One of our caucus’ chief objectives is to assist Democratic candidates who will advocate for veteran interests when they are in office. This caucus, of course, stands behind and fully supports all Democratic candidates once they are the Democratic nominees in their elections. We offer a special endorsement program, however, for those candidates who apply and express a profound interest in veteran affairs. We endorse only after the qualifying period and normally if there is only one Democrat in the partisan or nonpartisan race.
The Board of Directors of the Democratic Veterans Caucus of Florida currently MAY endorse in Democratic Primaries or other races with Democratic opposition, but is only likely to do so in special cases where an applicant is a veteran or otherwise very active in the caucus or veteran affairs. This is in direct compliance with our Caucus Mission Statement with authority given to us by the Florida Democratic Party. We also do not provide monetary donations to candidates we endorse, but encourage members and other contacts to support candidates financially.
There is no guarantee of endorsement upon application. Our application for endorsement is available for download by clicking this link and may be submitted for consideration AFTER THE QUALIFYING PERIOD for the candidate’s election. The last day to submit an application is the Tuesday two weeks before any election, primary or general. Additional information may be obtained at and the completed application should be submitted to both:
DVCF.ENDORSE@GMAIL.COM and DVCF.PRESIDENT@GMAIL.COM
QUALIFYING FOR ANY 2026 PRIMARY ELECTION IS CLOSEDDemocratic Veterans Caucus of Florida Final List of 2026 Endorsed Candidates Before Primary (*Candidates with Primary)
US Senate – Lt. Col. Alex Vindman (US Army, ret.)*
US House FL-D3 – Troy Albers*
US House FL-D5 – Rachel Grage*
US House FL-D6 – Robert Cooper II*
US House FL-D12 – Col. Darren McAuley*
US House FL-D13 – Brigadier General Leela Gray*
US House FL-D15 – Robert People*
US House FL-D16 – Tamika Lyles*
US House FL-D19 – Howard Sapp*
US House FL-D21 – LCDR James Martin (USCG Reserve)*
US House FL-D28 – CDR Phil Ehr (US Navy, ret.)
FL Senate D16 – Rep. Fentrice Driskell*
FL House D18 – Art Stresing*
FL House D43 – Samuel Vilchez Santiago*
FL House D46 – Dr. R. LeWayne Johnson*
FL House D57 – Wendy Hoy
FL House D62 – Kyandra Darling*
FL House D64 – Luis Salazar*
FL House D78 – Cindy Banyai
FL House D83 – Leigh Estes
FL House D98 – Keith Abel*
Broward County School Board D6 – Roberto Fernandez III*
Broward County School Board D7 – Cynthia Dominique*
Palm Beach County Commission D3 – Curtis Calabrese
Palm Beach County Commission D6 – Dr. Rudolph Tinker*
Pasco County Commission D2 – Stephanie Vazquez
Pasco County School Board D1 – Kimberly Coward*
Pinellas County Commission D6 – David Glenn, Jr.
Pinellas County School Board D3 – Dawn Douglas*