Florida’s 17th District House Seat: Who Will Win in 2026

Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida introduced legislation to bar the federal government from purchasing, operating, or accessing Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras without a judicial warrant. The bill, called the Facilitating Liberty and Accountability for Flock Observations (FLAFO) Act, would also tie Department of Justice grants for local law enforcement to adoption of similar privacy safeguards. Steube said the Fourth Amendment requires warrants before Americans can be tracked while driving, and criticized Flock Safety's network as too expansive and prone to abuse.

ALPR systems, originally designed for limited vehicle identification, have expanded into broader AI-powered surveillance, drawing scrutiny over misuse, including the wrongful jailing of a Florida woman falsely linked to a crash by Flock data. In New Jersey, Edison approved dozens of new cameras and its first thermal-equipped drone despite privacy objections and ACLU criticism of the state's long data retention. In Texas, the fight has split communities: cities including College Station, Carrollton, Kyle, Conroe, and Laredo have voted to keep or renew Flock contracts even after Gov. Greg Abbott froze state funding amid an investigation into grant spending, while roughly two dozen other Texas cities and counties have moved to end their agreements, and Houston and Dallas are scaling back grant-funded cameras while keeping city-funded ones running.

Florida's primaries produced a mixed picture for both parties ahead of November's general election. Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican gubernatorial nomination with Trump's endorsement and a large financial edge, beating Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, former House Speaker Paul Renner and newcomer James Fishback despite Gov. Ron DeSantis's public misgivings; Donalds would become Florida's first Black governor if elected. Former Republican congressman David Jolly, running with Gwen Graham as his lieutenant governor pick, won the Democratic nomination over state Rep. Dotie Joseph and others, pitching himself as a centrist who wants to end the culture wars. The two will meet in November to succeed the term-limited DeSantis, in a state where Democrats haven't won the governorship in over 30 years.

Progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon defeated establishment-backed Alex Vindman for the Senate Democratic nomination despite being outspent; she faces Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who won her primary with Trump's backing, in the special election for Marco Rubio's former seat. Incumbents Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz turned back challengers, including Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, in redrawn districts under Florida's new Republican-favored congressional map. Trump-endorsed Cory Mills lost his House primary amid domestic violence allegations, while far-right figures Dan Bilzerian and Madison Cawthorn were also defeated, alongside Rep. Randy Fine's contentious win.