Florida House, District 36
Represents District 36 (Part of Seminole) 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.
Sources: dos.elections.myflorida.com
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.
- on or before 2026-10-07 (exact date not stated; reported Oct. 7) · Student-questions candidate forum for Seminole County Florida House races, held by the Seminole County Council PTA with the League of Women Voters, moderated by Oviedo Community News; video posted. HELD. Questions from students covered arts funding, school libraries and media specialists, recess, school resource officers and Amendment 3, and investor purchases of single-family homes.
Democrat Darryl Block took part. Republican Rachel Plakon was invited but did not attend; the report says no Republican candidates attended.
Candidates
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Rachel Plakon
Plakon, of Lake Mary, owns a real estate investment company and brokerage and previously worked as a commercial land specialist. She holds an MBA from Florida International University, served on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women and was elected to the House in 2022.
Darryl Block
Block, 45, of Sanford, holds social work degrees from USF and Florida State and a law degree from Barry University. He describes himself as a working parent of a child with disabilities and a product of public schools.
Side-by-side on the major issues
AgreeDiffer a littleDiffer stronglyNot enough data· hover for details, click to jump to the row
Taxes & spendingProperty taxesProperty insuranceHousing affordabilityImmigrationAbortionGunsHealth careEducation & school choiceEnvironment & waterGrowth & developmentMarijuanaElections & votingCrime & policingGender identity lawsEnergy & utilitiesTrump administrationVeterans
Where the candidates in this race split, issue by issue.
Strongly agreesLeans agreeMixed / neutralLeans disagreeStrongly disagreesNo public position found
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 | Rachel Plakon Republican | Darryl Block Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· stated position Her site calls her a champion for lower taxes and cites record $4.2 billion in tax cuts. | 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. | Strongly disagrees· stated position In the Oviedo Community News general-election questionnaire (Sept. 30, 2026) Block said he will vote No on Amendment 3, the property-tax measure, arguing it cuts local revenue with no replacement plan and shifts costs onto fees, renters and small businesses and out of schools, fire rescue and law enforcement. He said he supports targeted relief for seniors and working homeowners instead. |
| 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· based on record Voted for SB 2-A (Dec. 2022), the December 2022 property-insurance law that ended one-way attorney fees and assignment of benefits and created a state reinsurance program, a market-based approach; a vote for it is coded as leaning against more direct state intervention. | Leans agree· stated position Wants premium relief measured by lower rates, with stronger insurer transparency, a stronger catastrophe and reinsurance framework and requirements that savings reach consumers. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· based on record Voted for CS/SB 102 (2023), the 2023 Live Local Act that put $711 million into state housing programs, required local governments to allow multifamily housing in commercial areas when at least 40 percent of units are affordable, and created property-tax exemptions for affordable developments; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward more government action on housing. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports fully funding the Sadowski trust funds, permanently affordable housing and local flexibility on housing. |
| 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. She also sponsored HB 1589 aimed at illegal immigration. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Asked whether he agrees with current federal and state immigration enforcement, Block said he does not, describing Florida's current approach as cruel and expensive and saying enforcement should focus on people who threaten public safety and respect due process. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for SB 300 (2023), the Heartbeat Protection Act, which bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports abortion access as health care before viability and later when a physician deems it necessary; opposes criminal penalties. |
| 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 543 (2023), which allowed carrying a concealed firearm without a license, and for HB 759 (2025) and HB 133 (2026), which would lower the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 21 to 18. | Strongly agrees· stated position Would reinstate protections adopted after the Parkland shooting and opposes letting 18-year-olds buy assault-style weapons. |
| 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 Says Florida should expand Medicaid and stop leaving federal dollars on the table. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for HB 1 (2023), which opened Florida's private-school scholarship (voucher) programs to every K-12 student regardless of family income. Her site lists support for school choice. | Leans disagree· stated position Wants charter schools held to transparent accountability and priorities public-school teacher pay and Bright Futures funding. |
| 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 Supports the Florida Forever program and more state conservation-land purchases. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position Supports keeping Seminole County's rural boundary and voted to let local governments decide on data centers. | Strongly agrees· stated position Says the state has tilted too far from local control and Seminole's Rural Boundary should not be undone by Tallahassee. |
| 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. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for SB 7050 (2023), the 2023 elections law that raised penalties and shortened deadlines for third-party voter-registration groups and changed vote-by-mail and voter-roll procedures. | Leans agree· stated position Opposes new barriers to the ballot and wants free records if proof of citizenship is required; his site backs expanding voting access. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position Cites HB 365 to hold drug dealers accountable and a ban on tianeptine, and pledges to maintain law and order. | Leans disagree· stated position Says prisons should focus primarily on rehabilitation. |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for SB 254 (2023), the 2023 law barring gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and restricting it for adults. | 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 disagree· based on record Voted for 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. | Leans agree· stated position Wants to make solar energy more affordable for families. |
| 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 | Leans agree· stated position Pledges to fight for funding increases and state-federal partnerships for veterans. |
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.
RepublicanDemocratic· photo or initials inside each bubble · hover or tap for details
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rachel Plakon | 1.00 (5 statements) | 1.86 (7 statements) |
| Darryl Block | -1.60 (5 statements) | -1.43 (7 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Rachel Plakon
- Fundraising — As of Sept. 18 Plakon had raised $196,285, including $61,406 from Republican groups, according to state records cited by the Orlando Sentinel.
Darryl Block
- Data centers and utility rates — Block said companies should have to disclose how much energy and water a data-center project will use and that large users should pay for the plants and lines they need rather than passing costs to residential bills.
- Fundraising — As of Sept. 18 Block had raised $33,972, mostly small donations plus $15,025 of his own money, according to state records cited by the Orlando Sentinel.