Florida House, District 42
Represents District 42 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
Ballotpedia's HD 42 page: 'Felipe Sousa Lazaballet (D) and Bonnie Jackson (R) are running in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 42 on November 3, 2026' ; Wikipedia's 2026 election page notes Eskamani is term-limited and running for Orlando mayor. 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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Felipe Sousa Lazaballet
Democratic nominee for the open HD 42 seat (Orlando area) in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.
Bonnie Jackson
Republican nominee for the open HD 42 seat (Orlando area) in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.
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 | Felipe Sousa Lazaballet Democratic | Bonnie Jackson Republican |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Plans to vote no on Amendment 3, saying voters raise insurance far more often than property taxes; favors a targeted circuit breaker for seniors instead. | Strongly agrees· stated position Calls property tax the second-largest household expense and says the amendment also helps renters by limiting non-homestead assessment increases; wants to revisit relief after November. |
| 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 agree· stated position Says premiums rose more than 40% since 2022 and pledges property insurance reforms that protect Floridians. | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Strongly agrees· stated position Calls housing a human right; would reserve the Sadowski fund for affordable housing, back a renters' bill of rights and support co-living, ADUs and repurposed commercial property. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Supports expanding affordable housing and improving the Live Local Act but opposes rent control. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly disagrees· stated position A former undocumented immigrant, he opposes what he calls anti-immigrant laws and the state detention facility and wants to end required ICE cooperation by local jails. | Leans agree· stated position Asked if she agrees with current federal and state immigration enforcement, Jackson said yes, saying Floridians expect the law to be enforced. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports no restrictions on abortion and would work to repeal existing bans. | Leans disagree· stated position In 2022 she said abortion should be allowed for the life of the mother and in some cases of rape, incest or trafficking; in 2026 she says the issue is not on the ballot and she respects human life. |
| 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 agrees· stated position Supports common-sense gun reform and opposed the bill lowering the purchase age from 21 to 18. | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Strongly agrees· stated position Committed to expanding Medicaid and funding mental health services. | Leans disagree· stated position Favors price transparency and banning physician non-compete clauses to increase competition rather than expanding government coverage. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly disagrees· stated position Opposes public-school privatization and favors fully funded public schools. | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Strongly agrees· stated position Backs land and water conservation, opposes fracking and criticizes sprawl that destroys the environment. | Leans agree· stated position Her site calls for protecting water resources, no construction on agricultural or greenbelt land and no taxpayer subsidies for data centers. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports a statewide moratorium on new data centers, home rule and protecting the rural boundary from state encroachment. | Leans disagree· stated position Says preemption has a place and she would not repeal laws limiting local governments from adding restrictive development rules. |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | Leans agree· stated position Advocates decriminalizing cannabis. | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports restoring voting rights to people who completed sentences and full implementation of 2018's Amendment 4. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Supports Florida's new documentary proof-of-citizenship law and in 2022 said she would prioritize removing voter drop boxes. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Favors rehabilitation over incarceration, reforming the penal code and decriminalizing HIV and cannabis. | Leans agree· stated position Describes herself as tough on crime with constitutional protections and prefers intervention for juveniles. |
| 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 disagrees· stated position An LGBTQ Floridian, he criticizes bills restricting classroom discussion of LGBTQ topics and advocates anti-discrimination protections. | 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. | Strongly agrees· stated position Prioritizes reducing fossil-fuel reliance, promoting solar and tracking data centers' effect on utility costs. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Felipe Sousa Lazaballet | -1.80 (5 statements) | -1.89 (9 statements) |
| Bonnie Jackson | 1.00 (3 statements) | 0.80 (5 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Felipe Sousa Lazaballet
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Bonnie Jackson
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.