Florida House, District 65
Represents District 65 (Part of Hillsborough) 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.
Sources: dos.elections.myflorida.com
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 ↗Karen Gonzalez Pittman
Third-generation Tampan and lifelong Hillsborough County resident with elementary education and measurement/evaluation degrees from USF. She taught for several years, worked in school evaluation offices and is vice president of public affairs for Vein911 and Health Performance Specialists. Married 25 years with four c…
Ben Braver
Science teacher who ran for state Senate District 23 in 2024 and is the Democratic nominee for HD 65 after the Aug. 18, 2026 primary.
Side-by-side on the major issues
AgreeDiffer a littleDiffer stronglyNot enough data· hover for details, click to jump to the row
Taxes & spendingProperty taxesProperty insuranceHousing affordabilityImmigrationAbortionGunsHealth careEducation & school choiceEnvironment & waterGrowth & developmentMarijuanaElections & votingCrime & policingGender identity lawsEnergy & utilitiesTrump administrationVeterans
Where the candidates in this race split, issue by issue.
Strongly agreesLeans agreeMixed / neutralLeans disagreeStrongly disagreesNo public position found
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 | Karen Gonzalez Pittman Republican | Ben Braver 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. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted yes on HJR 1-F in the June 2026 special session, which placed Amendment 3 on the November ballot to raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 and to limit how counties and cities may spend property-tax revenue. | 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. | Strongly agrees· stated position Gonzalez Pittman said she would extend Florida's 1977 excess-profits law, which covers auto and commercial lines, to homeowners policies so homeowners get refunds when insurers make too much, and that refunds from utilities or local governments should be automatic. | Strongly agrees· stated position Braver said bringing down insurance rates is a top priority and that the cost of living is high because monopolies control insurance, housing and energy; he would regulate companies with too much control and create a public option where competition does not exist. |
| 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 Braver said building truly affordable housing and mass transit is part of how he would lower living costs, and that money spent on data centers would do more good invested in affordable housing and schools. |
| 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). | Leans agree· based on record Voted no on SB 300 (2023), the law that limits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy; the roll call does not record a stated reason. | 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). | 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). | Mixed / neutral· stated position Asked whether Medicaid should be cut or expanded, Gonzalez Pittman took neither side, saying she supports strong oversight of managed-care plans, timely payments to providers and increased transparency. | Strongly agrees· stated position Braver said Medicaid needs to be expanded, which he said would cover about 800,000 more people with federal tax dollars Floridians have already paid. |
| 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. | Leans disagree· stated position Braver, a public-school teacher, said Florida should address teacher shortages, pay and classroom resources and should reduce spending on the voucher program. |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Leans agree· stated position Gonzalez Pittman said safeguarding power and water supplies should be one of two guiding principles on data centers, and that she would spend a $1 million appropriation accelerating a flood-reduction project. | Leans agree· stated position Braver, who teaches science, says protecting Florida's water supply, wetlands and natural resources from unsustainable development is a priority, and has spoken against energy-intensive 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 Gonzalez Pittman said stormwater needs to move faster and that Florida has to stop paving over quality of life before neighborhoods can handle new growth; she says she authored the state's new stormwater law. | Strongly agrees· stated position Braver said Florida should further regulate data centers, citing water use during the state's worst drought in 25 years, few permanent jobs, and public opposition. |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position In an interview with Suncoast NORML, Braver pointed out that Florida voters approved medical marijuana in 2016 and that a majority backed adult-use legalization in 2024, and argued lawmakers have not responded to those results. He also called for evidence-based employment protections so medical cannabis patients are not fired over tests that do not measure impairment. |
| 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. | No public position found |
| 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. | 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 agree· stated position Gonzalez Pittman said refunds should be automatic when big utilities or local governments overcharge residents, and that she supported SB 484 so no Floridian is billed for power sent to a data center. | Strongly agrees· stated position Braver said investing in solar energy is part of his plan to lower the cost of living. |
| 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.
RepublicanDemocratic· photo or initials inside each bubble · hover or tap for details
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Karen Gonzalez Pittman | -0.40 (5 statements) | 1.14 (7 statements) |
| Ben Braver | -2.00 (4 statements) | -1.00 (3 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Karen Gonzalez Pittman
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Ben Braver
- Hope Florida — He confronted Gov. DeSantis over the Hope Florida settlement, accusing him of taking $10 million from a Medicaid settlement for political committees.
- Platform — NORML reports his priorities include affordable housing, functional schools, lower costs, clean water, government accountability and workers' rights.
- Workers' rights and government accountability — Braver says Florida lacks a state Department of Labor and ties cannabis employment protections to broader worker-protection gaps. He also argues corporate and donor influence in Tallahassee has pulled lawmakers away from what ordinary Floridians want.
- Housing and transit — A profile of his campaign describes him running on what it calls kitchen-table ideas aimed at monopolistic landlords and housing costs, and on addressing urban sprawl with public transit.
- Teacher pay and money in politics — Braver named raising teacher wages his first priority, saying teachers must be able to afford to live in Florida, and getting big money out of politics his third. He said he would spend a $1 million appropriation on after-school programs in Hillsborough County schools.