Florida Senate, District 30
Represents District 30 in the Florida Senate; votes on state laws and the state budget. Term: 4 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
OPEN SEAT: Tina Scott Polsky (D) is not seeking another term. Florida Politics reports former Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book is the Democratic candidate and that after the Republican primary resolved her Nov. 3 opponent is Republican Hector Rivera (Jerusa Zitta also ran in the GOP primary) . Whether Book had a primary or an NPA qualified was not verified. District per Florida Politics: part of Boca Raton and Broward cities including Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Parkland and Pompano Beach. Research limitation (Sept 2026): Ballotpedia, Wikipedia, dos.fl.gov, floridaelectionwatch.gov, Florida Politics and all news sites were blocked for fetching in this sandbox and the WebSearch budget was capped, so the roster is built only from search-result snippets; write-in/NPA qualifiers could not be checked. Positions are null because no snippet contained an explicit issue statement.
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 ↗
Lauren Book
Book, a child-safety advocate from Broward County, served in the Senate from 2016 to 2024 (including as Senate Democratic Leader) and launched a 2026 campaign for SD 30 with the backing of outgoing Sen. Polsky, Sen. Lori Berman and Sen. Mack Bernard; she reported raising about $1.3 million.
Hector Rivera
Rivera emerged from the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary (which also included Jerusa Zitta) as the GOP nominee against Book in SD 30; Florida Politics described the GOP primary as low-funded. No further background found.
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 | Lauren Book Democratic | Hector Rivera Republican |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Proposes expanding homestead exemptions while guaranteeing full funding for police, firefighters and schools. |
| 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· based on record Voted against SB 2-A (Dec. 2022), the December 2022 property-insurance law that ended one-way attorney fees and assignment of benefits and created a state reinsurance program, a market-based approach; a vote for it is coded as leaning against more direct state intervention. | Leans agree· stated position Says SB 2-A fell short; proposes policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges, requiring carriers with state reinsurance to pass on measurable rate cuts, and barring claim denials during declared emergencies. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | 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. | Leans disagree· stated position Prefers self-funded public-private workforce-housing partnerships that reduce reliance on taxpayer subsidies and a 'Landlord Loan Act' for seller financing. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | No public position found | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted against SB 300 (2023), the 2023 law limiting most abortions to six weeks of pregnancy. | No public position found |
| 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 agrees· based on record Voted against HB 543 (2023), the 2023 law allowing adults to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. | 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 | Mixed / neutral· stated position Wants lower costs 'without higher taxes' through self-funding models, state-negotiated drug prices, telehealth and targeted subsidies, and would redirect Medicaid administrative savings toward coverage expansion; a mixed position. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted against HB 1 (2023), the 2023 law that made every Florida student eligible for a state-funded scholarship usable at private schools or for home 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. | 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). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Proposes a 'Density Ceiling' so state preemption under the Live Local Act cannot override municipal master plans, and says local laws are best decided locally. |
| 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. | 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. | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted against HB 1 (2021), the 2021 Combating Public Disorder law that created new riot-related offenses and penalties and let the state override local cuts to police budgets. | 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. | 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. | 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. | Leans agree· based on record Voted against CS/CS/HB 1645 (2024), the 2024 energy law that removed climate change as a priority of state energy policy, repealed several renewable-energy goals and grant programs, banned offshore wind turbines in state waters and eased regulation of natural-gas pipelines; a vote for it is coded as leaning against promoting renewable energy. | 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.
Hector RiveraHow 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lauren Book | -1.00 (3 statements) | -2.00 (6 statements) |
| Hector Rivera | 0.25 (4 statements) | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Lauren Book
- Ad campaign — Released a 30- and 60-second ad, 'Survivor,' about her childhood sexual abuse and her advocacy for children and families.
Hector Rivera
- Condo and HOA costs — Proposes a state-backed, low-rate bond program to finance condo and HOA special assessments, plus policyholder-owned reciprocal insurance exchanges.