U.S. House, District 8
Represents Florida's 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives; votes on federal laws and spending. 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
CONFLICTING SOURCES ON THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE. A Ballotpedia snippet states 'Incumbent Mike Haridopolos and Paul Dellinger are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 8 on November 3, 2026' , and Ballotpedia's Democratic-primary page lists Dellinger ). However, Inside Elections' 2026 Florida primary results page states the Trump-endorsed incumbent 'will face Democrat and former Brevard County school board member Jennifer Jenkins in November' . Jenkins, who had been running for U.S. Senate and then CD 6, announced in May 2026 that she would run in CD 8 ; and released a poll against Haridopolos during the summer . Ballotpedia, Inside Elections and NBC results pages could not be fetched from this sandbox, so which Democrat is on the Nov. 3 ballot is UNRESOLVED; verify against the Florida Division of Elections or Brevard Supervisor of Elections before publishing. Dellinger is retained here pending verification. NPA/write-in candidates not confirmed. Florida's Legislature passed a new congressional map in the April 2026 special session (Senate vote 21-17 on April 29, 2026) and the Florida Supreme Court on June 10, 2026 declined (6-1) to block it, so the new district lines apply to the Nov. 3, 2026 election; litigation on the merits continues. ; ; A Ballotpedia snippet describes the district as including Brevard County, Indian River County and parts of east Orange County .
Candidates
Mike Haridopolos
Mike Haridopolos served in the Florida Senate and was Senate President from 2010 to 2012. After a 12-year absence from elected office he won the open 8th District seat in 2024 with about 62% of the vote. In Congress he sits on committees dealing with space policy and has sponsored the LEARN AI Act (July 2026). He was …
Paul Lyal Dellinger
Paul Lyal Dellinger's campaign site says he comes from a working-class background rooted in Brevard's space legacy. Ballotpedia lists him as the Democratic candidate in the Aug. 18, 2026 primary and in the Nov. 3 general election against Mike Haridopolos, but Inside Elections reports Jennifer Jenkins as the Democratic…
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 | Mike Haridopolos Republican | Paul Lyal Dellinger Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· based on record Haridopolos voted for H.R. 1 (the 2025 reconciliation law), which extended the 2017 individual tax cuts and added new deductions while reducing projected federal spending on Medicaid and SNAP. No separate statement on the tradeoff was 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 His issues page proposes renter protections against 'unjust evictions and price gouging' and says he would expand rental assistance, veterans housing programs and community support services to keep families housed. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· stated position His House website says the situation at the southern border 'threatened public safety and strained local communities' and that he is committed to securing the border and strengthening immigration enforcement, describing himself as a strong supporter of President Trump's measures to secure the border and remove 'dangerous illegal aliens.' He voted for the Laken Riley Act (every House Republican voted yes). | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Leans disagree· based on record SBA Pro-Life America lists Haridopolos as a pro-life member who 'has consistently advocated for innocent babies, their mothers & the taxpayers,' and Reproductive Freedom for All's scorecard tracks his votes as opposing abortion rights. No statement specific to Florida's six-week ban was 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 |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans disagree· based on record Haridopolos voted for H.R. 1, which reduced projected federal Medicaid spending (including new work requirements) and did not extend the enhanced ACA premium subsidies. No statement supporting Medicaid expansion in Florida was found. | Leans agree· stated position His issues page says many part-time, gig and service workers get no employer coverage and accumulate medical debt, and promotes expanding access to telehealth, especially in rural areas. No specific position on Medicaid expansion or ACA subsidies was found. |
| Social Security & MedicareSocial Security and Medicare benefits must be protected from any cuts, even if that requires more revenue. | Leans agree· stated position In an op-ed posted on his House site he wrote that he does not support cuts to Social Security or Medicare and that he will 'fight the Democrats' reckless tax and spending agenda' to preserve the programs; he has not said he would raise revenue to do so. | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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. | 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. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for H.R. 1 (2025), which phased out most Inflation Reduction Act clean-energy tax credits and expanded oil and gas leasing. | No public position found |
| Tariffs & tradeTariffs on imported goods are good for the American economy. | Leans agree· stated position In a 2026 podcast interview he defended reciprocal tariffs, saying every country should compete on a level playing field; separately his office says he secured federal intervention to shield about 1,000 Piper Aircraft jobs in Vero Beach from tariff effects. | No public position found |
| UkraineThe U.S. should continue military aid to Ukraine. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | Strongly agrees· stated position Haridopolos is endorsed by Donald Trump, describes himself as a strong supporter of the President's immigration measures, and in a 2026 interview praised the administration's foreign policy and 'America First' agenda. | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Says he would expand veterans housing programs as part of his housing-stability plan. |
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.
Paul Lyal DellingerHow 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Haridopolos | 0.75 (4 statements) | 1.67 (3 statements) |
| Paul Lyal Dellinger | 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.
Mike Haridopolos
- Space program and NASA — Maintains a dedicated space-policy page; says he supports NASA's moon mission and the Space Coast launch industry.
- Federal funding for Space Coast projects — His office reports securing federal funding for local Brevard projects in the appropriations process.
- Piper Aircraft tariff relief — Says he secured federal intervention to protect about 1,000 Piper Aircraft jobs in Vero Beach from the effect of international tariffs.
- LEARN AI Act — Sponsored the LEARN AI Act (July 2026), referred to the House Education and Workforce Committee.
Paul Lyal Dellinger
- Grocery price gouging — Pledges legislation applying anti-price-gouging rules to essential goods and groceries when markups rise above a set percentage without a supply justification.
- Renter protections — Proposes protections against unjust evictions and rent price gouging, plus expanded rental assistance.
- Telehealth access — Supports policies expanding telehealth, particularly in rural areas.