Florida House, District 22
Represents District 22 (Gilchrist, Levy, Part of Alachua) 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 further debate or candidate forum is scheduled in this race (checked Oct. 17, 2026).
- 2026-09-27 · Bob Graham Center for Public Service, with questions led by the League of Women Voters of Alachua County, Pugh Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville; candidate Q&A. Held (not in the guide's Oct. 7 events list).
Democrat Amy Trask took part; Republican Rep. Chad Johnson did not attend (scheduling conflict or illness, per the local League president).
Candidates
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Chad Johnson
A sixth-generation Floridian with a University of Florida degree in food and resource economics, Johnson lives in Levy County, where he served on the county commission from 2009 to 2014 and led the county Farm Bureau. He is a past president of the Florida Auctioneers Association and was elected to the House in 2024.
Amy Trask
Trask, 33, is a seventh-generation Floridian, mother of two and domestic-violence survivor who lives in Gainesville. She has drafted several bipartisan bills on domestic violence and child welfare as a private citizen, including the HAVEN Act, and ran for the HD 22 Democratic nomination in 2024.
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 | Chad Johnson Republican | Amy Trask Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Johnson told News4JAX he favors reduced taxes so people keep more of their earnings, and his site promises tax relief. | 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 Voted for HJR 203 (Feb. 19, 2026), which would phase out all non-school property taxes on homesteads, and for HJR 1F (June 2, 2026), which placed the Amendment 3 homestead-exemption increase on the November ballot. His website says inflation, property taxes and rising fees are hurting families. | 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. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· stated position Told News4JAX that affordable housing should be addressed by adding supply through zoning changes and smaller lots. | Leans agree· stated position Asked about Florida's greatest challenges, Trask named the affordability crisis and the strain on the state's health care and housing systems, saying families are being priced out of stability. She said addressing it will require practical, bipartisan solutions that strengthen the workforce and expand access to essential services. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for SB 2-C in the February 2025 special session, which created a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, required state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and added state penalties for people in the country illegally. His website says Florida must keep leading on border security. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Leans disagree· stated position Johnson describes himself as pro-life on his campaign site; he did not detail a position on the six-week law. | No public position found |
| 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 Voted for HB 759 (2025) and HB 133 (2026), which would lower the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 21 to 18; both passed the House and died in the Senate. His site describes him as pro-gun. | 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 | Leans agree· stated position In her 2026 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, Trask lists health care among the policy areas she is passionate about and says she is committed to improving access to mental and physical health care, especially in rural communities. She says she wants to be known for crafting solutions to Florida's affordability and health care crises and for expanding access to essential services. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· stated position His website says he will always fight for school choice and parental rights. | 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 | Leans agree· stated position At the Sept. 27 League of Women Voters forum in Gainesville, Trask joined HD 10 Democrat Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson in voicing concern about water conservation (as summarized by the reporter; no direct quote on this point). |
| 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 Trask lists upholding home rule - local governments' authority to set their own policies - among the causes she is committed to in her Ballotpedia survey. |
| 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. | 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. | 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chad Johnson | 0.67 (3 statements) | 1.75 (4 statements) |
| Amy Trask | 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.
Chad Johnson
- Farmland and water — Says he will fight sales of Florida farmland to foreign adversaries, defend the agricultural tax exemption and block exporting the district's water to South Florida.
Amy Trask
- Domestic violence and child welfare — Authored the HAVEN Act (a discreet way for victims to notify police), a Survivor Self-Defense Act, a Safe Shelter Act and a Fostering with Dignity Act; says the HAVEN Act passed the Senate unanimously.