Florida candidates have two paths to the ballot: Write a check, or collect signatures.

The check is easier. The petition route is not easy.

Congressional candidates need 2,564 verified petitions from registered voters in their district. State legislative candidates need fewer, local candidates fewer still.

Every signature has to be collected by hand, submitted to a Supervisor of Elections, and matched against the voter rolls — a process in which campaigns can lose 20% or more of their gathered signatures to disqualification.

It takes months. It takes volunteers, paid circulators, or both. And it tells you something about a campaign’s infrastructure and grassroots reach before casting a single vote.

Florida Politics will keep a running list of the 2026 candidates who have qualified for the ballot by petition. Here’s who has made it so far:

Justin Story — CD 9 (R)

A retired Marine Corps officer and St. Cloud-based commercial pilot, Justin Story announced the state has verified 2,577 of his petitions — 13 over the threshold needed to qualify. The CD 9 Republican Primary is crowded; Story is one of at least seven Republicans, including former Vero Beach Mayor Robert Brackett, vying for the chance to challenge Democratic incumbent Darren Soto in November. The seat became a top GOP pickup target after redistricting, with the new lines favoring Republicans by nearly 18 points based on recent presidential performance, per Story’s campaign. A sixth-generation Floridian and former F-18 fighter pilot, Story has campaigned on border security, lower costs, and accountability in Washington. More on his campaign here.

George Moraitis — CD 23 (R)

George Moraitis, a Fort Lauderdale attorney, former state Representative, and U.S. Navy submarine veteran, has qualified for the CD 23 ballot by petition. Moraitis is running to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz in one of Florida’s most competitive congressional races. He faces a crowded Republican Primary that includes Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, perennial candidate Joe Kaufman, Darlene Cerezo Swaffar, Raven Harrison, Rafael Ortiz, and Jared Gurfein. Moraitis has banked endorsements from five sitting members of Congress — U.S. Reps. Greg Steube, Jake Ellzey, Scott Franklin, Mike Haridopolos, and Gus Bilirakis. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he served eight years in the Florida House before terming out in 2018. The District covers Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, and Deerfield Beach. More on his launch here.

Michelle Salzman — HD 1 (R)

Michelle Salzman has cleared the petition threshold for her final House term representing Escambia County, where she has held the seat since 2020 after unseating incumbent Mike Hill in the Republican Primary. The Pensacola Republican, an Army veteran and small-business owner, has held the deeply conservative Panhandle seat through three straight cycles. HD 1 covers the northern portion of Escambia, including suburban Pensacola and the communities running up to the Alabama line. Salzman has drawn her loudest headlines from gun policy fights, mental health advocacy, and a brief 2024 flirtation with a congressional run to succeed Matt Gaetz before standing down for Jimmy Patronis. She founded the Mental Health Task Force of Northwest Florida and has pushed legislation imposing term limits on County Commissioners. She faces a primary challenge from Candace Rae Scialdone in August. More on her campaign here.

Allison Tant — HD 9 (D)

Allison Tant, the Tallahassee Democrat seeking a third term in the Florida House, has qualified for the HD 9 ballot by petition. Tant’s campaign cleared the required signature threshold across the District, which includes Leon, Jefferson, and Madison counties, a feat she also pulled off in her previous bids. A former Florida Democratic Party Chair first elected to the House in 2020, Tant has built a record around hurricane recovery and disaster resilience, expanding opportunities for students with disabilities, and defending public education — and she’s done it in a chamber where she’s frequently been in the deep minority. The petition haul keeps her on a familiar grassroots track as she gears up for re-election in a District that includes the state capital.

Samuel Vilchez Santiago — HD 43 (D)

Samuel Vilchez Santiago, the former Orange County Democratic Party Chair, qualified by petition for the HD 43 ballot in early April. The 28-year-old Princeton graduate and Venezuelan political refugee is running to succeed Rep. Johanna López, who’s vacating the seat to run for Orange County Commission, District 4 — and who has endorsed him as her preferred successor. Vilchez Santiago has racked up backing from a majority of the Florida Democratic legislative caucus, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, and he raised more than $126,000 in Q1 between his campaign account and political committee Central Floridians for Change. Republican Robert Prater awaits in the General. HD 43 covers eastern Orange County, north of Lake Nona and south of Colonial Drive.

Berny Jacques — HD 59 (R)

Berny Jacques has cleared the petition threshold for his 2026 re-election bid in the Pinellas County district he has held since 2022. The Seminole attorney and former state prosecutor was born in Port-au-Prince, a biography he has worked into his policy agenda this Session as sponsor of HB 1307, sweeping immigration enforcement legislation aligned with priorities outlined by CFO Blaise Ingoglia. HD 59 covers Largo, Seminole, and parts of Pinellas Park — a reliably red corner of the county. A former Bay News 9 conservative analyst and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay director, Jacques has stacked endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police and the Seminole Professional Firefighters Association across his prior runs, and is now in line for heavier committee work as he approaches 2030 term limits. More on his campaign here.

Kaylee Tuck — HD 83 (R)

Kaylee Tuck has qualified by petition for her fourth term in the sprawling Heartland district she held since 2022, a discipline she has leaned on going back to her debut bid in 2019. The Lake Placid land-use attorney and Stetson Law graduate is a fourth-generation Highlands County resident whose father, Andy Tuck, chaired the State Board of Education and served on the Florida Transportation Commission. HD 83 stretches across Florida’s interior — Highlands, Glades, Okeechobee, and surrounding rural counties — a deep-red District where the agriculture economy still drives policy conversations from Tallahassee. Tuck has built her record around land use, water policy, and the planning fights surrounding the M-CORES toll road corridor that cuts through the Heartland. She is term-limited in 2028. More on her campaign here.

Ashley Litwin Diego — HD 106 (D)

Ashley Litwin Diego, a first-time candidate, attorney, and nonprofit leader, has qualified for the HD 106 ballot by petition, submitting 1,600 signatures to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections — well above the 1,053 required. Litwin Diego is running to unseat embattled GOP Rep. Fabian Basabe and has been steadily stacking endorsements, most recently adding Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to a list that already includes former Miami Beach Mayor and former Florida House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber, former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, former Mayor Brent Latham, and Vice Mayor Kassandra Timothe. A breast cancer survivor, mother, and wife of a Cuban refugee, Litwin Diego has spent nearly two decades as an attorney defending constitutional rights and working to overturn unjust convictions. She’s running on affordability, insurance reform, public safety, healthcare access, and criminal justice reform.

Tom Fabricio — HD 110 (R)

Tom Fabricio has cleared the petition threshold for his fourth and final term in the seat he has held since 2022, having previously represented the old HD 103 starting in 2020. The Miramar Republican is an insurance defense attorney who built his political brand on grassroots petition-gathering — a discipline he embraced from his debut run, when GOP advisers told him to collect signatures door-to-door rather than mail them out. HD 110 takes in a Republican-leaning slice of Miami-Dade and Broward, including portions of Hialeah, Miami Lakes, Palm Springs North, and Miramar. A graduate of Marymount Manhattan College and Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, Fabricio served on the Miramar Planning and Zoning Board and the Broward County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board before his run for the Legislature. He is term-limited in 2028. More on his campaign here.

David Borrero — HD 111 (R)

David Borrero has cleared the petition threshold for his fourth House term in the Northwest Miami-Dade district he has held since 2022, after previously representing the old HD 105. The Sweetwater Republican came up through municipal government, serving on the Sweetwater City Commission and as the city’s Grants Administrator before his 2020 run for the Legislature. HD 111 takes in Doral, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, Miami Lakes, and Sweetwater — a Republican stronghold in Northwest Miami-Dade where the GOP has posted consistent double-digit presidential margins. A Florida International University graduate with a political science background and an MBA from the same school, Borrero works as a Contracts Administrator at T&G Constructors and has aligned closely with the construction, real estate, and transportation industries that fuel growth across his district. He is term-limited in 2028. More on his campaign here.

Frank Lago — HD 113 (R)

Frank Lago, a Miami real estate consultant and Chair of the Miami-Dade Planning Advisory Board, has qualified for the HD 113 ballot by petition. Lago is running to succeed former Rep. Vicki Lopez, who was appointed to the Miami-Dade County Commission in November and has endorsed him as her preferred successor. He faces a Republican Primary that includes former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro and small business owner Tony Diaz, with Democrats Gloria Romero Roses and Justin Mendoza Routt also running. Lago has been the field’s top fundraiser, hauling more than $138,000 in his opening reporting period. A graduate of Christopher Columbus High School and Florida International University, he began his career as an urban planner at FIU’s Metropolitan Center. The Miami-based District covers Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, and parts of Coral Gables and Miami. More on his filing here.

Demi Busatta — HD 114 (R)

Demi Busatta has cleared the petition threshold for her fourth term defending the largely coastal Miami-Dade District she flipped red in 2020. The Coral Gables Republican carries one of the heavier portfolios in the chamber this Session — lead House negotiator on the higher education budget and sponsor of HJR 209, a proposed constitutional amendment increasing the homestead property-tax exemption for residents who carry property insurance. HD 114 covers a stretch of southeastern Miami-Dade, including parts of Coral Gables, South Miami, Cutler Bay, and West Miami. A Florida State University graduate, Busatta worked as Chief of Staff to former state Sen. Anitere Flores before her own run for the Legislature. Her husband, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera, gives the family a foothold in both Tallahassee and County Hall. She is term-limited in 2028. More on her campaign here.

Ashley Perez-Biliskov — HD 116 (R)

Ashley Perez-Biliskov, a Miami medical speech-language pathologist, has qualified for the HD 116 ballot by petition, turning in 1,069 verified signatures — 11 more than required. Perez-Biliskov is running to succeed her brother, House Speaker Daniel Perez, who reaches term limits in 2026. She has so far drawn no opposition for the safely Republican Miami-Dade seat, which covers part of Sweetwater along with the unincorporated Kendall, Sunset, and Tamiami neighborhoods, plus Florida International University’s Modesto Maidique Campus and Dolphin Mall. A first-generation Cuban American and graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, FSU, and USF, Perez-Biliskov has raised more than $277,000 between her campaign account and political committee since launching her bid in January 2025. She carries endorsements from U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and the South Florida Police Benevolent Association. Campaign site here.

Mike Redondo — HD 118 (R)

Mike Redondo has cleared the petition threshold for his second full term in the South Miami-Dade District he originally won in a 2023 Special Election — a re-election bid that doubles as the early lap of his march to the Speaker’s rostrum. Last July, Redondo was unanimously selected by his class to lead the House after the 2030 election, making the re-election effort one of the highest-profile incumbent races in the state by default. He cemented that status by raising $450,000 in Q1 2026 between his campaign and political committee, The Right Path for Florida — a sum that put him atop South Florida incumbents and left him with more than $1.3 million on hand. HD 118 covers a narrow, heavily Cuban strip of South Miami-Dade west of Florida’s Turnpike between Sweetwater and Cutler Bay. More on his campaign here.

Wes Hodge — Orange County Commission, District 2 (D)

Wes Hodge, Chief of Staff to Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez-Semrad and former Chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, has qualified by petition for the District 2 ballot. Hodge’s campaign submitted 1,152 petitions to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections on May 11, capping a seven-day drive that cleared the 1,046-signature threshold and sidestepped the $4,948.81 qualifying fee. He’s running to succeed Christine Moore, who resigned to run unsuccessfully for Apopka Mayor, in a field that includes former state Rep. Kamia Brown, Ocoee City Commissioner George Oliver III, and Apopka attorney Marsha Summersill. Martinez-Semrad has endorsed Hodge as her preferred successor on the Board. More on the campaign at weshodgeoc.com.

Patricia Rumph — Orange County Commission, District 7 (D)

Patricia Rumph has qualified by petition for the District 7 ballot, becoming the first candidate in any Orange County Commission race to clear the threshold, according to the Supervisor of Elections. A retired 30-year veteran of the Florida Department of Corrections and Orange County’s inaugural Community Ambassador, Rumph is running for one of two newly drawn Commission seats on the ballot in 2026. The crowded nonpartisan field includes Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner, Selina Carter, Stacey Gordon-Ali, Framily Support Network co-founder Aaron Lewis, Sonya Shakespeare, and former Orlando City Commissioner Vicki Vargo. Rumph previously served three years as President of the Pine Hills Community Council and ran for Commission District 2 in 2018, losing to Christine Moore. The new District 7 covers Maitland, Eatonville, Pine Hills, Orlovista, and Fairview Shores in northern Orange County.

Vic Torres — Orange County Commission, District 8 (Nonpartisan)

Former state Sen. Vic Torres, the Orlando Democrat who was term-limited out of Tallahassee in 2024, qualified for the November ballot by collecting 1,046 petition signatures — a move his campaign says saved $4,948.81 in filing fees. Torres is one of five candidates running for the new Commission seat created in last year’s Orange County redistricting. He has already picked up endorsements from Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. A Marine Corps veteran, retired New York City Transit Police detective, former school bus and LYNX driver, and longtime labor leader, Torres represented Orange County in the Florida House from 2012 to 2016 and the Florida Senate from 2016 to 2024. His campaign is leaning into the petition qualification as a stewardship message: every dollar saved on filing fees, his team argues, is one more dollar for voter contact. Campaign site here.

Maria Scruggs — St. Petersburg Mayor (Nonpartisan)

Maria Scruggs, a former St. Petersburg NAACP president and administrative supervisor for Orange County Corrections, has qualified for the St. Petersburg mayoral ballot by petition. Scruggs submitted 1,429 signatures with 1,013 verified above the city’s 1,000-signature threshold, saving her campaign the $2,801.52 qualifying fee. The campaign said she mobilized more than 40 volunteers to gather signatures while commuting roughly 1,500 miles weekly for her day job in Orange County. Scruggs has raised less than $18,000, with another $7,500 in her affiliated political committee, The Shelynn PAC. She joins a crowded field that includes incumbent Mayor Ken Welch, former Governor Charlie Crist, City Council member Brandi Gabbard, former Fire Chief Jim Large, former Shore Acres Neighborhood Civic Association President Kevin Batdorf, and perennial candidate Paul Congemi. The nonpartisan election is Aug. 18. More on her campaign here.

Jared Leone — Clearwater City Council Seat 4 (Nonpartisan)

Jared Leone, a longtime Clearwater resident and veteran journalist, has qualified by petition for the Seat 4 ballot, clearing the city’s 250-signature threshold. Leone faces Bianca Latvala, a digital marketer and GOP strategist married to Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala. Latvala has secured early endorsements from Mayor Bruce Rector and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. A registered NPA who ran for Seat 3 in 2024, Leone is leaning into his community-organizing résumé: president of the Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition (representing more than 20,000 homeowners), president of the Spring Branch Neighborhood Association, vice president of Keep Pinellas Beautiful, and nearly a decade chairing the city’s Environmental Advisory Board. The nonpartisan election is Aug. 18. Campaign site here.

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