Florida House, District 31
Represents District 31 in the Florida House of Representatives; 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
Central Florida Public Media's Aug. 18, 2026 live results: 'House District 31: Republican Matt Woodside won his primary and will face Democrat Daniel Lewis Cicirelli' . Cicirelli's campaign site and a Space Coast Rocket questionnaire confirm his candidacy. Research limitation: every WebFetch (Ballotpedia, Wikipedia, Division of Elections, county SOEs, news sites) was blocked and the search budget was capped, so this roster comes only from search-result snippets and should be re-verified against the county Supervisor of Elections sample ballot.
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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Matt Woodside
Republican nominee for HD 31 (Brevard County) after winning the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary.
Daniel "Dan" Cicirelli
Democratic nominee for HD 31; his campaign describes him as Brevard-born and raised. Completed a 2026 Space Coast Rocket candidate questionnaire (content not readable in this sandbox).
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 | Matt Woodside Republican | Daniel "Dan" Cicirelli Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Supports tax reduction, small-business deregulation and fiscal responsibility. | 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. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Calls himself a lower-tax fiscal conservative who agrees with the amendment's intent but warned local governments would be squeezed and impact fees raised; said he was undecided on the measure. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Calls Amendment 3 a disaster and says cutting property taxes would not offset insurance costs while cutting fire and drainage services. |
| 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 Lists tort reform and expanding the insurance market as his approach to insurance costs. | Strongly agrees· stated position Would co-sponsor rate-cap legislation limiting annual homeowners premium increases, open insurer filings to public review and take hurricane risk into a state catastrophe fund. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· stated position Prefers targeted incentives, streamlined permitting for affordable housing inland, zoning streamlining and a larger homestead exemption rather than density mandates. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports an accessory-dwelling bill, down-payment assistance, community land trusts, limits on hedge-fund home buying, repealing the 2023 preemption of local tenant protections and restoring the Sadowski fund. |
| 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 His platform says every life from conception is a miracle and pledges to advance pro-life policies. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports abortion access without government restriction and would restore the pre-ban viability standard. |
| 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· stated position A lifetime NRA member, he supports constitutional carry and expanding Second Amendment rights. | 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 Would file for Medicaid expansion, backfill lost ACA subsidies with a state program and says he supports a single-payer system. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports expanding school choice and homeschool freedom along with higher teacher pay. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Opposes further voucher expansion and wants accountability for the $3.9 billion voucher program. |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Leans agree· stated position Supports legislation combating pollution and protecting waterways. | Strongly agrees· stated position Calls protecting and restoring the Indian River Lagoon non-negotiable and proposes higher penalties for runoff violations and faster septic-to-sewer funding. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Opposes Live Local Act expansions that limit local control, would vote no on every preemption bill and says density decisions belong to local communities. |
| 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 Supports voter ID requirements and ballot security measures. | Leans agree· stated position Would have the state verify citizenship through existing records, waive document fees and fund document clinics. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | Leans disagree· stated position Favors expanding juvenile civil citations instead of arrests, citing lower recidivism. |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | Leans agree· stated position Says he led a two-year effort against what he calls harmful gender policies in schools and opposes such policies. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Would co-sponsor a Florida Equal Rights Act covering sexual orientation and gender identity and vote against preempting local anti-discrimination protections. |
| 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· stated position Says Florida electricity is the most expensive in the nation because of inadequate Public Service Commission regulation. |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Woodside | 0.25 (4 statements) | 1.17 (6 statements) |
| Daniel "Dan" Cicirelli | -1.80 (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.
Matt Woodside
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Daniel "Dan" Cicirelli
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.