Florida House, District 6
Represents District 6 (Bay) 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 ↗Tricia Berry
Former nurse practitioner in burn, trauma orthopedic surgery and dermatology who has been active in the Panama City area for over 15 years. She was appointed by Gov. DeSantis to the Gulf Coast State College board of trustees and is involved with the Boys and Girls Club and Bay County Chamber. Ran unopposed in the Repu…
Stephanie Leonard
Panama City and Lynn Haven native who works as a nurse anesthetist at a local hospital and previously co-managed her family's automobile dealership in downtown Panama City. She returned home in 2020 to care for her mother. Won the Aug. 18, 2026 Democratic primary.
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 | Tricia Berry Republican | Stephanie Leonard 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. | No public position found | 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 | Leans agree· stated position Asked whether insurance or property taxes worried the public more, she said property insurance costs have far outpaced property taxes and accused insurers of hiding profits through affiliate transfers outside Florida. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position In the VOTE411 questionnaire she proposed requiring a share of large multifamily developments to be set aside for certain income levels and increasing first-time homebuyer incentives. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | No public position found | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Asked by the League of Women Voters when she would support access to abortion, Leonard said she would restore the access Florida allowed before Roe v. Wade was overturned, and said current limits deny women reproductive 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). | No public position found | 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 She told VOTE411 that Florida should fund and keep Medicaid at current levels, noting that health care is unavailable to many people at poverty level and that employers keep shifting costs to employees. Her website says she would expand access to affordable health care and support for veterans. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | 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. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Her campaign website lists protecting springs, bays and beaches, stopping pollution and planning 'smart growth' among her priorities. |
| 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 She supports smart planning that protects infrastructure, water systems and the character of Bay County communities. |
| 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 | Leans agree· stated position Asked how she would help Floridians who lack citizenship documents if proof were required, she called for faster and free processing of birth and marriage records and immediate voter document assistance at county offices. |
| 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. | 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 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tricia Berry | not enough data | not enough data |
| Stephanie Leonard | -1.33 (3 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.
Tricia Berry
- Campaign themes — Her website promises common-sense conservative leadership, support for local businesses and making Florida more affordable; it takes no specific issue positions.
- General campaign message — Berry's campaign website carries her filing announcement, in which she says Bay County voters want 'common sense, Constitutional, conservative leadership' and that she wants to support local businesses, make Florida more affordable and protect what she calls the conservative gains made under Gov. Ron DeSantis. The site lists no specific policy positions.
- Health care, economic development and veterans — The description of a July 2026 local podcast interview says Berry discussed her move from nurse practitioner to candidate, health care access, economic development, infrastructure for local businesses, and advocacy for the military and veterans, citing Tyndall Air Force Base and the commissioning of the USS Pierre.
- Did not answer the League of Women Voters questionnaire — The VOTE411 guide for State Representative 6 lists Berry's website and Facebook page and records 'Candidate has not yet responded' for all seven questions.
Stephanie Leonard
- Cost of living — She says she supports practical solutions to ease rising insurance, electricity, grocery and rent costs.
- Public schools — Her website calls for fully funding public schools and supporting teachers.
- State preemption of local government — Asked about home rule, Leonard said the state should not be able to determine what is best for local governments and that people lose the ability to decide what happens in their own neighborhoods when the state controls municipalities.
- Public schools and affordability — Her website lists fully funding public schools and supporting teachers, lowering the cost of groceries, rent, electricity and insurance, and creating jobs without raising costs on families.