees· based on record Salzman voted for the 2026 homestead property-tax amendment (HJR 1-F) and for HJR 203, which would have eliminated non-school property taxes on homesteads. In her Vote411 answers she said property taxes challenge the idea of truly owning a home. Sources: Florida House roll call, CS/HJR 1-F (2026 special session),… (2026-06-02) · Florida House roll call, CS/CS/HJR 203 (2026), passage 80-30 (2026-02-19) · Vote411 Voter Guide (League of Women Voters): Michelle Salz… (2026-09) · NBC 15: Florida lawmakers head to 2026 session with bold pl… (2026-01-13) | Mixed / neutral· stated position Yabraian says property-tax relief is needed but is not a solution to the affordability crisis, which she says is driven more by insurance costs. |
| Property insuranceThe state should intervene more directly in the property-insurance market (rate caps, expanding Citizens, stricter insurer regulation) rather than relying mainly on market-based reforms. | Leans disagree· stated position On Vote411 Salzman said the state has made progress on insurance reform but more work remains, and she framed affordability solutions around reducing costs and encouraging competition. | Strongly agrees· stated position Yabraian proposes a state investigation of insurance rate increases with required refunds or rate reductions when overcharges are found, and calls for stronger insurer accountability. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· stated position On Vote411 she backed scaling the Hometown Heroes down-payment program, converting surplus public land to housing, targeted infrastructure grants for workforce housing and faster local approvals. | Strongly agrees· stated position Her proposed Florida Housing and Insurance Emergency Relief Act includes a temporary rent freeze, faster approvals for workforce housing, limits on large out-of-state and foreign investors, and a legal-defense fund for renters and homeowners. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· based on record Salzman voted for SB 2-C, the 2025 state immigration-enforcement package, and her campaign site lists securing the border as a priority. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly disagrees· based on record Salzman voted for SB 300, the 2023 six-week abortion law. In her 2026 Vote411 answer she said she has supported policies that protect life and support mothers and families. | Strongly agrees· stated position Yabraian supports a woman's right to abortion care, citing her own medically necessary abortion, and says such decisions belong to a woman and her doctor. |
| GunsGun laws should be stricter (keep the red-flag law and the age-21 purchase rule; expand background checks) rather than looser (permitless or open carry, lower purchase age). | Strongly disagrees· based on record Salzman voted in 2025 and again in 2026 for House bills lowering the minimum age to buy rifles and shotguns from 21 to 18. | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Yabraian says Florida should expand Medicaid to close the coverage gap and provide state help with premiums and prescription costs. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· based on record Salzman voted for HB 1 in 2023, which made state school-choice scholarships available to all K-12 students regardless of income. | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position She supports strong home rule so communities can restrict or ban large data centers and other projects affecting water, power bills and property rights. |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | Leans disagree· stated position Asked on Vote411 about a documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration, Salzman said verifying identity should not be seen as an impairment to voting and stressed election integrity. | Strongly agrees· stated position She calls a documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration unnecessary, says her first priority would be to change that law, and would provide free records in the meantime. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for SB 254 (2023), the 2023 law barring gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and restricting it for adults. | No public position found |
| Energy & utilitiesGovernment should promote renewable energy and tighten oversight of utility rate increases, even at the expense of fossil-fuel production. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted for CS/CS/HB 1645 (2024), the 2024 energy law that removed climate change as a priority of state energy policy, repealed several renewable-energy goals and grant programs, banned offshore wind turbines in state waters and eased regulation of natural-gas pipelines; a vote for it is coded as leaning against promoting renewable energy. | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | Strongly agrees· stated position Her campaign site lists supporting veterans and protecting the military among her top priorities. | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
How the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Michelle Salzman | 0.80 (5 statements) | 1.83 (6 statements) |
| Francesca Yabraian | -1.50 (4 statements) | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Michelle Salzman
- Term limits and mental health — Salzman describes herself as an advocate for term limits at every level of government and founded the Mental Health Task Force of Northwest Florida.
Francesca Yabraian
- AI data centers and surveillance cameras — Yabraian is campaigning for a full ban on AI data centers in Escambia County and opposes Flock license-plate cameras, calling them a Fourth Amendment concern.