Florida House, District 74
Represents District 74 (Part of Sarasota) 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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Nick Pachota
Mayor of Venice and a career EMT, paramedic, firefighter and SWAT medic who co-owns the Venice Pier Group, including Sharky's on the Pier, and teaches in Sarasota County Public Schools' EMS program. A Cardinal Mooney High School graduate, he is married with two grown daughters. Won the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary.
Ryan Neill
Sarasota native and University of South Florida graduate who has worked for Publix Super Markets for more than 30 years. He says he is not a politician and has worked since age 16. Unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
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 | Nick Pachota Republican | Ryan Neill Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· stated position His website pledges to cut taxes and add accountability measures so tax dollars are used conservatively. | 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. | Leans agree· stated position Lists lowering property taxes, along with insurance premiums, as a top affordability goal. | 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 | Strongly agrees· stated position Says he will hold insurance companies accountable and not let them charge whatever they want, and his website calls for reining in rising homeowners-insurance costs and making insurers pay for storm repairs. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position In a local candidate questionnaire, Neill said housing affordability is the most important issue facing Florida and that as a homeowner outside politics he would bring fresh ideas to tackling the housing affordability crisis. He did not specify which policies he would pursue. |
| 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). | Strongly disagrees· stated position His website says he will protect the right to life against policies that disregard the value of human life. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports a woman's right to choose and says government should stay out of women's health care decisions. |
| 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· stated position His website pledges to defend Second Amendment rights he describes as constantly under siege. | 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 | 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 |
| 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 In his 2026 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, Neill listed funding for flood control and mitigation as one of his three key campaign messages, and said he is personally passionate about investment in mass transit. He did not say how he would weigh those against development. |
| 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 says he will stand up to developers and special interests. | Strongly agrees· stated position Says the Live Local Act should be abolished and local governments should have more say over development in their 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 Says that if proof-of-citizenship rules take effect he would support making all documents needed to register to vote free. |
| 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 local law enforcement, firefighters and paramedics. | 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. | Leans agree· stated position His website pledges to banish political and social agendas from libraries and classrooms; it does not name specific laws. | 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.
Nick PachotaRyan NeillHow 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Pachota | not enough data | 1.50 (4 statements) |
| Ryan Neill | not enough data | -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.
Nick Pachota
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Ryan Neill
- Cost of living and wages — Neill says he is running because Tallahassee has ignored working-class families, rising costs and wage stagnation, and notes he has worked since he was 16 and is not a politician.