Florida House, District 102
Represents District 102 (Part of Broward) 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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Mery Lopez-Palma
Mery Lopez-Palma, 56, was born in Cuba and came to Florida as a child. She has practiced law for more than two decades, owns bakery franchise locations and is a mother of four. She won the August 2026 Republican primary for the Davie-Plantation-Sunrise district.
Michael Friend
Mike Friend, 50, is a Davie dentist who has practiced for more than 25 years and also serves as a national dental director for an insurance carrier. A University of Pennsylvania dental graduate, he is a public-school parent and serves on advisory boards for NSU's College of Dental Medicine and the Town of Davie. He wo…
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 | Mery Lopez-Palma Republican | Michael Friend Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position She pledges to lower taxes where possible and cut unnecessary regulations to ease burdens on homeowners and small businesses. | 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. | Leans agree· stated position She says property taxes strain family budgets and supports responsible tax relief. | No public position found |
| 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 Her approach to insurance is to increase market competition and reduce fraud and unnecessary costs. | Leans agree· stated position He supports a state catastrophic fund to protect homeowners, stronger consumer protections and fair-dealing requirements for insurers, alongside more competition and home hardening. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position He backs full use of state housing programs, public-private partnerships and streamlined permitting to expand affordable and workforce housing. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | No public position found | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly disagrees· stated position Lopez-Palma describes herself as pro-life, supporting exceptions for the life of the mother and those in current Florida law. | Strongly agrees· stated position He says reproductive decisions belong out of politicians' hands and supports abortion access, with prevention as a focus. |
| 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). | No public position found | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans disagree· stated position She favors workforce development, price transparency and private-sector solutions, with careful review of Medicaid spending. | Leans agree· stated position Friend says health-care access is his central issue and wants to take on health insurers, invest in preventive care and community health centers and expand the provider workforce. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | 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 He says the balance has shifted too far toward state preemption and local governments should keep the ability to respond to local needs. |
| 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. | Strongly disagrees· stated position She strongly disagreed that people should be able to vote without photo ID and supports ensuring only citizens vote, with fee waivers for required documents. | Leans agree· stated position He would waive fees and expand assistance so a proof-of-citizenship rule does not block eligible voters. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position Her site pledges to support law enforcement and she says she will back investments in police, firefighters and first responders. | 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. | No public position found | 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. | No public position found | 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. | No public position found | 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.
Michael FriendHow 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mery Lopez-Palma | 1.00 (4 statements) | 1.67 (3 statements) |
| Michael Friend | -1.00 (3 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.
Mery Lopez-Palma
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Michael Friend
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.