James Buchanan (Florida)

James Buchanan

Republican Party

Candidate, Florida State Senate District 22

Florida House of Representatives District 74

Tenure

2018 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

7

Predecessor: Julio Gonzalez (R)

Compensation

Base salary

$29,697/year

Per diem

$175/day for a maximum of 60 days.

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Next election

November 3, 2026

Contact

Official website

Official Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

James Buchanan (Republican Party) is a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 74. He assumed office on November 6, 2018. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.

Buchanan (Republican Party) is running for election to the Florida State Senate to represent District 22. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.^[source]

Biography

Buchanan is the son of U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan (R) of Florida's 16th Congressional District.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Buchanan was assigned to the following committees:

• Commerce Committee, Chair

2023-2024

Buchanan was assigned to the following committees:

• Infrastructure Strategies Committee (decommissioned)
• State Affairs Committee
• Ways and Means Committee, Vice Chair

2021-2022

Buchanan was assigned to the following committees:

• State Affairs Committee

2019-2020

Buchanan was assigned to the following committees:

• Commerce Committee

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2026

See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2026

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Florida State Senate District 22

James Buchanan is running in the general election for Florida State Senate District 22 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	James Buchanan (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Endorsements

2024

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Florida House of Representatives District 74

Incumbent James Buchanan defeated Nancy Simpson in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 74 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James Buchanan (R)	64.6	74,060
	Submit photo	Nancy Simpson (D)	35.4	40,516

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 114,576
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Nancy Simpson advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74

Incumbent James Buchanan defeated Michelle Pozzie in the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74 on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James Buchanan	73.7	15,901
	Submit photo	Michelle Pozzie	26.3	5,687

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,588
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

2022

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

The general election was canceled. James Buchanan (R) won without appearing on the ballot.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Conner Trombley (No Party Affiliation)

2020

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Florida House of Representatives District 74

Incumbent James Buchanan defeated Lisa Stortstrom in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 74 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James Buchanan (R)	62.1	73,420
		Lisa Stortstrom (D)	37.9	44,858

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 118,278
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Lisa Stortstrom advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent James Buchanan advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74.

2018

Regular election

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Florida House of Representatives District 74

James Buchanan defeated Tony Mowry and Robert Samuel Kaplan in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 74 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James Buchanan (R)	56.9	52,107
		Tony Mowry (D)	40.5	37,078
	Submit photo	Robert Samuel Kaplan (No Party Affiliation)	2.6	2,371

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 91,556
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74

Tony Mowry advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Tony Mowry

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74

James Buchanan defeated Linda Yates in the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 74 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James Buchanan	59.2	12,886
	Submit photo	Linda Yates	40.8	8,878

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,764
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Special election

FL House District 72

See also: Florida state legislative special elections, 2018

A special election for District 72 in the Florida House of Representatives was held on February 13, 2018. The seat became vacant following Alexandra Miller's (R) resignation.^[1] Democratic candidate Margaret Good won the special election by defeating Republican candidate James Buchanan and Libertarian candidate Alison Foxall.^[2][3][4] Good initially moved on to the special election after defeating Ruta Jouniari in the primary on December 5, 2017.^[5]

In February 2018, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune said of the race, "The House District 72 race is a proxy for the same political battles roiling Washington, D.C., with Trump playing a starring role in attack ads against Buchanan and Good being linked to U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi."^[6]

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) endorsed Good for the seat, exemplifying the Democratic Party's interest in the race.^[7] Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley also visited Sarasota to host a fundraiser for Good on February 7, 2018. At the same time, Gov. Rick Scott appeared with Buchanan at a Manatee County business. President Donald Trump's (R) former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski also campaigned for Buchanan on February 11, 2018. He was endorsed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R) as well as state Sen. Bill Galvano and state Rep. Jim Boyd.^{[8][9][10][11]}

General election

Special general election for Florida House of Representatives District 72

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Margaret Good (D)	52.2	23,081
	Submit photo	James Buchanan (R)	44.8	19,816
		Alison Foxall (L)	3.0	1,339

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,236
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

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2024

James Buchanan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

James Buchanan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

James Buchanan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

The video below is an interview with Suncoast News Network.

Suncoast News Network, "Dist. 72 Special Election: Republican Candidate James Buchanan," January 24, 2018

Campaign finance summary

---

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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James Buchanan campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Florida House of Representatives District 74	Won general	$191,311	$217,386
2022	Florida House of Representatives District 74	Won general	$83,065	$82,191
2020	Florida House of Representatives District 74	Won general	$156,627	N/A**
2018	Florida House of Representatives District 72	Lost general	$537,160	N/A**
2018	Florida House of Representatives District 74	Won general	$326,639	N/A**
Grand total			$1,294,804	$299,577
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Florida

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Florida scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 8. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Club For Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progress Florida and Florida Watch Legislators were scored based on their votes on health care, the economy, public schools, affordable housing, clean energy and water, reproductive rights, the freedom to vote and more.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 7 to May 5. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progress Florida and Florida Watch Legislators were scored based on their votes on health care, the economy, public schools, affordable housing, clean energy and water, reproductive rights, the freedom to vote and more. The Institute for Legislative Analysis Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 14. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progress Florida and Florida Watch Legislators were scored based on their votes on health care, the economy, public schools, affordable housing, clean energy and water, reproductive rights, the freedom to vote and more. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 2 to April 30. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progress Florida and Florida Watch Legislators were scored based on their votes on health care, the economy, public schools, affordable housing, clean energy and water, reproductive rights, the freedom to vote and more. Sierra Club Florida Chapter Legislators are scored on votes on environmental bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 14 to March 19. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Foundation for Florida's Future: House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

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Newsletters

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External links

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Officeholder Florida House of Representatives District 74 Website Instagram

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Footnotes

1. ↑ Bradenton Herald, "Dates set for House District 72 special election," September 1, 2017
2. ↑ Florida Election Watch, "Unofficial Election Results," accessed February 13, 2018
3. ↑ Herald-Tribune, "Governor sets date for District 72 special election," September 1, 2017
4. ↑ Your Observer, "Good wins House District 72 Democratic primary," December 5, 2017
5. ↑ Saint Peters Blog, "Four candidates qualify for HD 72 special election," September 29, 2017
6. ↑ Herald-Tribune, "Sarasota state House race has national implications," Updated February 4, 2018
7. ↑ Herald-Tribune, "Joe Biden endorses Margaret Good in Sarasota state House race," February 5, 2018
8. ↑ Herald-Tribune, "Corey Lewandowski rallies GOP base in closing stretch of Sarasota state House race," February 11, 2018
9. ↑ Florida Politics, "James Buchanan adds Marco Rubio endorsement," September 28, 2017
10. ↑ Sunshine State News, "James Buchanan Reels in Endorsements from Galvano, Boyd, Sarasota Sheriff," September 22, 2017
11. ↑ Herald-Tribune, "Sarasota state House candidates get help from prominent party members," February 7, 2018

Political offices
Preceded by Julio Gonzalez (R)	Florida House of Representatives District 74 2018-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Florida State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Ben Albritton

Majority Leader:Jim Boyd

Senators

District 1

Don Gaetz (R)

District 2

Jay Trumbull (R)

District 3

Corey Simon (R)

District 4

Clay Yarborough (R)

District 5

Tracie Davis (D)

District 6

Jennifer Bradley (R)

District 7

Tom Leek (R)

District 8

Tom Wright (R)

District 9

Stan McClain (R)

District 10

Jason Brodeur (R)

District 11

Ralph Massullo (R)

District 12

Colleen Burton (R)

District 13

Keith Truenow (R)

District 14

Vacant

District 15

LaVon Bracy Davis (D)

District 16

Darryl Rouson (D)

District 17

Carlos Smith (D)

District 18

Nick DiCeglie (R)

District 19

Debbie Mayfield (R)

District 20

Jim Boyd (R)

District 21

Ed Hooper (R)

District 22

Joe Gruters (R)

District 23

Daniel Burgess (R)

District 24

Mack Bernard (D)

District 25

Kristen Arrington (D)

District 26

Lori Berman (D)

District 27

Ben Albritton (R)

District 28

Kathleen Passidomo (R)

District 29

Erin Grall (R)

District 30

Tina Polsky (D)

District 31

Gayle Harrell (R)

District 32

Rosalind Osgood (D)

District 33

Jonathan Martin (R)

District 34

Shevrin Jones (D)

District 35

Barbara Sharief (D)

District 36

Ileana Garcia (R)

District 37

Jason Pizzo (N)

District 38

Alexis Calatayud (R)

District 39

Bryan Avila (R)

District 40

Ana Rodriguez (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (11)

No Party Affiliation (1)

Vacancies (1)

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