Florida House, District 70
Represents District 70 (Parts of Hillsborough, Manatee) 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
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Michael Owen
Apollo Beach attorney and small business owner with nearly two decades of legal experience, degrees from Saint Leo University and Cooley Law School, and a 40-plus-year Hillsborough County residency. He served on the Hillsborough County Commission and Port Tampa Bay board before winning the House seat in 2024 with 67 p…
Luther Wilkins
U.S. Army and Army National Guard veteran who served 12 years, including work supporting the nation's nuclear defense program, and has worked in business leadership, real estate development and community advocacy. He has served as president of the Manatee County NAACP and was the 2024 Democratic nominee against Michae…
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 Owen Republican | Luther Wilkins Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· stated position His website touts cutting taxes, reducing government spending by $3.8 billion and delivering $1.3 billion in tax relief, and pledges to keep taxes low and oppose fee increases. | 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. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Backs more transparency and accountability for insurers, tougher consumer protections and home hardening, alongside a stable, competitive market. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position He wants to expand the supply of workforce and affordable housing while ensuring growth is planned responsibly. |
| 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. His website says he passed the toughest immigration enforcement laws in the nation. | 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 | Leans agree· stated position Says reproductive decisions belong to women, naming rape, incest, risk to the mother's life or health and serious fetal complications. |
| 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). | Strongly disagrees· stated position Owen said Florida should preserve Medicaid for those who qualify and focus on access, accountability and efficient use of taxpayer dollars rather than expansion. | Strongly agrees· stated position Would expand Medicaid eligibility, accept available federal dollars and strengthen community health centers. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | Strongly disagrees· stated position He criticizes billions in taxpayer dollars going to voucher programs and privately operated schools and wants investment in neighborhood public schools and higher teacher pay. |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Leans agree· stated position Owen listed protecting Florida's natural resources and quality of life as the state grows among his three top priorities, and said data-center rules should include protections for utility customers, water resources and public transparency. | Leans agree· stated position Wilkins said data centers should meet strong requirements for water and energy efficiency, noise mitigation, environmental protection and infrastructure costs so residents and taxpayers are not left carrying the burden. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position His website calls for a more stringent approval process for development and says managing growth while preserving affordability is Florida's greatest challenge. | Strongly agrees· stated position Wilkins said he would protect local communities by defending home rule, safeguard the environment and ensure responsible growth, and that new development should help pay for the infrastructure growing communities need. |
| 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 Would provide free or low-cost records and name-change help so eligible voters are not priced out under a proof-of-citizenship rule. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position His website pledges support for the Sheriff's Office to protect the community. | 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 | Leans agree· stated position He wants every veteran in the district to age with dignity and calls for better VA health-care access and mental-health services. |
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 Owen | 2.00 (3 statements) | 0.67 (3 statements) |
| Luther Wilkins | -1.33 (3 statements) | -1.25 (4 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Michael Owen
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Luther Wilkins
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.