Florida House, District 87
Represents District 87 (Part of Palm Beach) 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 ↗Jon Maples
Jon Maples, 44, grew up in Panama City working in his family's irrigation business and came to Palm Beach County on a basketball scholarship to Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he was an All-American. He is a financial planner in Palm Beach Gardens, previously served on the Lake Clarke Shores Town Council, and lo…
Emily Gregory
Emily Gregory grew up in Stuart, earned a degree in health and exercise science from Wake Forest University and a master's in health policy from Columbia University, and worked in public health roles before founding FIT4MOM Palm Beach, a fitness community for mothers, in Jupiter. A military spouse and mother of three,…
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 | Jon Maples Republican | Emily Gregory Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· stated position His issues page and survey call for cutting taxes on small businesses and job creators, cutting wasteful spending and slashing red tape. | 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· stated position In an Oct. 2026 radio interview, Maples was described as a strong supporter of Amendment 3, the homestead-exemption increase, and said past homestead-exemption increases did not harm the economy. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted no on HJR 1-F (June 2, 2026); in her filed vote explanation she said cutting local revenue would gut county and city services and she would support home rule. |
| 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 Her issues page says she will take on insurers that raise rates and deny claims, push for accountability and transparency, and expand affordable state-backed insurance options. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports fully funding and protecting Florida's affordable housing programs and workforce housing. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | No public position found | Leans disagree· stated position Gregory said she was disappointed to see Temporary Protected Status ended for Haitian immigrants, citing their role in the local workforce in nursing facilities, food service and home health. |
| 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 Supports the freedom to access abortion care, with decisions made by a woman and her doctor. |
| 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). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position She told NPR that voters raised losing coverage under Affordable Care Act plans as a top concern alongside property insurance and public schools. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· stated position He says the best way to improve outcomes is giving parents a full menu of options and lists protecting school choice among his solutions. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Her issues page says taxpayer dollars should stay in public schools rather than be diverted to unaccountable programs; a May 2026 profile says she opposes the universal voucher program over lack of oversight. |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Leans agree· stated position His issues page lists protections for local waterways and public resources. Sources: Issues - Vote Maples 2026 (2026-09) | No public position found |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position He calls for infrastructure planning that keeps pace with growth and responsible development that pays its own way. Sources: Issues - Vote Maples 2026 (2026-09) | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports home rule so local leaders can address growth, housing and environment without Tallahassee interference. |
| 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 make required documents free and accessible if proof of citizenship is required. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Strongly agrees· stated position His solutions include jailing and prosecuting violent criminals, enhancing penalties for organized criminal enterprises and giving first responders resources. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Maples | not enough data | 1.00 (3 statements) |
| Emily Gregory | -1.75 (4 statements) | -1.50 (4 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Jon Maples
- Property taxes and insurance — He names rising property taxes, property insurance premiums and inflation as the main pressures on households but does not state a specific property-tax or insurance proposal.
- Ad spending — Politico reported both parties have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads in HD 87, and incoming House Speaker Sam Garrison said Republicans will make sure Maples has the resources to get his message out.
Emily Gregory
- Teacher pay and public schools — She says Florida's teacher pay is among the lowest in the nation and wants to fully fund neighborhood schools and raise teacher pay.
- Ad spending and Amendment 3 — Politico reported both parties have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads in HD 87. In a WJNO interview Gregory called Amendment 3 a tax shift that would hurt municipalities and said she had supported a $100,000 homestead-exemption increase instead.