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Tampa Bay Times 2022 Primary Voter Guide: 100+ local candidates on the issues

Here’s who is on the primary ballot in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties and where they stand on guns, abortion, housing and more.
 
Published Aug. 7, 2022|Updated Aug. 17, 2022

Florida’s 2022 primary election will be held Tuesday, Aug. 23. Here are the candidates running for office in major races across Tampa Bay, and where they stand on key issues.

The Tampa Bay Times profiled more than 100 local candidates in more than 30 races, so you can be better informed before you hit the polls.

Voters will get to pick who makes the ballot for the November general election in dozens of races. Here’s what’s at stake:

  • Democrats will choose whether Charlie Crist or Nikki Fried takes on Gov. Ron DeSantis.
  • Republicans will decide if Anna Paulina Luna, Amanda Makki or a new challenger will likely win a congressional seat in Pinellas County.
  • Voters in a congressional district in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties will pick between 10 candidates in a loaded race.

We’ve also interviewed candidates all around Tampa Bay running for local county commissions and school boards.

Florida has closed primaries, meaning that primary elections for Democrats and Republicans are only open to voters already registered in that party — unless no candidates from another party qualified for the ballot. In that case, the primary is the effective general election, so everyone can vote.

School board races are nonpartisan and open to all voters. If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face each other in November.

Florida’s districts have been redrawn this year. Following the 2020 census count, Florida has one extra (28th) congressional district, and the maps for both the Florida Senate and Florida House have been redrawn. See what your new district is — and how it has voted in the past. To find all the races on your individual ballot, visit the Supervisor of Elections website for your county (Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco).

The information on the candidates on this page comes straight from Tampa Bay Times reporters and, if they answered our questions, from the candidates themselves. If you’d like advice on who to vote for, check out the recommendations from the Times Editorial Board (they had no input on this voter guide, and reporters have no prior knowledge of or input on their recommendations).

How to use this guide:

  • Make sure you’re using a modern internet browser. (If you are viewing this story via our mobile app, click here.)
  • At the top, select which races you’d like to see. Selecting “Democrats” or “Republicans,” for example, will show only those races open to voters in that party.
  • Tap or swipe side-to-side to choose which question to read. In each race, we start with a short biography of the candidates and end with their campaign fundraising and personal finance information.
  • Tap the name of any race or candidate to collapse it if you’re not interested. Tap it again to re-expand it.
  • Note that this doesn’t show every single race on the ballot. Voters may also be able to vote in elections for local judges.

Here is the Tampa Bay Times 2022 Primary Election voter guide:

Campaign finance and financial disclosure data are as of July and are only comparable between candidates in the same race.

Web production by Data Editor Langston Taylor. Times staff writers Barbara Behrendt, Bernadette Berdychowski, C.T. Bowen, Anastasia Dawson, Romy Ellenbogen, Charlie Frago, Olivia George, Chris Hippensteel, Chris Kuo, Emily L. Mahoney, Tracey McManus, Lawrence Mower, Christopher O’Donnell, Lauren Peace, Marlene Sokol, Jeffrey S. Solochek, Milla Surjadi, Kirby Wilson and Colleen Wright contributed reporting.

We’re working hard to bring you the latest news on the elections in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven’t already subscribed, please consider buying a print or digital subscription. Or click here to make a donation to the Tampa Bay Times Journalism Fund.

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