Florida House, District 2
Represents District 2 (Parts of Escambia, Santa Rosa) 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
Report an error ↗Jon Fay
Jon Fay, a 2000 Naval Academy graduate, served 24 years as a naval flight officer, including as executive officer of the Blue Angels and as a Navy legislative fellow in the U.S. House, before retiring as a commander in 2024. He now works in the aviation parts industry and won the August 2026 Republican primary with 78…
Johnny Thompson
Johnny Austin Thompson is a Pensacola native and product of Escambia County public schools who is studying law at Harvard while pursuing graduate work in public health. He grew up in a working-class family that at times relied on SNAP and government health coverage, and he was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
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 | Jon Fay Republican | Johnny Thompson Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position He pledges to support the local economy through infrastructure investment and lower taxes. | 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 | Leans agree· stated position His campaign pledges to cut property taxes for District 2 families. |
| 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 | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | No public position found |
| 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). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position In an essay on maternal mortality he wrote that addressing the impact of abortion bans and restrictive policies is critical, citing worse outcomes in states with restrictive laws. |
| 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). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Thompson proposes expanding Medicaid to cover doula, midwife and telehealth maternal services and campaigns on protecting health care access. |
| 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 | 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 | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position He pledges to enforce the rule of law and work with President Trump and Gov. DeSantis to keep Florida safe. Sources: Jon Fay campaign website (2026-09) | 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. | Leans agree· stated position His platform commits to working with President Trump and Gov. DeSantis on public safety. Sources: Jon Fay campaign website (2026-09) | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | Strongly agrees· stated position He pledges to fight for the veteran and active-duty community and keep Florida the most veteran-friendly state. Sources: Jon Fay campaign website (2026-09) | 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.
Johnny ThompsonHow 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Fay | not enough data | not enough data |
| Johnny Thompson | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Jon Fay
- Insurance — Fay says he will prioritize pro-consumer policies to bring down auto and homeowners insurance costs, without specifying a regulatory or market approach.Sources: Jon Fay campaign website (2026-09)
Johnny Thompson
- Universal free school meals — Thompson supports universal free school meals in Florida public schools, citing his own childhood reliance on SNAP.
- Public schools — His site pledges to fully fund public schools and protect a clean Gulf Coast.