Florida House, District 9
Represents District 9 (Madison, Parts of Jefferson, Leon) 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
- 2026-09-28 · Candidate forum at WFSU Studios, Tallahassee, organized by the Capital Region News Collaborative, the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee and the Tallahassee Democrat. HELD. Topics covered childhood vaccine requirements, school vouchers, election administration and economic development.
Democrat Allison Tant (incumbent) and Republican Tracy Robinson both took part.
Candidates
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Tracy Robinson
Tracy Robinson of Madison is a Florida A&M University graduate who has worked in emergency management, law enforcement and technology, including as an artificial intelligence engineer. A first-time candidate, she describes herself as a 'community first' Republican and won the August 2026 primary over Jibri Knight.
Allison Tant
Allison Tant was born in Jacksonville, earned degrees in communications and psychology from Florida State University, and chaired the Florida Democratic Party before winning the District 9 seat in 2020. She founded Keys to Exceptional Youth Success and Independence Landing, organizations serving people with disabiliti…
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 | Tracy Robinson Republican | Allison Tant 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. | Leans agree· stated position Says homeowners over 65 should pay no property taxes and supports a measurable reduction for all homeowners that does not destabilize local services. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted no on HJR 1-F (June 2, 2026) and HJR 203 (Feb. 19, 2026); she said local governments fear losing autonomy and being treated like wards of the state. |
| 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 agree· stated position Supports insurer rate transparency, litigation reform that protects policyholders, and strengthening Citizens Property Insurance as a safety net. | Leans agree· stated position In her VOTE411 answers Tant said she would keep working on homeowners insurance by limiting how long claims can stay open and limiting insurers' ability to delay or deny claims, along with state home-hardening help. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· stated position Supports a balanced approach: reducing regulatory barriers, encouraging workforce housing, first-time-buyer programs and rehabilitating abandoned homes. | Leans agree· based on record Voted for CS/SB 102 (2023), the 2023 Live Local Act that put $711 million into state housing programs, required local governments to allow multifamily housing in commercial areas when at least 40 percent of units are affordable, and created property-tax exemptions for affordable developments; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward more government action on housing. |
| 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 Describes herself as pro-life, says life begins at conception and supports Florida's current law and its exceptions; also calls for a maternal-health program for rural women. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted no on SB 300 (2023), which limited most abortions to six weeks of pregnancy, on April 13, 2023. |
| 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 543 (2023), which allowed carrying a concealed firearm without a state permit, on March 24, 2023. |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans agree· stated position Proposes expanding rural clinics, permanent telehealth, federal waivers for rural hospitals and a maternal-care program; she notes the coverage gap but does not call for Medicaid expansion. | Leans agree· stated position Tant told VOTE411 that state budget writers should increase Medicaid funding for vulnerable families. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted no on HB 1 (2023), which made every K-12 student eligible for a state scholarship usable at private schools or for home education, on March 17, 2023. |
| 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 Says growth must be intentional with measurable benchmarks and that state preemption should not strip communities of decisions about their land and growth. | Leans agree· stated position Tant told VOTE411 she has voted against nearly all efforts to override local home rule, opposed the 2026 data-center law, and would require developers to dedicate a share of units in every development to affordable housing. |
| 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. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Says election integrity and voter access go together; if proof of citizenship is required she supports making documents affordable, including a voucher tied to existing benefit programs. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted against SB 7050 (2023), the 2023 elections law that raised penalties and shortened deadlines for third-party voter-registration groups and changed vote-by-mail and voter-roll procedures. |
| 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. | Leans agree· stated position At the Sept. 28 House District 9 forum, Robinson supported restrictions on classroom instruction involving race and gender identity, according to a news account of the forum (reporter's summary, not a direct quote). | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted against SB 254 (2023), the 2023 law barring gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and restricting it for adults. |
| 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. | Leans agree· stated position Her 'REVIVE' agenda includes supporting veterans and public safety among its planks. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tracy Robinson | -0.50 (4 statements) | 1.00 (3 statements) |
| Allison Tant | -1.25 (4 statements) | -1.83 (6 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Tracy Robinson
- REVIVE agenda — Her platform focuses on restoring communities, expanding economic opportunity, investing in infrastructure, supporting veterans and public safety, strengthening education, promoting faith and families, and bringing technology to state government.
- The REVIVE District 9 agenda — Robinson describes herself as a community first Republican and runs on what she calls the REVIVE agenda: restoring communities, expanding economic opportunity, investing in infrastructure, supporting veterans and public safety, strengthening education, and promoting faith and families. In the primary she emphasized community revitalization, economic development and bringing technology and innovation to state government. Her campaign site does not set out detailed positions on specific bills.
- Names education and elder care as top priorities; says she declines some donations — At the Sept. 28, 2026 League of Women Voters of Tallahassee/Capital Region News Collaborative forum at WFSU Studios, Robinson said education would be one of her top priorities and pledged support for elder care. She described closed grocery stores, high gas prices and declining neighborhoods in the Madison area as evidence of the affordability problem, and said she has turned down donations that do not align with her party or the district.
Allison Tant
- Says her focus is affordability and district appropriations (Sept. 28 forum) — At a Sept. 28, 2026 candidate forum at WFSU Studios hosted by the Capital Region News Collaborative and the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee, Tant said affordability is the top issue in the race and pointed to appropriations she has secured for the district. She said young people leave the area because of a lack of jobs.