Florida House, District 46
Represents District 46 (Part of 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 ↗
Michael Cruz
Cruz served in the U.S. Army from 1979 to 1986, attended Caribbean University in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and works in real estate. He was the 2024 Republican nominee in HD 46, losing to Alvarez, and is running again in 2026.
Jose Alvarez
Alvarez, 62, moved to Florida in 1974 and lives in Kissimmee, where he served on the city commission from 2012 and as mayor from 2016 to 2020. A former HUD regional administrator and past president of the Osceola County Association of Realtors, he was elected to the House in 2024.
Ivan Rivera
Ivan Rivera is a Kissimmee resident running with no party affiliation; local coverage describes him as a medical professional and refers to him as Dr. Ivan Rivera. He also ran for House District 46 as an NPA candidate in 2022 and 2024, receiving about 3.4% of the vote in 2024. In 2026 he faces Democratic incumbent Jos…
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 | Michael Cruz Republican | Jose Alvarez Democratic | Ivan Rivera No Party Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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· stated position Cruz said he will vote yes on the property-tax amendment and supports replacing property taxes with another funding system for schools and public safety. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted against both HJR 203 and HJR 1F and says he will vote no on Amendment 3 because it would hit counties, cities, schools and renters. Sources: Floor Vote for CS/HJR 1F, Save Our Homes from Excessive Pro… (2026-06-02) · Floor Vote for CS/CS/HJR 203, Elimination of Non-school Pro… (2026-02-19) · 2026 Voter's Guide - Florida House District 46, Democratic … (2026-07-31) · Legislative, local government leaders talk session, propert… (2026-07-16) | 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. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· stated position Cruz said he supports increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing and speeding up permitting. | Leans agree· stated position Backs public-private partnerships, targeted tax credits and streamlined permitting for workforce housing. | No public position found |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Cruz said immigration policy should be balanced, combining border security, due process and a reliable legal pathway for immigrants who contribute. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted against SB 2-C, the 2025 special-session immigration enforcement law. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Leans disagree· stated position Cruz said he personally holds pro-life views but that abortion policy should be governed by existing law. | Leans agree· stated position Asked whether Florida's abortion restrictions should be stricter or looser, Alvarez answered "less strict" without elaborating. | No public position found |
| 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 disagree· based on record Voted for HB 759 (2025) and HB 133 (2026), which would lower the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun to 18; he was the only Democrat voting for HB 133. | 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 | Leans agree· stated position His site calls for patient-centered reforms to expand affordable coverage and tackle drug costs. | No public position found |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | 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 Cruz named flooding and water quality caused by rapid development as the top environmental issue and supports protecting wetlands and requiring stormwater management in new growth. | Leans agree· stated position Emphasizes protecting wetlands, the aquifer and water quality through smart growth. | No public position found |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position Cruz said new developments should be required to help fund the infrastructure growth needs. | Leans agree· stated position Says data-center developers should pay for utility and road upgrades and favors smart-growth policies protecting sensitive lands. | No public position found |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | No public position found | 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 | No public position found | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position In his 2026 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, Cruz lists improving public safety among his priorities and says he supports law enforcement and first responders. He does not say in the survey whether he would change criminal penalties or police funding levels. | 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 | 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 Cruz says utility regulators should protect consumers by making data centers pay their fair share and keeping utility rates fair and transparent. | Leans agree· stated position Alvarez says data center developers should pay for the electric, water, sewer and road upgrades they need, and that regulators should require water-efficient cooling and review aquifer impacts before approval. | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | Leans agree· stated position Cruz, who describes himself as a U.S. Army veteran, says supporting veterans and first responders is among the policy areas he is personally passionate about. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Cruz | 0.00 (3 statements) | 0.25 (4 statements) |
| Jose Alvarez | -1.25 (4 statements) | -0.50 (4 statements) |
| Ivan Rivera | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Michael Cruz
- Property insurance — Cruz lists addressing Florida's property insurance challenges among his top priorities but does not describe in his Ballotpedia survey what changes he would make.
Jose Alvarez
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Ivan Rivera
- Background sources — No campaign website, questionnaire answers or public issue statements were found; biographical details come from local election coverage.