Florida House, District 45
Represents District 45 (Parts of Orange, Osceola) 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
Report an error ↗Erin Huntley
Huntley, a mother of three who has lived in Central Florida for nearly two decades, chaired the Orange County Republican Party and was appointed by Gov. DeSantis to the Florida Virtual School Board of Trustees. Her private-sector career includes roles at Walt Disney Parks, JetBlue Airways and DECA Inc.
Leonard Spencer
Spencer, 55, of Gotha, holds finance degrees from Tuskegee University and the University of Alabama and has worked as a business executive partnering large companies with small businesses. He unseated Rep. Carolina Amesty in 2024 and is the only House Democrat representing a district carried by Donald Trump.
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 | Erin Huntley Republican | Leonard Spencer Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Pledges to keep taxes low and cut wasteful government spending. | 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· stated position Huntley said she supports reducing homestead property taxes while protecting schools, emergency services and infrastructure, and would look first to cutting wasteful spending. | Mixed / neutral· based on record Voted for HJR 203 in February 2026 but against HJR 1F in June 2026, and has said the Legislature had to do ad hoc analysis before voting on the amendment. |
| 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 Huntley said she would lower insurance costs mainly by fighting fraud. | Leans agree· stated position Sponsored HB 343 to create an Insurance Advisory Council for stronger oversight and transparency, and says he will keep filing insurance-accountability bills. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports fully funding the Sadowski trust funds and removing barriers to workforce housing near jobs and transit. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Leans agree· stated position Huntley said she believes in strong borders and enforcing the law, which she said voters have asked for. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted against SB 2-C, the 2025 special-session immigration enforcement law. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Leans disagree· stated position Asked about Amendment 4, she said the Republican Party of Florida and Orange County GOP opposed it and that is where she aligns; she has not detailed her own position on the six-week law. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports a woman's right to choose without government interference. |
| 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). | No public position found | Leans agree· based on record Voted against HB 759 (2025), which would have lowered the long-gun purchase age from 21 to 18. |
| 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 must expand Medicaid and draw down federal funds, plus raise reimbursement rates and expand community health centers. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· stated position Campaigns on expanding educational opportunities through school choice and literacy programs. | Leans disagree· stated position His site says he wants to keep public dollars in neighborhood public schools and fund them to address the teacher shortage. |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Leans agree· stated position Huntley names protecting local water resources as the top environmental issue and says she will focus on state funding to convert septic systems to sewer near local lakes. | Leans agree· stated position Spencer named protecting clean water as Florida's top environmental issue, calling for wastewater and septic-to-sewer investment and protection of wetlands and aquifer recharge areas from irresponsible development. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Mixed / neutral· stated position Huntley calls herself a supporter of home rule for local governments, but adds that property owners' right to sell and develop their land should not be taken away. | Leans agree· stated position Says home rule keeps being eroded and Florida must restore local authority, including on housing costs. |
| 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. | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Co-sponsored HB 1419, the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act, and opposes new barriers to voting. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position Lists supporting law enforcement and keeping communities safe among her priorities. | 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. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Spencer says data centers must pay the full cost of the energy and infrastructure they need, and that regulators should put existing ratepayers first and review projects' effects on rates before approval. |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Erin Huntley | 1.00 (3 statements) | 0.80 (5 statements) |
| Leonard Spencer | -1.20 (5 statements) | -1.33 (6 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Erin Huntley
- Fundraising — The Orlando Sentinel reported Huntley had raised about $277,000 and spent about $80,000.
Leonard Spencer
- Fundraising — The Orlando Sentinel reported Spencer had raised about $93,000 (including a $17,500 self-loan) and spent about $67,000, with about $72,000 on hand in his political committee.