Who’s on the Seminole County primary ballot for 2026

The qualifying period has ended for Seminole County government races, putting the 2026 primary election in sharper focus, as one county commissioner won reelection when his opponent failed to qualify. 

Nakicha Dunn, the candidate for Seminole County Commission, said there were mitigating circumstances and still wants to be added to the ballot.

“I’m so disgusted,” Dunn said in an interview with Oviedo Community News.  “I’m not taking this lightly.”

The official deadline for qualifying for most offices in Florida was Friday, June 12 at noon.

This cements candidates for primary elections in contests for the U.S. House of Representatives, Florida’s House and Senate, and for nonpartisan races like School Board. It also finalized who is running for the hotly contested House District 7, currently held by embattled U.S. Rep. Cory Mills. 

The Florida primary election will be held Aug. 18. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Aug. 6, and early voting runs from Aug. 8 to Aug. 15, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

The deadline to change political parties or register to participate in Florida’s closed primary is July 20.  Florida has a closed primary system, where voters must be registered as a Democrat or Republican to vote for that party’s nominee for office. In Seminole County, about a third of voters are registered for minor parties or have no party listed at all. Those voters would not able to vote for the Democratic or Republican nominee for U.S. Congress, for example, but would be able to vote for school board.

Check here for the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections guide on registering, and see below for a breakdown of races.

Seminole County Commissioner Jay Zembower reelected

Incumbent Jay Zembower technically won reelection Friday when his opponent did not qualify. 

Democrat Nakicha Dunn had filed to run against Republican Zembower for District 2. According to the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections, Dunn delivered a check Friday to cover the $6,778 needed to qualify to run for the office. 

But her Form 6, a candidate’s financial disclosure form, wasn’t received until 12:25 p.m. — after the noon deadline. The form had been filed digitally June 4, but a copy of it had to be included with the packet delivered to the Supervisor of Elections.

Officials said the document could have been emailed to the Supervisor of Elections.

“As you know, Florida law strictly dictates the qualifying timeline and paperwork requirements,” the election supervisor’s office wrote in an email. “All qualifying papers must be submitted to this office by noon on the final day of the qualifying period. That deadline is established by law and is not subject to discretion by this office.”

According to a timeline released by the office, Dunn arrived at the office at 11:17 a.m., before the noon deadline. But Dunn’s sister fell outside. 

Dunn came in, gave them the check, and was told she needed to get a copy of the Form 6. She left after her sister filled out an incident report for the fall, and didn’t return until after 12:28 p.m., past the official deadline.

Dunn said her sister’s fall was a “mitigating circumstance.”

“They can put my name on the ballot because I qualified,” Dunn said. “I qualified. And I got the check right here, dated and everything. I got pictures of her accepting all my stuff.”

Dunn said the process of running has been positive, and didn’t rule out a future run for office. 

“I remain positive and have truly enjoyed my experience within the community,” Dunn said. “My goal is simply to ensure the facts are known for future reference and to clarify the logistics of the qualifying process, regardless of the outcome.”

The Supervisor of Election’s office said Dunn was at the counter with her sister while her sister completed the incident report related to the fall. 

“Ms. Dunn was not a party to that paperwork, as incident documentation is completed by the individual involved,” Supervisor of Elections Amy Pennock wrote. “Ms. Dunn and her sister arrived and departed in separate vehicles. At no point was Ms. Dunn required to complete any paperwork related to the incident.”

Pennock said there was nothing the office could do without a court order. 

“The only mechanism available to Ms. Dunn at this point would be to seek relief through the courts,” Pennock wrote. “This office has no legal authority to qualify a candidate after the close of the qualifying period. Our role is ministerial —  we administer the process as prescribed by Florida law. Any exception to that process would require a court order.”

When asked, Dunn said she was considering a lawsuit, but would need to find an attorney.

Zembower said he didn’t want to comment on what happened with Dunn. But he said he filed his qualifying paperwork on the first day he was able. 

“There’s a qualifying period. It’s not the last hour of qualifying,” Zembower said. “I filed my paperwork around the first day of qualifying. But that’s me.”

Separately, incumbent Republican Seminole County Commissioner Amy Lockhart will face Democrat Charline Santos in November.

Want to contact your elected leaders and weigh in on this topic? Find Seminole County Commission contact information here. Have a news tip or opinion to share with OCN? Do that here.

Related story: Click here to read 39 election myths debunked

School board races will be decided in August primary

Three school board races are up for election in 2026, and all three will be decided in the August vote.

School board races are nonpartisan, and the first round of votes are held Aug.18. Since all three seats only have two contenders, the races will be decided then. 

District 1 currently has incumbent Kristine Kraus running against recent Seminole County Public Schools graduate Antonio Pizza, a currency student at the University of Central Florida.  

In District 2, incumbent Kelley Davis is not seeking reelection. That will see Joshua Memminger, a Sanford police sergeant who has been a school resource officer, going against Holton Mills, the chairperson of the Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools.

And in District 5, incumbent Autumn Garick is being challenged by Brian T. Newsome, who works for chemical manufacturers.

Florida House has two open contests in Seminole

Two Florida House seats are up for election in 2026 without incumbents, in races that could have a huge impact on Seminole County’s rural boundary. 

Florida lawmakers this year considered proposals that would have effectively killed the rural boundaries in Orange and Seminole counties. 

Winter Springs Republican David Smith has reached his term limit and can’t run for House District 38 this year. Emily Duda Buckley of Duda Farm Fresh Foods Inc. in Oviedo qualified for the Republican party; she will face Republican Marcus Hyatt in the primary. The winner of that contest will face Democrat Michelle DeJesus in the November general election. 

And Republican Rep. Susan Plasencia announced she will not seek reelection. 

“My mother is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and my siblings and I are committed to caring for her at home with dignity,” Plasencia wrote. “The disease asks more of our family every day, and the woman who gave everything to raise me now needs me.”

Two candidates have qualified for the November ballot in the House District 33 race: Republican Robert Prater and Democrat Jane Aman. 

House District 36 incumbent Republican Rachel Plakon drew a primary challenger: Republican Joshua S. Sorto. The winner there will face Democrat Darryl Block. 

And in House District 39, incumbent Republican Doug Bankson will face Republican Carlos F. Johary, Sr. in the primary. The winner there will face Democrat Jarod Fox in November.

On the Florida Senate side, Jason Brodeur did not draw a primary opponent this year, despite controversial votes earlier in the year to gut the rural boundary in Seminole County; that issue failed, but lawmakers expect it to come back next year. 

Brodeur will face one of two Democratic challengers in a primary for Senate District 10. H. Alexander Duncan and Maitland Mayor John Lowndes are competing for the Democratic primary. 

Seminole County’s Legislative Delegation includes:

Sen. Jason Brodeur, Senate District 10

Rep. Rachel Plakon, House District 36

Rep. Susan Plasencia, House District 37

Rep. David Smith, House District 38

Rep. Doug Bankson, House District 39

Crowded field for Rep. Cory Mills’ seat 

Eight people qualified in a crowded primary for U.S. House District 7, including a former Democratic lawmaker. 

Incumbent Rep. Cory Mills has been under investigation for allegations of assault against a woman he was reportedly dating, and a court order barring Mills from being within 500 feet of another woman’s residence, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics. 

Mills has gotten an endorsement from President Donald Trump. 

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A post shared by Cory Mills (@corymillsforflorida)

Republicans who qualified to run for U.S House District 7 Republican primary are: 

• Incumbent Cory Mills, the cofounder of Pacem Solutions
• Ryan Elijah, a former TV news reporter in Seminole County
• Michael Johnson, a U.S. Army veteran
• Sarah Ulrich, a small business owner

Democrats who qualified to run for the U.S. House District 7 Democratic primary are:

• Bale Dalton, a former chief of staff at NASA and military legislative assistant to Sen. Bill Nelson
• Alan Grayson, a former Democrat representing Orlando in the U.S. House who ran for U.S. Senate in 2024.
• Marialana Kinter, a UCF student and veteran who worked as a Naval nuclear reactor supervisor.

Libertarian Christopher Dennison also qualified for U.S. House District 7 and will be on the November ballot.

Oviedo incumbent draws possible challenger

Oviedo City Councilmember Keith Britton has drawn a possible challenger, his first in recent elections. 

Jordan Linden, who works in finance in the pharmaceutical research industry, has filed to run against Britton. He said recent issues with the Oviedo Babe Ruth league spurred him to run. 

He’s also trying to understand how a proposed Florida constitutional amendment to cut property taxes could impact Oviedo’s parks and recreation budget. 

“How is this going to affect my community? How is this going to affect my family?” Linden asked. “I want more answers from my elected officials: What is this going to mean for the parks services I use? We play baseball; we go to the pool.”

Related: Seminole County’s potential impact from property tax reform: $188M over two years

Linden said he has nothing against Britton and thinks he’s done a great job on the City Council. Linden said that, while he’s filed, he’s still not positive he’ll collect the signatures to run.

“I’m not fully committed at this point,” Linden said. “I don’t know if I will make it across the finish line. … I’m really deciding now.”

Britton has been serving on the Oviedo City Council since 2006, and has run unopposed in the last several elections. 

While Linden has filed to run, he hasn’t qualified, which requires collecting signatures and paying a fee. The qualifying period in Oviedo runs from Aug. 3 to Aug. 7 at noon.

Britton did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment before the publication deadline. 

Abe Aboraya is a Report for America corps member