Florida House, District 89
Represents District 89 (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 ↗Cathy Higgins
Cathy Higgins was born in West Palm Beach and raised in Lake Worth. She served 12 years on the Atlantis City Council, three of them as the city's first woman mayor, and she and her husband run two local businesses that employ close to 400 people. She built a dance program at The King's Academy and won the August 2026 …
Debra Tendrich
Debra Tendrich of Lake Worth is the founder and executive director of a nutrition-focused nonprofit and was elected to the Florida House in November 2024. In her first term she was the prime author of a domestic-violence protections law that passed both chambers unanimously, and she serves on the House Select Committe…
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 | Cathy Higgins Republican | Debra Tendrich Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· stated position Her site says she will eliminate government waste and keep taxes low as she did in Atlantis. | 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. | No public position found | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted no on HJR 1-F (June 2, 2026 special session), which put a $250,000 non-school homestead exemption on the November 2026 ballot, and no on HJR 203 (Feb. 19, 2026), which would have phased out non-school homestead property taxes. |
| 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 | No public position found |
| 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 the state and local affordable-housing trust funds, expanding rental assistance and down-payment help, and faster permitting and redevelopment to add supply. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | No public position found | Leans disagree· based on record Voted no on SB 2-C (Feb. 13, 2025), which created a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, funded state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and added criminal penalties tied to immigration status. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly disagrees· stated position Pro-life; supports abortion access only when the mother's life is at risk. | Leans agree· stated position Supports abortion access particularly in cases of rape or incest, severe or fatal fetal abnormality, or a threat to the woman's physical or mental health, and says these decisions belong to 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 | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted no on HB 759 (March 26, 2025) and voted no 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) |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans disagree· stated position Favors more insurers competing across states, fighting fraud and nonprofit free clinics rather than expanded public coverage. | Leans agree· stated position Supports pursuing every available federal waiver and funding to keep Floridians covered and protecting Medicaid access for vulnerable groups; she does not explicitly call for Medicaid expansion. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Leans agree· stated position Her site backs protecting school choice alongside competitive teacher pay and career and technical programs. | 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 | 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 Her site says she will manage development thoughtfully to protect infrastructure, green space and quality of life. | Leans agree· stated position Says Florida has often gone too far in preempting local governments and that local control over growth, development and flooding should be the default. |
| 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· based on record Voted no on CS/CS/HB 991 when it passed the House on Feb. 25, 2026 and no 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. On VOTE411 she said eligibility should be verified without making eligible voters go through a costly or complicated process. 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) · VOTE411 Voter Guide (League of Women Voters), State Represe… (2026-10) |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position Her site says she stands firmly with law enforcement and securing neighborhoods. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cathy Higgins | not enough data | 1.33 (3 statements) |
| Debra Tendrich | -1.67 (3 statements) | -1.25 (4 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Cathy Higgins
- Affordability — She says Florida faces an affordability crisis from rising insurance, housing and grocery costs and will fight rising costs so families and seniors can stay in their communities.
Debra Tendrich
- Domestic violence law — She authored a 2026 law strengthening protections and legal tools for survivors of domestic and dating violence.
- Named 2026 Legislator of the Year by the Florida Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce — Tendrich was named 2026 Legislator of the Year by the Florida Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce, which cited her support for Hispanic culture and businesses. Her campaign also announced endorsements from Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, School Board member Virginia Savietto, Greenacres Council member Susy Diaz, Boca Raton Council member Yvette Drucker and Belle Glade Council member Joaquin Almazan.
- Domestic violence honors — In October she received a Palm Beach County domestic-violence response team plaque and proclamations from Lake Worth Beach and Riviera Beach; her 2026 law raised penalties for repeat domestic-violence offenders.