With the primary elections behind us, it’s not too soon to begin looking ahead to November.
In this post, I set the stage with an overview of what will be on the ballot for Collier County voters. In the coming weeks, I will research the candidates and referendums, including the three proposed constitutional amendments, and share what I learn in my 2026 Collier County Elections Guide at sparkers-soapbox.com/2026-collier-county-general-election-voter-guide. Bookmark the page now and check back when you’re ready to do your own review.
Here’s a look at what will be on the November ballot:
Partisan Races
Federal Offices
All Florida voters will elect one of the state’s two U.S. Senators and one of 29 of the state’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- U.S. Senate: Incumbent Ashley Moody (R) vs. Angie Nixon (D).
- U.S. House District 19: Jim Schwartzel (R) ) vs. Victor Arias (D).
- U.S. House District 22: Casey Askar (R) ) vs. Pia Dandiya (D)
State Offices
- Governor: Byron Donalds ( R) ) vs. David Jolly (D)
- Attorney General: Incumbent James Uthmeier (R) ) vs. Jose Javier Rodriguez (D)
- Chief Financial Officer: Incumbent Blaise Ingoglia (R) vs. Annette Taddeo (D)
- Commissioner of Agriculture: Incumbent Wilton Simpson (R) vs. Joey Mendoza Atkins (D)
- FL Senate District 28: Lauren Melo (R) ) vs. David Silverberg (D).
- FL House District 80: Incumbent Adam Botana (R) ) vs. William Moskal (D)
- FL House District 81: Incumbent Yvette Benarroch (R ) vs. Kim Finer (D)
- FL House District 82: Liesa Priddy (R) vs. Arthur Boyer (D)
Local Offices
- Board of County Commissioners District 2: Incumbent Chris Hall (R) vs. Cody Davis (JEF)
Non-Partisan Races
- Naples Airport Authority Seat 4: John Goede vs. Rick Mellon
- Naples Airport Authority Seat 5: Don Antonacchio vs. Jason Brooke vs. David MacGregor vs. Jason Schappert vs. Keith West
- Collier Mosquito Control District Seat 2: Incumbent Sandra Lee Buxton vs. Bebe Kanter
- Collier Mosquito Control District Seat 3: Incumbent Ed Brandt vs. Jay Kohlhagen
- Greater Naples Fire District Seat 3: Connie Bettinger vs. incumbent Brian Cross
- Greater Naples Fire District Seat 4: Incumbent Patrick Dearborn vs. Elizabeth Flores
- North Collier Fire District Seat 4: Matthew Boggan vs. incumbent Chris Lombardo
- Marco Island City Council: Seven people are running for four seats. They are John Aguis, Jason Bailey, Dennis Bartolucci, Darrin Palumbo (incumbent; seeking a second term), Chris Ricci, Cindy Sheppleman, and Teri Sommerfeld. The top four vote-getters will win.
Other Ballot Items
- Supreme Court Merit Retention: All Florida voters will vote on whether or not Florida Supreme Court Justice Carlos Muniz should continue to serve for another six-year term. The majority of voters decides.
- Constitutional Amendments: All Florida voters will also vote on three proposed amendments to the state constitution. They are:
- Amendment 1 – Florida Budget Stabilization Fund Amendment
- Amendment 2 – Florida Amendment to Exempt Tangible Personal Property of Agricultural Land from Taxation
- Amendment 3 – Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments A vote of 60% or more of votes cast is required to pass.
- Collier County Tourist Development Tax Referendum: All Collier County voters will decide whether to raise the county’s Tourist Development Tax from 5% to 6%, adding a sixth cent to the tax charged on short-term rentals of six months or less. A simple majority of votes cast is required to pass.
Key Dates
Note these dates on your calendar so you won’t miss one of these key dates:
- Sept. 24: Vote-by-mail ballots mailed out by Collier Supervisor of Elections
- Oct. 5: Deadline to register to vote
- Oct. 22: Deadline to request that ballot be mailed
- Oct. 22-31: Early voting
- Nov. 3: Election Day
Next Steps
I’ll be keeping Sparker’s Soapbox subscribers informed as I complete research on the various offices and referendums on the ballot via a weekly email with the subject line “Last Week in Sparker’s Research”, usually on Monday mornings.
Bookmark my 2026 Collier County Elections Guide at sparkers-soapbox.com/2026-collier-county-general-election-voter-guide so you can find my work at any time.
