Florida House, District 32
Represents District 32 (Part of Brevard) 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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Brian Hodgers
Hodgers, 53, of Viera, owns an insurance and real estate business and holds a business degree from Florida Atlantic University. He won a June 2025 special election to succeed Debbie Mayfield and describes himself as the only insurance agent in the Florida House.
Juan Hinojosa
Hinojosa, 73, was born in Falfurrias, Texas, earned a biology and chemistry degree from Texas A&M-Kingsville and served 30 years in the Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2012. He lost the June 2025 HD 32 special election to Hodgers and now works as a security officer in Melbourne.
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 | Brian Hodgers Republican | Juan Hinojosa Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Hodgers calls rising property taxes the district's biggest issue and says he will keep pushing for property tax relief and less wasteful spending, while keeping essential services funded. | 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. He told News 6 he supports the amendment and told Vote411 property taxes are now the top concern he hears at the door. Sources: Floor Vote for CS/CS/HJR 203, Elimination of Non-school Pro… (2026-02-19) · Floor Vote for CS/HJR 1F, Save Our Homes from Excessive Pro… (2026-06-02) · State Representative 32 — VOTE411 Voter Guide (League of Wo… (2026-09) · 2026 Voter's Guide - Florida House District 32, Republican … (2026-07-31) | 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. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Says the 2023 litigation reforms stabilized the market and favors reducing fraud and increasing competition rather than more state intervention. | Leans agree· stated position Calls for legislative oversight of the insurance commissioner's rate decisions and criticizes insurers shifting profits to affiliates; wants HB 541 auto-coverage mandate amended. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Mixed / neutral· stated position Favors streamlining permitting and zoning and public-private workforce housing partnerships, but says the answer is more supply rather than government dependency. | Leans agree· stated position Says the state needs a plan prioritizing starter-home construction and proposes a state low-interest home loan program. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Leans agree· stated position Hodgers said he agrees with current federal and state enforcement and supports border security, enforcement of existing law and state-federal cooperation. | 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 Describes himself as pro-life and supports abortion only when the mother's life is at serious risk or in cases of rape or incest, consistent with current law. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports abortion access for medical, mental-health, rape, incest, fetal-anomaly and personal-choice reasons. |
| 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 133 (2026), which would lower the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 21 to 18; he is a lifetime NRA member. | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Strongly disagrees· stated position Opposes expanding government programs, saying Medicaid should stay focused on the truly vulnerable and Florida should pursue market-based solutions. | Strongly agrees· stated position Fully supports Medicaid expansion and calls health care a human right. |
| 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. | Leans agree· stated position Prioritizes the Indian River Lagoon and says more county sales-tax revenue should go to wastewater, septic and stormwater work. | No public position found |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans disagree· stated position Supports maintaining the current balance in which the state sets uniform policy and local governments should not undermine state law. | Leans agree· stated position Proposes an independent board to review state preemption laws and protect local home rule. |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Advocates decriminalizing marijuana with a 6% sales tax whose revenue would fund low-interest home loans. |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | Leans disagree· stated position Supports requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, while backing fee waivers to make it accessible. | Leans agree· stated position Would help voters obtain secondary proof of citizenship and vote against laws he views as voter suppression. |
| 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. | Leans agree· stated position Highlights his vote for a law preventing utilities from passing data-center costs to residential ratepayers. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Hodgers | 1.00 (6 statements) | 1.00 (5 statements) |
| Juan Hinojosa | -1.33 (3 statements) | -1.67 (3 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Brian Hodgers
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Juan Hinojosa
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.