Florida House, District 75
Represents District 75 (Parts of Charlotte, 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
- 2026-10-08 · Informed Voter Coalition (nine Charlotte County groups) nonpartisan forum, St. Mary's Baptist Church, 605 Mary St., Punta Gorda, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Whether it HAPPENED could not be confirmed: the Charlotte Sun's site search (Oct. 27) shows the pre-event notice but no post-event coverage.
Cynthia Butler (D) confirmed beforehand; Rep. Danny Nix Jr. (R) said he had a conflict and could not attend. - 2026-10-07 · Charlotte County Sheriff's Office town hall on Amendment 3, Port Charlotte (single-issue town hall, not a candidate forum). Whether it took place could not be confirmed; no post-event coverage found as of Oct. 27.
Rep. Danny Nix Jr. (R) was listed as a speaker; Cynthia Butler (D) was not listed. - about Sept. 30, 2026 · North Port Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Friends of the North Port Library information session on Amendment 3 (single-issue panel, not a candidate forum). Held.
Rep. Danny Nix Jr. (R) spoke with Jeff Kottkamp (Florida TaxWatch), Sarasota County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger and North Port's finance director; Cynthia Butler was not a panelist.
Candidates
Report an error ↗Danny Nix Jr.
Commercial Realtor who leads the Nix Commercial Group at Keller Williams Peace River Partners and is president of the Realtors of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port-DeSoto. He previously chaired the Florida SouthWestern State College board and led the Economic Development Partnership of Charlotte County. Elected to…
Cynthia Butler
Port Charlotte retired nurse, nurse-union leader and former EMT/paramedic who worked in banking before health care. A single mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she says she relied on housing assistance while raising her family and has rebuilt after hurricanes from Charley to Milton.
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 | Danny Nix Jr. Republican | Cynthia Butler 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. | Mixed / neutral· based on record Mixed. Nix voted for HJR 1-F in the June 2026 special session, which put Amendment 3 on the ballot. At an October 2026 North Port event he said the amendment shifts costs to fees rather than cutting taxes, raised concerns about first responders and local bond ratings, and would not tell voters how to vote on it. | Leans disagree· stated position Says property taxes are more local and acceptable than insurance costs, though sometimes misused. |
| 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 Wants insurers held accountable for unpaid or underpaid claims and stronger My Safe Florida Home-type mitigation programs; told the Sun editorial board she wants home insurance rates brought down. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position She supports affordable housing and more accessible homeownership, citing her own reliance on housing assistance as a single mother. |
| 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. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Calls for an immediate end to immigrant detention and opposes current enforcement. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | No public position found | 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 759 (March 26, 2025) and voted yes on HB 133 (Jan. 15, 2026); both bills would have lowered the minimum age to buy a rifle from 21 to 18; each passed the House and died in the Senate. Sources: Florida Senate bill page: HB 759 (2025) Minimum Age for Fir… (2025-06-16) · House roll call, HB 759 (2025) passage, 78-34 (2025-03-26) · Florida Senate bill page: HB 133 (2026) Minimum Age for Fir… (2026-03-13) · House roll call, HB 133 (2026) passage, 74-37 (2026-01-15) · Florida 2026 legislative session ends: what passed, what fa… (2026-03-13) | 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 | Strongly agrees· stated position Her website calls for a universal health-care system that provides access to care for everyone. |
| 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 | Strongly agrees· stated position Says Florida must address climate change and protect land, water and wildlife from overdevelopment, citing data centers' strain on the aquifer. |
| 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 A supporter's letter quotes her pledge to push back against state preemptions, unchecked sprawl and misuse of tax dollars for profit-driven ventures. |
| 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 yes on CS/CS/HB 991 when it passed the House on Feb. 25, 2026 and yes on final House passage March 12, 2026. CS/CS/HB 991 (2026), now law (Ch. 2026-26), requires the state to verify voters' U.S. citizenship using driver-license and other government records and removes student and retirement-home IDs from the IDs accepted at the polls. Sources: Florida Senate bill page: CS/CS/HB 991 (2026) Elections, Ch… (2026-04-02) · House roll call, CS/CS/HB 991 (2026) third-reading passage,… (2026-02-25) · House roll call, CS/CS/HB 991 (2026) final passage, 77-28 (2026-03-12) · Florida 2026 legislative session ends: what passed, what fa… (2026-03-13) | Leans agree· stated position If proof of citizenship is required, would set up a state fund and program to help people get birth and marriage certificates. |
| 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 | Strongly agrees· stated position Calls for moving Florida off fossil fuels toward clean and solar power and for accountability from utilities. |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Danny Nix Jr. | not enough data | 2.00 (3 statements) |
| Cynthia Butler | -1.40 (5 statements) | -1.67 (3 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Danny Nix Jr.
- Data centers and growth — Told the Sun editorial board he is not very concerned about data centers, that Charlotte County could find land for them west of I-75 with some parameters, and that builders must have water capacity before building.
- Campaign money — The Sun reported Nix had about $124,000 in campaign donations to Butler's nearly $5,000.
Cynthia Butler
- Public schools — She wants public schools to champion learning, academics and science and become centers of excellence.
- Nurse staffing — She advocates safe-staffing legislation through union advocacy.
- Data centers — Wants more regulation of data centers and a public say before they are built, citing the district's limestone water table and aquifers.