Florida House, District 117
Represents District 117 (Part of Miami-Dade) 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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Miguel Granda
Miguel Granda is the Republican nominee challenging Rep. Kevin Chambliss in the Homestead-Florida City district. His campaign site lists financial relief, a strong economy, safe streets, quality schools and a fair share for South Dade as themes but does not detail specific policy positions, and he did not answer the V…
Kevin Chambliss
Kevin Chambliss, 45, has represented the Homestead-area District 117 since 2020, defending a competitive seat in each election. Originally from Columbus, Mississippi, he holds a psychology degree from Jackson State University and previously worked as a campaign organizer and community liaison.
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 | Miguel Granda Republican | Kevin Chambliss Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | No public position found | 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. | No public position found | Strongly disagrees· based on record Chambliss voted against both 2026 property-tax proposals and says he hopes Amendment 3 fails, calling it the biggest state preemption attempt he has seen. |
| 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. | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position He says he will file legislation giving the Office of Insurance Regulation more power to regulate new insurance companies, and believes the property-tax debate deflects from the insurance crisis. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position He would abolish rental bidding practices, fully fund the Sadowski fund, let faith-based property owners build affordable housing and add incentives for senior and veteran housing. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | No public position found | Leans disagree· based on record Chambliss voted against SB 2-C, the 2025 state immigration-enforcement package. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· based on record He voted against the six-week law in 2023 and says abortion is a health-care issue on which he follows medical experts and the women they serve. |
| 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 | Strongly agrees· based on record He voted against lowering the long-gun purchase age in 2025 and 2026; he did not vote on the 2023 permitless-carry bill. |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position He says Florida, as a retirement destination, should fill the gaps left by declining federal health subsidies. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | Strongly disagrees· based on record Chambliss voted against HB 1, the 2023 universal school-choice expansion. |
| 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 | No public position found |
| 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. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position He would exempt married women or give a two-year grace period under a proof-of-citizenship rule. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans disagree· stated position Granda's campaign site lists Safe Streets among his priorities and says he strongly believes in early intervention to keep kids on the right track, rather than framing public safety around tougher penalties. | 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 | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted against SB 254 (2023), the 2023 law barring gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and restricting it for adults. |
| 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 | Leans agree· based on record Voted against 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. |
| 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.
Miguel GrandaHow 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Miguel Granda | not enough data | not enough data |
| Kevin Chambliss | -1.60 (5 statements) | -1.67 (6 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Miguel Granda
- Campaign themes — Granda says he will fight to lower the cost of living, create jobs in South Dade, keep neighborhoods safe through early intervention for youth, and improve schools.
- Cost of living and jobs — Granda says Floridians are being squeezed and that he would work to lower the cost of living, and that he would push to create jobs close to home in South Dade.
- Schools and career preparation — Granda says young people deserve an education that prepares them for careers and for vocational or higher education. He does not state a position on vouchers or school choice.
- Approach to the job — Granda says no single person or party has all the answers and pledges to listen to constituents, and says he will work to make sure South Dade families are not neglected.
Kevin Chambliss
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.