Your Nov. 3 Ballot, Explained: Every Race and Every Candidate in Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice

Incumbent. Born in Plant City (U.S. House History). Former assistant U.S. attorney, Hillsborough County circuit judge and Florida attorney general (2019–2025). Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed her to the Senate in January 2025 when Marco Rubio became secretary of state; she has held the seat about 21 months (Folio Weekly).

Jacksonville native with a political science degree from the University of Florida. Has represented Florida House District 13 since 2020; won the Democratic nomination Aug. 18 (Folio Weekly).

Lives in Ocala. Hometown: not publicly listed. Has not held public office. Describes himself as a "working-class capitalist" and has made judicial reform central to his campaign (Folio Weekly).

Florida native, 45. First run for office. Spent more than a decade working for U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in Washington and Manatee County, was appointed in 2017 as USDA Rural Development state director for Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and later worked as district director for U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (WTSP; The Ledger).

Third-generation Floridian who grew up near the Sarasota-Bradenton airport working his family's fruit stand. Georgetown graduate and Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. Elected to the Sarasota City Commission in 2007 and served as mayor 2010–2011. Co-founded UnidosNow and spent 13 years as a vice president at Eckerd College (Bradenton Herald; WTSP).

42, U.S. Air Force veteran (2005–2013) and small-business owner who moved to Florida about four years ago. Hometown: not publicly listed. Has not held public office (The Ledger; Ballotpedia cross-check).

Incumbent since January 2019; previously served in the Florida House and Florida Senate and is a former Army JAG officer. Serves on the House Ways and Means Committee Born in Bradenton and a Southeast High graduate (U.S. House History; Florida Voters Guide).

Grew up in Indiana. Peace Corps volunteer, then 27 years with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome; also worked in local-government planning. Now retired in Sarasota. Has not held elected office (Florida Voters Guide).

Cybersecurity professional with about 30 years in the field; moved to Sarasota in 2024 and founded the firm Securipolis. Hometown: not publicly listed. Has not held public office (Florida Voters Guide).

Donalds, 47, was born in Brooklyn and lives in Naples. Florida State University finance and marketing graduate who worked in finance, insurance and banking. Served in the Florida House 2016–2020 and has represented Florida's 19th Congressional District since January 2021 (House biography; Osceola News-Gazette).

Jolly, 53, was born in Dunedin and lives in Indian Rocks Beach. Attorney with degrees from Emory and George Mason law school. Represented Florida's 13th Congressional District as a Republican from March 2014 to January 2017 (U.S. House History/); Osceola News-Gazette).

Jewett, 67, is an entrepreneur from Boca Raton with a bachelor's and MBA from San Diego State. Hometown: not publicly listed. No prior office found (Osceola News-Gazette).

Burkett, 65, lives in Surfside, holds a University of Miami finance degree and owns commercial and residential property in eight states. Prior office: not publicly listed in that source (Osceola News-Gazette).

Dimanche, 38, is a FedEx delivery driver from Orlando who studied at St. Johns River State College and the Florida School of the Arts. No prior office (Osceola News-Gazette).

These tickets did not answer a statewide candidate questionnaire, and hometown, background and office history are not publicly listed in the official sources we checked (Osceola News-Gazette).

Incumbent, appointed by Gov. DeSantis in 2025 after serving as the governor's chief of staff. Earlier served as counsel to the 2016 Trump campaign and as senior adviser to then-Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Hometown: not publicly listed (WUSF).

Served in the Florida Legislature from 2012 to 2020, representing part of Miami-Dade, then was assistant U.S. secretary of labor for employment and training in the Biden administration. Hometown: not publicly listed (WUSF).

Incumbent, appointed by Gov. DeSantis in 2025 after CFO Jimmy Patronis went to Congress. Former state legislator, chair of the Republican Party of Florida 2015–2019, and founder of homebuilder Hartland Homes. Hometown: not publicly listed (WUSF).

Founder of the translation company LanguageSpeak. Elected to the Florida Senate in a 2017 special election and served until 2022 (WUSF). Hometown: not publicly listed in that source.

Incumbent, 60, from Trilby. Egg farmer and environmental services businessman, former Florida Senate president, elected agriculture commissioner in 2022 (Tallahassee Democrat).

41, lives in Tampa. Trial attorney and sports agent with degrees from Florida Atlantic University, the University of Toledo College of Law and The New School's Milano School. No prior office (Tallahassee Democrat).

Incumbent and Senate majority leader; insurance and investments executive Born in Bradenton (Florida Senate).

Former advertising, real estate, financial services and banking executive and community organizer. Hometown: not publicly listed. No prior office found (The Bradenton Times).

Has represented Florida House District 74 since 2018 (WGCU). Hometown: not publicly listed in the sources we checked.

Lakewood Ranch attorney, former assistant school superintendent and university educator, and a member of the Manatee County Democratic Executive Committee. No prior elected office (WGCU; campaign site).

British-born Sarasota businessman and a former candidate for the state House and Sarasota City Commission. No prior office (WGCU).

Incumbent, elected in 2024 after serving on the Hillsborough County Commission and the Port Tampa Bay board. Attorney and small-business owner from Apollo Beach (Pulse of Manatee).

U.S. Army and Army National Guard veteran, former president of the Manatee County NAACP, with a background in business and real estate development. Hometown: not publicly listed (Pulse of Manatee).

Lifelong Palmetto resident and Palmetto High graduate who studied at the University of Mississippi. Vice president of marketing at GarrettRichard, the family business he co-founded with his father. No prior office (Pulse of Manatee).

Palmetto resident. Hometown, profession and prior office are not publicly listed (Pulse of Manatee).

Bradenton real estate professional and business consultant with 20-plus years in sales and business development; hosts a local podcast about development and housing. No prior office (Pulse of Manatee).

Incumbent, elected in 2024. Lakewood Ranch resident, engineer and U.S. Army veteran. Hometown: not publicly listed (Pulse of Manatee).

Attorney and certified public accountant who has coached students through Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination for 27 years and taught as an adjunct at John Marshall School of Law. Hometown: not publicly listed (Pulse of Manatee).

Incumbent since November 2020 (WGCU). Hometown and profession: not publicly listed in the sources we checked.

Former public school teacher, now a licensed mental health counselor. No prior office (WGCU).

42. Moved to Venice in 1987 and graduated from Cardinal Mooney High in Sarasota. Joined the Venice City Council in 2019 and has been mayor since 2022. Spent 25 years in public safety as an EMT, paramedic and firefighter; co-owns Sharky's on the Pier (City of Venice; WGCU).

48. Sarasota High class of 1997 and University of South Florida business graduate; has worked at Publix for 32 years. No prior office (WGCU).

Incumbent. Commercial Realtor who leads the Nix Team at Coldwell Banker Sunstar and is a past chair of the Florida SouthWestern State College trustees. Hometown: not publicly listed (The Ballot Brief).

Filed in April 2026. Hometown, profession and prior office are not publicly listed (The Ballot Brief).

Incumbent; first elected to an at-large seat in 2017 (Herald-Tribune). Grew up in Sarasota (Your Observer). Graduate of The American University in Paris and Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. Founder of the marketing firm JAK Consults since 2001; earlier worked for Mattison's, the Asolo Theatre Company and publications in Paris (City of Sarasota candidate page).

Grew up on Long Island and moved to Sarasota 37 years ago after earning a B.A. from SUNY Cortland. Owns a small fitness business as an instructor, coach and personal trainer; past president of the Arlington Park Neighborhood Association. No prior elected office (City of Sarasota candidate page).

71. Grew up in Oakwood, Ohio, and has lived in Sarasota 52 years. USF graduate, retired commercial real estate broker who founded Harshman & Company in 1989. Never held elected office; has chaired the county's Public Facilities Finance Advisory Board and the city's Community Redevelopment Advisory Board (Patch Q&A).

Incumbent, appointed July 23, 2025, to finish the term of Josh Cramer, who became police chief (City of Bradenton). More than 30 years in financial services, real estate, insurance and mortgage finance (Pulse of Manatee). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Bradenton resident for more than 20 years, first run for office. Community volunteer with 500-plus volunteer hours in Manatee County (Pulse of Manatee; campaign site). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Moved to Manatee County from Virginia in 2020 (The Bradenton Times). Background in property management; has served four years on the Bradenton Planning Commission (Pulse of Manatee).

Incumbent, first term, on the council since 2022. Real estate and business attorney who has lived in Manatee County more than 20 years (City of Bradenton; Pulse of Manatee). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Moved to Venice in 2023. Twenty years of service in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard, licensed commercial multi-engine pilot who has managed an airport, and founder of the veterans nonprofit Jump for Valor. No prior office (Venice Area Chamber).

Relocated to the area while caring for her father. Has spent two decades in management at a global industrial distributor, running two regional sales offices. No prior office (Venice Area Chamber). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Retired from a career in pharmaceutical sales. No prior office. Hometown: not publicly listed (Venice Area Chamber).

Challenger. Hometown, profession and prior office are not publicly listed in the city's candidate filings or other official sources we checked (City of Venice filings).

Incumbent, elected 2022. Born in Fort Myers. Attended USF, worked more than a decade as a paramedic, then retired in 2021 as a vice president at a Fortune 500 health care company (City of Venice).

Retired Sarasota Police Department sergeant after a 30-year career, later a Realtor and mortgage loan officer. No prior elected office (campaign site). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Writes the Dear Bubbie newsletter on school and local government issues. No prior elected office (WSLR). Hometown and profession: not publicly listed.

Stay-at-home parent and longtime school and PTO volunteer; first run for office (Your Observer). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Flight attendant with United Airlines for 31 years and board president of Star Lab; former vice chair of Sarasota's parks advisory board (The Sarasota Record). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Lives in Parrish and owns a farm in Myakka City. Former director at Florida Power Corp. (now Duke Energy) and earlier worked for the City of St. Petersburg. No prior elected office (The Bradenton Times).

Immigrated from Finland in the 1980s and lived in Palm Beach County before moving to Bradenton. Works in IT and cybersecurity; ran for the countywide District 7 seat in 2024 (The Bradenton Times).

Incumbent, elected November 2022. Former child welfare attorney for the state; moved to the area after law school in 2014 (Manatee County).

Held the District 2 seat 2014–2018 and was the first Black member of the Palmetto City Commission; co-founder and CEO of Manatee Harvesting (campaign site). Hometown: not publicly listed.

District chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan; formerly a vice president at the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, with earlier roles at DeSoto County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. FSU and USF degrees. No prior elected office (Pulse of Manatee).

Lifelong Palmetto resident, U.S. Army veteran and executive director of the Palmetto Youth Center. Previously served on the Palmetto City Commission and the Manatee County Commission (Pulse of Manatee).

Manatee educator for more than 25 years. No prior office (WWSB). Hometown: not publicly listed.

Incumbent, elected November 2022. Attended Indiana University and Indiana Business College; worked for Frito-Lay and as a bookkeeper at Tropicana Federal Credit Union (WWSB).

Manatee County native and USF economics graduate. Director of the Turning Point USA Manatee County hub, former church youth coordinator and independent journalist. No prior office (WWSB).

Moved to Lakewood Ranch in 2017. Northeastern graduate with a doctorate in physical therapy from Simmons University; owns Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida in Bradenton. No prior office (WWSB).