Florida House, District 76
Represents District 76 (DeSoto and Parts of Charlotte, Lee) 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 nonpartisan forum, St. Mary's Baptist Church, Punta Gorda (same event as HD 75). Whether it HAPPENED could not be confirmed: no post-event coverage found as of Oct. 27.
Phillip Carter (D) invited; Rep. Vanessa Oliver (R) had not responded, per the Sun's pre-event notice. - 2026-10-06 · Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association 'Meet The Candidates' meet-and-greet, 2001 Shreve St., Punta Gorda, 5-7 p.m. (not a debate; tables and short self-introductions). Whether it HAPPENED could not be confirmed: the event page still lists it, with no report afterward.
Phillip Carter (D) listed as confirmed; Rep. Vanessa Oliver (R) not listed.
Candidates
Report an error ↗Vanessa Oliver
Charlotte County businesswoman with a background in law and as a CEO who was elected to the Florida House in 2024 and is seeking a second term. Her campaign emphasizes protecting agriculture, water quality and cutting taxes.
Phillip Carter
Democrat who served six years in the U.S. Air Force, worked in civil law enforcement and movie-theater management and ran his own subcontracting business. He was the 2024 Democratic nominee for state Senate District 27 against Ben Albritton. His HD 76 campaign website currently shows only his name.
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 | Vanessa Oliver Republican | Phillip Carter Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Her website pledges to cut taxes, reduce fees and make tax holidays permanent. | 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. | Leans disagree· stated position Told the Sun editorial board that if Amendment 3 passes, lost property-tax money would shift to other fees and raise questions about paying police and fire. |
| 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 Says the state should regulate insurance companies more, make coverage terms clearer and regulate out-of-state contractors. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | No public position found |
| 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. Her website says state and local law enforcement should be allowed to deport people in the country illegally and secure the border. | 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 In his 2024 Senate run he supported the constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights, saying the state was taking women's rights away. |
| 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 | Strongly agrees· stated position In 2024 he supported magazine-capacity limits, expanded red-flag laws and mandatory firearm safety training. |
| 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 Calls for free health care for everyone through Medicaid for all. |
| 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 2024 he said Florida's tourism economy depends on the environment the state is destroying, and supported clean energy and EVs. |
| 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 In 2024 he advocated a smart-growth strategy balancing development with agricultural preservation. |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position In 2024 he said adults who want to use marijuana legally should be able to, under rules like those for alcohol. |
| 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 If proof of citizenship is required, wants the government to provide the needed documents at no cost. |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vanessa Oliver | not enough data | not enough data |
| Phillip Carter | -1.33 (3 statements) | -1.40 (5 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Vanessa Oliver
- Property insurance — She proposes an Insurance Fraud Task Force to root out corruption and lower rates.
- Agriculture and water — She pledges to protect Florida's agriculture industry, environment and water quality.
- Education — She wants parents to have more involvement in their children's education.
Phillip Carter
- Home rule and corruption — Told the Sun editorial board that bills limiting home rule and the Punta Gorda water dispute angered constituents, and that dark money and corruption are major issues; his Vote411 answers name corruption and affordability as top challenges.