The Capitol Region News Collaborative and the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee hosted a candidate forum Monday at WFSU Studios featuring the two candidates in the Florida House District 9 race: Democratic Incumbent Alison Tant and Republican Tracy Robinson.
Both candidates agree affordability is the top issue on the mind for many voters. Tant, who’s been in office since 2020, says she thinks what has been done locally clearly isn’t enough.
“We see that people are graduating from school, and they can't stay in the communities that they're graduating from, so they have to move because jobs aren't here," she said.
Robinson, an artificial intelligence engineer, talked about what she’s currently seeing as a resident of Madison.
“Madison, Florida, shut their grocery store. Jefferson County just got a grocery store, and another issue is gas. And when I walk through the neighborhoods, everything looks a lot of places look destitute, even the downtowns," she said.
Tant says she has a track record of working across the aisle in the Republican-dominated legislature to bring results for her district.
“I have been able to, within the framework of the legislative arena, bring home $64 million to help entities across my district, including Ag interest senior center, the senior center of Leon County, the elder care services that serve our area, children, homeless initiatives, veteran initiatives," she said.
Robinson says she wants to fight for district residents.
“Do you have any children? Because if you have any children, I want to let you know that I will make sure that education is one of my top priorities. And if you also have an elder that you're taking care of, I want you to know I'm fighting for the elders as well because it is my goal to revive District Nine and welcome to a great state of Florida," she said.
Robinson’s campaign is financially outgunned by Tant’s. Robinson has brought in about $3,000, while Tant has raised more than $400 thousand. It’s also a Democratic favored seat, with Tant winning it by 15 points in 2024.
The full forum is below:
