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 .
Debates and forums
- Early October 2026 (reported Oct. 7) · WESH 2 Florida's 8th Congressional District general-election debate, moderated by Greg Fox; televised. Held. Topics included affordability, health care, Amendment 3, beach renourishment funding and veterans. Haridopolos credited the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's tax cuts ("saved the average Floridian about $2,000"); Jenkins criticized the economic effects of the Trump administration's policies, including tariffs.
Mike Haridopolos (R), Jennifer Jenkins (D)
Candidates
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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 …
Jennifer Jenkins
Qualified for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot according to the Florida Division of Elections, 2026 general election candidate list (Qualified).
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 | Jennifer Jenkins 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 | No public position found |
| 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 Reproductive Freedom for All's congressional scorecard gives Haridopolos a 0 percent 2025 rating: he voted for final passage of H.R. 21, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and for H.R. 1, which disqualified Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding. He has no published position on Florida's six-week ban itself, so this is coded from the federal votes rather than from a statement about state law. | Strongly agrees· stated position When launching her 2025 U.S. Senate campaign (she later switched to the District 8 race), Jenkins pledged to champion abortion rights, saying she would stand up for safe abortion access. |
| 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. | Strongly agrees· stated position Jenkins supports protecting Affordable Care Act subsidies, letting Medicare negotiate more drug prices, and expanding Medicaid in Florida. |
| 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. | Strongly agrees· stated position Lists protecting Medicare and Social Security as one of her three top priorities. |
| 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. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), the 2025 bill requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· based on record Voted for the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act (H.R. 2096), the 2025 bill repealing parts of the District of Columbia police-accountability law; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward tougher policing. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Jenkins's platform pairs stable funding, training and mental-health support for first responders with evidence-based strategies to reduce violence and recidivism. |
| 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· based on record Voted for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 28), the 2025 bill barring transgender girls and women from female school sports under Title IX; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward keeping restrictions in place. | 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 disagree· based on record Voted for the Protecting American Energy Production Act (H.R. 26), the 2025 bill barring a presidential moratorium on hydraulic fracturing without an act of Congress; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward fossil-fuel production. | 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. | Leans disagree· stated position Jenkins's platform says she will oppose tariffs she calls reckless because they raise the cost of everyday goods, and in the WESH 2 debate she cited tariffs among the economic harms of current federal policy. |
| 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. | Leans disagree· stated position In the WESH 2 debate Jenkins criticized the economic effects of Trump administration policies (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Iran conflict and tariffs), and her platform criticizes Medicaid cuts and expired ACA subsidies under GOP leadership. |
| 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.
Jennifer JenkinsHow 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Haridopolos | 0.50 (4 statements) | 1.50 (6 statements) |
| Jennifer Jenkins | not enough data | -1.00 (3 statements) |
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.
Jennifer Jenkins
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.