Florida House, District 59
Represents District 59 (Part of Pinellas) 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 ↗Berny Jacques
Seminole-area Republican elected to the Florida House in 2022. A former prosecutor and civil litigator with degrees from Washington Adventist University and Stetson University College of Law, he was appointed by Gov. DeSantis to the 6th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. He says affordability is the state's most …
Susan Leff
Largo resident with more than 40 years in marketing, sales and business development who now works in networking and consulting. A graduate of Largo High School, St. Petersburg Junior College and the University of South Florida, she was adopted at five days old and describes herself as not a career politician.
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 | Berny Jacques Republican | Susan Leff Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Jacques named cost of living as the top issue and listed lowering taxes and fees first among his fixes. | 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 He voted for HJR 1-F and has publicly defended Amendment 3, saying local governments have other places to cut and accusing the City of Largo of using public safety as a scare tactic against the measure. | 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. | 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. | Strongly agrees· stated position Leff said she would work to lower property-insurance costs, increase insurer transparency, and oppose unjustified utility rate increases, with public reporting on results. |
| 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 Leff said she would fully fund affordable-housing programs, and would spend a $1 million appropriation on a District 59 housing-stability initiative covering emergency rent and mortgage assistance, rehabilitation of affordable housing, and homelessness prevention. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted yes on SB 2-C (2025), which created the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, required state help with federal detainers, barred driver licenses for unauthorized immigrants, and funded an Unauthorized Alien Transport Program. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted yes on SB 300 (2023), the law that limits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. | Strongly agrees· stated position She says personal medical decisions belong to individuals, not politicians, and emphasizes a woman's right to choose. |
| 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 yes on HB 543 (2023), which allows carrying a concealed firearm without a state license. | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans disagree· stated position Asked how Florida should handle Medicaid, Jacques said the focus should be on waste, fraud and abuse rather than on changing eligibility. | Strongly agrees· stated position Leff told the Times Florida should expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap, with simpler enrollment and taxpayer oversight. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted yes on HB 1 (2023), which removed income limits and enrollment caps so state scholarship funds can follow any K-12 student to private or 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. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position She says pollution and unchecked development have put waterways and coasts under pressure and calls for coastline protection and clean-water investment. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position Jacques said he voted for the current law letting counties and cities ban data centers in their communities, which also bars data centers from passing energy costs to consumers and includes water protections. | Strongly agrees· stated position Leff said Florida should require strong oversight of AI and data centers, with employment guarantees, a municipal bond or comparable financial guarantee, community input and independent oversight. |
| 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 Leff told VOTE411 that if proof of citizenship is required she would support free or low-cost records and having election officials verify citizenship through government records rather than placing the burden on voters. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Strongly agrees· stated position A former prosecutor, he says public safety starts with backing law enforcement and that government should never cut public-safety funding. | 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. | Leans agree· stated position Leff said she would oppose unjustified utility rate increases and require measurable public reporting on utility costs. |
| 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 She proposes ending veteran homelessness, expanding mental-health support and ensuring quality health care 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Berny Jacques | 0.83 (6 statements) | 2.00 (7 statements) |
| Susan Leff | -1.75 (4 statements) | -1.33 (3 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Berny Jacques
- Affordability — In a Tampa Bay 28 questionnaire he called affordability the most important issue and said he has passed bills addressing cost of living.
Susan Leff
- Property insurance — She pledges to bring solutions to stabilize and reduce homeowners insurance premiums; no mechanism specified.
- Health care costs — She calls for affordable prescriptions and protecting Medicare.
- Education — She supports expanding VPK, equitable K-12 funding and affordable higher education.