Hillsborough County · Tampa Bay · November 3, 2026 general
Hillsborough County November 3, 2026 general voter guide
Hillsborough is the Tampa Bay county whose government sits between a working seaport, a major Air Force base, and a land-grant research campus — Port Tampa Bay, MacDill Air Force Base, and the University of South Florida — not a theme-park corridor and not a tri-county beach strip. Tampa is the county seat; Plant City, Temple Terrace, Brandon, Riverview, Carrollwood, and Town 'N' Country share at-large county commission seats even when they never share a school-board district. JesusVoter scores candidates on Christian / faith policy, Constitution & liberty, and GOP alignment. Figures below are values scores (Christian / Constitution / GOP) and the 100-point letter. They are not endorsement contracts with a party and not a forecast of Election Night.
Not an official ballot. Not published by any Supervisor of Elections or the Florida Division of Elections. Your legal ballot is by precinct and full residential address. Always verify with Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections sample ballot tool.
Hillsborough’s commission map matters for this primary because Districts 5 and 7 are at-large: every county voter can see those seats, while school-board District 2 (South Tampa–Riverview area) and District 6 are district-limited. Plant City commission groups appear only inside that city. The 13th Judicial Circuit covers this county. U.S. House lines on 2026 maps often split the county (commonly discussed as FL-14 / FL-15 — confirm your own district). A 33602 Channelside address and a 33563 Plant City address do not get the same local card. Always open votehillsborough.gov with your full residential address.
Key facts
- Primary (over): August 18, 2026
- Closed primary: party registration is generally required for Republican or Democratic nominations. NPA voters typically vote nonpartisan contests (school board, many city seats, judicial) and any measures on their ballot.
- Book-closing / registration for this primary: July 20, 2026 (confirm party changes with the SOE)
- General election: November 3, 2026
Open this county in the guide How to vote in Florida Primary 2026
Statewide races (every Hillsborough voter)
MacDill, the port, and I-4 freight mean statewide executive races are not abstract here. The same governor and special Senate lines print on a South Tampa ballot and a Plant City ballot. Scores below are the values scores on file for those statewide names — not a substitute for the county sample ballot.
Governor of Florida
Open Republican primary for a term-limited seat. Scored Republican field on file:
- James Fishback (R) 41 / 35 / 15 A
- Paul Renner (R) 36 / 33 / 19 B
- Byron Donalds (R) 36 / 29 / 20 B (Trump endorsement)
- Jay Collins (R) 34 / 32 / 19 B
U.S. Senate (Special)
Special Senate election on the statewide ballot. Scored name on file: Ashley B. Moody (R) 42 / 28 / 20 A.
Local primary races on file for Hillsborough
At-large county commission and two school-board districts are the countywide-stakes fields on this landing. Plant City groups and 13th Circuit contests are listed from this guide — confirm each one still appears on your August 18 sample ballot.
Hillsborough County Commission District 5 (At-Large)
Republican primary: Donna Cameron Cepeda is scored 32 / 23 / 16 C on a public ordained-minister / Life Christian University stack plus a documented 2022 life-at-conception and anti-gender-ideology-in-schools platform, with a 2022 constitutional-conservative / border / no-new-taxes / anti-mandate record and a 2024 millage-delay vote as limited-government signals (this guide also records a 2025 Sunshine-elimination request as a transparency ding). Stacy Hahn is 27 / 25 / 14 D: opened church membership plus a recorded 2023 vote to pull a sexually explicit LGBTQ how-to from middle schools, and a 2026 fiscal/limited-government/transparency stack (homestead relief, growth pays for growth). Neil Manimala (D) is on a Democratic path with no Jesus/GOP alignment on this guide — thin trail, not a finished mid-band fingerprint.
- Donna Cameron Cepeda (R) 32 / 23 / 16 C
- Stacy Hahn (R) 27 / 25 / 14 D
- Neil Manimala (D) — thin Dem trail
Hillsborough County Commission District 7 (At-Large)
Joshua Wostal (R) is scored medium public-record pass D (not a mid-band twin; see the live card) on a medium public-record pass: party on the ballot is Republican; a Jesus/Gospel campaign trail was not established in that pass. Aileen Rodriguez (D) and Cindy Stuart (D) are on a Democratic primary/general path, not values tops on this guide — thin trail, not a finished mid-band fingerprint.
- Joshua Wostal (R) medium public-record pass D (not a mid-band twin; see the live card)
- Aileen Rodriguez (D) — thin Dem trail
- Cindy Stuart (D) — thin Dem trail
Hillsborough School Board District 2
Open seat (Stacy Hahn is not seeking re-election to the board). Brittany Lyssy is scored 30 / 26 / 15 C: no continuous Jesus grid, with a 1776 Project / conservative education endorsement as the strongest culture signal versus two registered Democrats. Daniela Simic (16 / 14 / 6 F) and Christopher Taylor (16 / 14 / 6 F) share a Dem-aligned educator band where culture signals are similar.
- Brittany Lyssy (NPA) 30 / 26 / 15 C
- Daniela Simic (NPA) 16 / 14 / 6 F
- Christopher Taylor (NPA) 16 / 14 / 6 F
Hillsborough School Board District 6
Sally Harris Williamson is scored 28 / 22 / 14 D: no continuous Jesus grid, with a registered-R / prior-board / GOP-slate listing versus a D-registered incumbent chair. Kenneth Gay is 26 / 20 / 14 D. Karen Perez is 20 / 14 / 6 F as the D-registered incumbent chair with the lowest Constitution alignment in this three-way on this guide’s parental-rights/GOP frame.
- Sally Harris Williamson (NPA) 28 / 22 / 14 D
- Kenneth Gay (NPA) 26 / 20 / 14 D
- Karen Perez (NPA) 20 / 14 / 6 F
Plant City City Commissioner Board Group 3
Karen Kerr is scored 24 / 21 / 12 F: no continuous Jesus grid, professional-leadership NPA mid Christian-adjacency, with R-registration notes lifting republican adjacency. Tony Smith is 23 / 19 / 8 F on a first-responder profile with D-registration notes that lower the republican score after the same-depth WUSF pass. City residents only — confirm Plant City Group 3 on your sample ballot.
- Karen Kerr (NPA) 24 / 21 / 12 F
- Tony Smith (NPA) 23 / 19 / 8 F
Florida 13th Circuit Court Group 7
Luis Aguila is scored 26 / 24 / 13 D as Florida Family Action listed on the 2026 Judicial Primary guide (biblical-worldview vetting), with no full Jesus/Gospel campaign because of judicial canons. Sara Peacock is 18 / 20 / 10 F: not FFA-listed, mid Constitution judicial band below the listed opponent on this guide’s values axis.
- Luis Aguila (NPA) 26 / 24 / 13 D
- Sara Peacock (NPA) 18 / 20 / 10 F
Florida 13th Circuit Court Group 13
Jim Wimsatt is scored 26 / 24 / 13 D on the same FFA 2026 Judicial Primary listing and apply-the-law baseline used for listed trial-court candidates. Nina McGucken Alvarez is 18 / 20 / 10 F: no FFA listing, no Jesus/Gospel judicial campaign, mid Constitution judicial band below the listed opponent.
- Jim Wimsatt (NPA) 26 / 24 / 13 D
- Nina McGucken Alvarez (NPA) 18 / 20 / 10 F
Official sample ballot
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections — sample ballot / voter tools
All Florida county SOEs
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