Florida Senate, District 8
Represents District 8 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: incumbent Tom Wright (R) is term-limited (Ballotpedia). Ballotpedia lists Heather Louise Bendl, Elizabeth Fetterhoff, Jake Johansson and Jason Voelz in the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary . The primary WINNER and any Democratic/NPA general-election candidate could NOT be verified from search snippets (results pages at floridaelectionwatch.gov and volusiaelections.gov were blocked). Treat this roster as the primary field, not the November ballot. Counties per Ballotpedia. 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.
Candidates
Jake Johansson
Johansson, a Volusia County resident and retired Navy officer who previously ran for Volusia County Council, announced in 2024 for the open SD 8 seat and drew endorsements from Senate Republican leadership, AIF and the Florida Chamber.
Elizabeth Fetterhoff
Fetterhoff is a former state representative from DeLand who served in the Florida House (2018-2022) before losing in 2022; she ran in the 2026 SD 8 Republican primary.
Heather Louise Bendl
Bendl ran in the 2026 SD 8 Republican primary (Ballotpedia). No further biographical information was found in search results.
Jason Voelz
Voelz ran in the 2026 SD 8 Republican primary (Ballotpedia). No further biographical information was found in search results.
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 | Jake Johansson Republican | Elizabeth Fetterhoff Republican | Heather Louise Bendl Republican | Jason Voelz 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 | 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 | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| 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 | 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 | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | No public position found | No public position found | 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). | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found | 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). | No public position found | No public position found | 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 | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found | 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 | 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 | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | No public position found | No public position found | 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 | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found | 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. | No public position found | No public position found | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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).
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).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Johansson | not enough data | not enough data |
| Elizabeth Fetterhoff | not enough data | not enough data |
| Heather Louise Bendl | not enough data | not enough data |
| Jason Voelz | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Jake Johansson
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Elizabeth Fetterhoff
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Heather Louise Bendl
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Jason Voelz
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.