Florida House, District 82
Represents District 82 (Hendry and Part of Collier) 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
Report an error ↗Liesa Priddy
Liesa Priddy is a third-generation Immokalee rancher who, with her husband Russell, operates JB Ranch in Collier County. She holds a finance degree and an environmental studies degree, worked in banking and law-firm administration before returning to the ranch, and served on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation …
Arthur Boyer
Arthur Boyer holds a doctorate in education and has worked for more than 20 years in the district as a classroom teacher, in community service, nonprofit advocacy and organizational coaching. He lives in Immokalee and is the father of an adult son.
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 | Liesa Priddy Republican | Arthur Boyer Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· stated position Her site lists reducing taxes on working Floridians as a campaign goal and says free enterprise, not excessive government, lets families and businesses prosper. | 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 disagree· stated position She says she agrees with lowering taxes and making homeownership affordable but worries the homestead-elimination approach will simply shift taxes and hurt rural counties like Hendry; she says she would have supported a less drastic amendment. | Leans disagree· stated position Says property taxes fund essential services and cutting them sharply without a replacement could hurt communities or shift costs to renters. |
| 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. | Leans disagree· stated position She supports continued state efforts to reduce insurance costs, home hardening and strong building codes, while noting insurers need adequate premiums to stay in business. | Leans agree· stated position Wants more transparency and accountability in the insurance industry and relief from excessive premiums. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· stated position She supports increasing housing supply, expanding workforce housing and helping first-time homebuyers, along with reducing insurance costs that raise housing prices. | Strongly agrees· stated position His issues page calls for expanding attainable and workforce housing and confronting affordability pressures. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· stated position In her Q&A she says people here illegally should be deported and describes illegal immigration as a drain on the economy and resources. | Leans disagree· stated position His issues page supports what he calls a fair and humane immigration approach that upholds the rule of law while rejecting dehumanization and protecting families, and his site says he stands with TPS holders. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Leans disagree· stated position Pro-life but supports abortion access in cases of rape, incest or danger to the mother's life. | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports access before viability and afterward for life, health or severe fetal conditions; calls the six-week ban too restrictive. |
| 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 Protecting Second Amendment rights is listed as her first campaign priority. | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans disagree· stated position Focuses on lowering costs through price transparency, more providers and telehealth rather than subsidies; wants Medicaid flexibility and fraud control. | Leans agree· stated position He calls for strengthening community clinics, responsibly expanding telehealth and building workforce pipelines for nurses, counselors and primary care providers. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· stated position She says she supports school choice and that parents should have the final say in their child's education. | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Leans agree· stated position She supports continued Everglades restoration, improving Lake Okeechobee and converting septic tanks to sewer where feasible; her ranch has received conservation-stewardship awards. | Strongly agrees· stated position He supports Everglades restoration to improve water flow and reduce harmful discharges, and infrastructure investment for hurricane, flooding and sea-level-rise preparedness. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position She supports planned growth, limiting zoning changes to control growth, and leaving growth management to county commissioners under home rule. | Strongly agrees· stated position Says preemption has gone too far and local governments should be able to adopt stronger protections on housing, growth and environment. |
| 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. | Leans disagree· stated position Supports requiring proof of eligibility to register, comparing it to other services that require ID, while asking agencies to provide documents promptly and online. | Strongly agrees· stated position Opposes any financial or administrative barrier for eligible citizens; would waive record fees and offer provisional registration and time to fix documents. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | Leans disagree· stated position He advocates community-based public safety that supports first responders while prioritizing prevention and mental-health response options. |
| 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. | Leans agree· stated position She describes herself as an America First conservative. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Liesa Priddy | 0.40 (5 statements) | 1.14 (7 statements) |
| Arthur Boyer | -1.25 (4 statements) | -1.60 (5 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Liesa Priddy
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Arthur Boyer
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.