Miami Dade County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

Marleine Bastien is the incumbent District 2 commissioner, seeking re-election on the August 18 ballot. She is the founder and executive director of Family Action Network Movement, a Haitian-American social services nonprofit she started in 1991, and was first elected in 2022, per Miami Herald race coverage.

Priorities: Affordable housing · Immigrant and community services · Economic opportunity in North Dade

Ernst Jean Louis, described as an independent turned Republican in Miami Times race coverage, is on the printed August 18 ballot for County Commission District 2, per the county's official sample ballot.

Miguel (Skip) Quintero is a trapeze artist and teacher, a Libertarian Party member, and a self-described First Amendment auditor who challenged Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in 2024, per Miami Times and Political Cortadito coverage of the race.

Vicki Lopez is the appointed incumbent District 5 commissioner, facing her first commission election on the August 18 ballot. A former state legislator, she was appointed in late 2025 after Eileen Higgins resigned to run for Miami mayor, and has drawn endorsements from the Miami-Dade Sheriff, the county firefighters union, and the South Florida PBA while raising nearly $1.2 million, per Florida Politics coverage.

Priorities: Housing and condo-safety policy · Transportation · Constituent services

Rob Piper is a retired Marine Corps officer who served from 1993 to 2016 with three combat tours in Iraq, later a Florida House legislative aide with a PhD in international relations, per his campaign site. The Miami-Dade Democratic Party endorsed him in this race, per the party's voter guide.

Priorities: Transparency and accountability in county government, per his campaign site · Lower housing costs and expand affordable housing, per his campaign site · Climate resilience and flood protection, per his campaign site

Joe Sanchez spent 36 years with the Florida Highway Patrol in a 38-year public service career, receiving the Medal of Valor for his leadership in the ValuJet crash recovery, and served 11 years as a City of Miami commissioner including a term as chairman, per his campaign site. He is also a U.S. Army Reserve veteran.

Priorities: Eliminate property taxes for seniors with homesteaded homes, per his campaign site · Defend the Miami River, Biscayne Bay, and the Urban Development Boundary, per his campaign site · Affordability so residents can stay in Miami, per his campaign site

Danielle Cohen Higgins is an attorney and the incumbent District 8 commissioner, appointed in 2020 and elected in 2022, seeking re-election on the August 18 ballot.

Priorities: South Dade transit and infrastructure · Housing affordability · Public safety

John Edward DuBois is a two-term former Vice Mayor of Palmetto Bay and a longtime board member of the Camillus House homeless-services nonprofits, per his campaign site.

Priorities: Traffic relief through better planning and infrastructure, per his campaign site · Create 50,000 new jobs in South Dade, per his campaign site · Fiscal responsibility and accountability at County Hall, per his campaign site

Martha (Vega) Hero is CEO of National Community Services, per Miami Times race coverage, and has worked on Hispanic outreach for Republican campaigns, per Political Cortadito's coverage of the race.

Linda Cothiere is a Miami-Dade public school teacher and the wife of State Rep. Wallace Aristide, per Miami Herald and Miami Times race coverage.

Priorities: Expand preschool opportunities, per Miami Times debate coverage · Oppose school partnerships with immigration enforcement, per Miami Times debate coverage

Erhabor Ighodaro is an educator and former Vice Mayor of Miami Gardens, per Miami Herald race coverage.

Joy L. Jackson is a retired teacher who spent 51 years working in Miami-Dade public schools and is endorsed by United Teachers of Dade, per Miami Herald and Miami Times race coverage.

Priorities: Hold charter and private schools receiving public funds to the same testing standards as public schools, per Miami Times debate coverage

Bernard W.H. Jennings chairs the Board of Trustees at Florida Memorial University and is a former Miami-Dade Democratic Party official, per Miami Herald and Miami Times race coverage.

Priorities: Oppose school co-locations and reform state funding formulas, per Miami Times debate coverage · Enlist retired teachers for tutoring, per Miami Times debate coverage

Wrendly Mesidor is a teacher at a local Catholic school, per Miami Herald and Miami Times race coverage.

Priorities: Oppose school co-location practices, per Miami Times debate coverage

Katrina Wilson is a former Miami Gardens councilwoman and former principal of Florida's first charter school; she resigned her council seat to run for this open school board seat, per Miami Herald and Miami Times race coverage.

Priorities: Support school choice and quality competition among schools, per Miami Times debate coverage

James Wright is a former Opa-locka police chief and city manager, per Miami Herald and Miami Times race coverage.

Priorities: Keep federal immigration enforcement out of schools, per Miami Times debate coverage

Monica Colucci is the incumbent District 8 school board member and board vice chair, per Miami Herald coverage. She is an elementary school teacher with 26 years in Miami-Dade public schools and briefly served as a special assistant in Gov. Ron DeSantis's office, per her campaign site.

Priorities: Prioritize school safety, per her campaign site · Back-to-basics academics: reading, writing, math, and civics, per her campaign site · Curriculum transparency and parental involvement, per her campaign site

Sam Joseph is a write-in candidate for Miami-Dade School Board District 8 — his name will not be printed on the ballot.