Florida’s 19th District House Race 2026

Sarasota County's school board is losing its conservative majority after three sitting conservatives, including chair and Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, opted not to seek reelection. Ziegler's District 1 seat is now headed to a November 3 runoff after no primary candidate cleared 50% of the vote.

Jimmy Glover, backed by Democrats, led the primary field and says voters are ready to move past "culture wars" and personal agendas. Heidi Brandt, backed by Republicans, is distancing herself from Ziegler-era policies, saying she wants to keep politics out of board decisions and focus on students. The race is officially nonpartisan.

The outcome will help determine whether Sarasota's board maintains a conservative-leaning direction shaped by Ziegler's tenure or shifts toward a more moderate composition, a closely watched bellwether in Florida's broader education politics debate.

Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, was executed by lethal injection Thursday at Florida State Prison near Starke, becoming the state's 15th person put to death this year. He was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m., minutes after the three-drug injection began. Asked for a final statement, Conahan said only, "No sir."

Conahan was convicted in 1999 of the 1996 kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery, one of at least six people whose remains were found in a wooded Charlotte County area, cases that became known as the "Hog Trail Murders." Investigators named Conahan a person of interest in the other deaths but never charged him; he maintained his innocence, calling the evidence circumstantial. The Florida Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals this week.

A sister of one victim said her family would celebrate his death. Florida, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, has carried out 19 of the nation's 47 executions in 2025, a state record. Another Florida execution, of Curtis Wilkie Beasley, is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, was executed by lethal injection Thursday at Florida State Prison near Starke, becoming the state's 15th person put to death this year. He was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. after a three-drug injection, roughly 12 minutes after the process began. Conahan declined to make a final statement.

Conahan was convicted in 1999 of the 1996 kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery, whose mutilated body was found in a wooded area of Charlotte County, part of a string of killings dubbed the "Hog Trail Murders" after at least six bodies, mostly homeless men, were discovered in the area over several years. Investigators identified Conahan as a person of interest in the other deaths but never charged him. Eleven victim family members witnessed the execution.

Florida, under outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis, has carried out more than half of the 25 U.S. executions this year and leads the nation's death chamber activity. Another Florida execution, of Curtis Wilkie Beasley, is scheduled for September 29.

Iowa lawmakers convened a special session on Oct. 2 and approved an expansion of the state's Major Economic Growth Attraction (MEGA) program, authorizing up to $1.36 billion in tax incentives to help secure a proposed $15 billion Mesabi Metallics steel mill in Lee County in southeast Iowa. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law hours after the legislature adjourned. The vote split unevenly across party lines: Republicans backed the changes 85-8, while Democrats opposed them 28-18.

Critics, including some Republicans, argued the state overpaid, with one senator contending a rival bid from Arkansas was never a serious competing option and that Iowa effectively negotiated against itself. Supporters, including Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham, defended the deal as performance-based, noting the state won't commit funds until the plant is operational. The project is pitched as a major driver of high-paying jobs in rural Iowa, and the debate highlights ongoing scrutiny of large state subsidy packages used to attract industrial investment.

A Florida woman, Christine Sweet, was arrested after deputies said she threw a glass bottle of Veganaise mayo at another driver during a road rage incident in Lee County in August.

According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, Sweet was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on Corkscrew Road when her driver cut off another car. Sweet allegedly began yelling profanities at the other driver, then threw the glass bottle at her when the vehicles were side by side. The bottle struck the victim in the face, causing a laceration under her eye. Sweet reportedly told her driver to flee the scene afterward.

Deputies located Sweet's vehicle Thursday at a shopping plaza on South Tamiami Trail and took her into custody. She has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office in Florida held a funeral service at Hertz Arena in Estero for K-9 Dundee, who died in the line of duty on Sept. 28 while assisting deputies at a scene in North Fort Myers. Officials believe Dundee died from a medical event, noting no gunshot or stab wounds were found on the dog.

Dundee was certified in patrol and narcotics detection, completing 173 deployments and 28 apprehensions during his career. The sheriff's office described him as "a member of our LCSO family" who "ran toward danger without hesitation," and honored him as a fallen officer who "served with courage, fought with heart, and remained faithful to his duty until his very last breath."

Authorities in Lee County, Florida, have arrested 38-year-old Uriel Santiago Perez, a Mexican national living in the country illegally, on felony sexual battery charges involving a minor. According to law enforcement, Perez contacted a homeowner in North Fort Myers under the pretext of touring a property listed for sale, then allegedly isolated an underage boy in a bathroom and sexually assaulted him. The Lee County Sheriff's Office established probable cause and took Perez into custody; he remains held as criminal proceedings continue.

Background checks found Perez had entered the United States without legal authorization and had a prior 2013 prostitution conviction in Georgia. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer with the Lee County Jail, seeking to take custody of Perez for federal immigration proceedings and possible removal once the criminal case concludes or if he is released from local custody. Perez is a transgender woman; some early reports misidentified sex, which authorities have since clarified.