Florida House, District 39
Represents District 39 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
Search-result summaries of Seminole County 2026 election coverage (Oviedo Community News; Ballotpedia's Seminole County 2026 page) state incumbent Republican Doug Bankson will face Democrat Jarod Fox in November after defeating Carlos F. Johary Sr. in the Republican primary ; . 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.
Sources: oviedocommunitynews.org · ballotpedia.org
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 Jarod Fox took part. Republican Doug Bankson was invited but did not attend; the report says no Republican candidates attended.
Candidates
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Doug Bankson
Incumbent Republican state representative for HD 39 (Apopka area; parts of Orange and Seminole counties), first elected 2022. Won the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary over Carlos F. Johary Sr.
Jarod Fox
Dr. Jarod Fox, an Orlando Health infectious-disease specialist, is the Democratic nominee against Rep. Doug Bankson. His campaign says it prioritizes lowering health-care costs, funding public education and investing in small businesses (The Apopka Chief, April 8, 2026). Endorsements reported include 314 Action Fund, …
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 | Doug Bankson Republican | Jarod Fox Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | No public position found | 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. | Leans agree· based on record Voted for CS/HJR 1-F (2026), the June 2026 joint resolution that placed Amendment 3 on the ballot to raise the non-school homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028 and let counties and cities exempt homesteads entirely; because the vote sent the question to voters rather than cutting taxes itself, a vote for it is coded as leaning toward sharply reducing homestead property taxes rather than as full agreement. | Leans disagree· stated position Says property taxes fund schools, public safety and infrastructure, so broad cuts could harm communities; he prefers to focus on insurance costs. |
| 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 Calls property insurance a more urgent problem than property taxes and says the Legislature should lower costs and increase transparency and accountability in the market. |
| 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 Affordable Housing Trust Fund, giving local governments tools to build workforce housing, help for first-time buyers and protections for renters. |
| 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 (2025), the February 2025 special-session immigration law that created a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, made entering Florida as an unauthorized immigrant a state crime and required local cooperation with federal detention. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Fox said he does not agree with the current approach, objects to pulling local police into federal enforcement, and wants pathways for long-settled immigrants, while backing enforcement aimed at public-safety threats. |
| 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 2023 law limiting most abortions to six weeks of pregnancy. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports access to abortion, says decisions should be made by patients and doctors, and says physicians should not face criminal penalties for medically appropriate care. |
| 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), the 2023 law allowing adults to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. | 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 Fox, an infectious-disease physician, says Florida should expand Medicaid to cover the more than one million Floridians he says fall into the coverage gap, and calls for strengthening the health-care workforce and lowering costs for working families. |
| 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), the 2023 law that made every Florida student eligible for a state-funded scholarship usable at private schools or for home education. | 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 In the Oviedo Community News general-election questionnaire (Sept. 30, 2026) Bankson said water issues should top the state's environmental list so the aquifer is protected and waterways preserved, and named restoring Lake Apopka as a personal priority. He did not address whether protection should come ahead of development. | Leans agree· stated position Fox says he supports responsible growth that balances development against a healthy natural environment, protecting Florida's water resources and investing in resilient infrastructure. |
| 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 Says Florida has gone too far in preempting local governments and that local leaders should have authority over responsible growth; pledges to work to roll back preemptions. |
| 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 Says that if new documentary proof-of-citizenship rules come, Florida should use existing records, give clear guidance and keep document costs from blocking eligible voters. |
| 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. | 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. | Strongly agrees· stated position Fox said regulators should make data centers pay the full cost of serving them and that he supports investing in renewable clean energy. |
| 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Doug Bankson | 0.50 (4 statements) | 1.57 (7 statements) |
| Jarod Fox | -1.60 (5 statements) | -1.50 (4 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Doug Bankson
- Vaccines and medical freedom — In a Sept. 20, 2026 VoxPopuli story on the District 39 race, Bankson described himself as a 'selective vaxxer' rather than anti-vaccine and said parents should be able to question vaccine requirements. He said he lost trust in medical institutions when COVID-19 vaccines were fast-tracked, questioned the number of childhood shots, and said data he reviewed led him to conclude measles is not a deadly disease.
- Data centers, micro-nuclear power and replacing property-tax revenue — Bankson said data centers should be required to use closed-loop, net-neutral water systems and to produce their own power, and said he would pursue micro-nuclear generation, which he said could create revenue to help replace reduced property-tax collections. He said he will vote yes on Amendment 3 and listed possible replacement revenue including a trust fund funded by a sales-tax or tourism surcharge.
- Replacing local revenue if Amendment 3 passes — In the Central Florida Public Media guide, Bankson listed ways to fund a state trust fund for local governments if the homestead amendment passes, including a 1% sales-tax increase, a tourist-stay surcharge and front license-plate revenue.
Jarod Fox
- — Says patients are forced to choose between medical care, groceries and rent, and that many end up hospitalized because they cannot afford medications.
- Public schools and local control — Fox says every child deserves a high-quality public education regardless of ZIP code, and calls for supporting teachers and expanding career and technical education. He also says decisions should be returned to local leaders rather than one-size-fits-all mandates from Tallahassee.
- Vaccines and public health — In a Sept. 20, 2026 VoxPopuli story on the District 39 race, Fox, an infectious-disease physician at Orlando Health, said he supports vaccine mandates because about 95% community coverage is needed to stop measles from spreading, and that other countries that dropped mandates could not reach sufficient vaccination rates. He said an individual's decision not to vaccinate affects others, particularly immunocompromised people who cannot be vaccinated. He said he is running in part because no physicians currently serve in the Legislature.