Florida's 8th Congressional District Primary

Republican incumbent Mike Haridopolos faces two primary challengers today, Aug. 18, as Florida's 8th Congressional District heads toward its first contested Republican primary since he won the seat in 2024. Democrats hold their own two-person primary the same day, with the general election to follow Nov. 3.

Florida runs a traditional partisan primary. Registered Republicans choose among three candidates; registered Democrats choose between two. The top vote-getter in each party advances outright: no runoff, no ranked-choice component. Six candidates are certified for the November general election ballot, including at least one independent.

The 8th District covers the Space Coast region of east-central Florida, anchored by Brevard County and the Melbourne-Titusville corridor. It is home to Kennedy Space Center, a fact that shapes both the district's economy and its congressional representation.

The Candidates

Republican Primary

Haridopolos won the seat in 2024 and is seeking a second term. He sits on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. That chairmanship puts him directly in charge of NASA oversight, a consequential assignment for a district whose economy revolves around the space industry. His legislative work includes sponsoring the One Giant LEAP Act (H.R. 8851), a space policy bill introduced in May 2026, and advancing NASA reauthorization through his subcommittee. Before Congress, Haridopolos served in the Florida State Senate, including a term as Senate President, and worked as an educator and lobbyist.

Daphney Rosario Acevedo-Calvert works as a city budget coordinator and is challenging Haridopolos from within the Republican Party.

Tayla Plumer has filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a Republican candidate in the race.

Democratic Primary

Jennifer Jenkins is a former Brevard County School Board member who first won her District 3 seat in 2020. She entered the FL-08 race in May 2026. Jenkins has centered her campaign on cost-of-living concerns and has conducted a "Show Me the Receipts" tour highlighting rising prices.

Paul Dellinger has an FEC-registered campaign committee.

The Money Behind the Race

Candidates in the Florida 8th District primary 2026 cycle have collectively raised $2,564,114 across the field, according to FEC data as of Aug. 10. No outside spending (independent expenditures or communication costs from outside groups) has been reported for this race.

The top individual contributor on record is Thomas Corr at $24,000, spread across five contributions. Rouben Gregorian contributed $14,826 across seven contributions, and Steve Young gave $14,051 in five contributions. Roy Pence made 13 separate contributions totaling $13,995, and Brian Glackin gave $12,000 across five contributions.

A cluster of 14 additional contributors each gave $14,000: Andrew Allen, Brenda Allen, Carol Corr, Lynn Finkelscola, Marcia Fordyce, Scott Glover, Ronald Howse, Michael Olvey, Andrew Powshok, Teresa Powshok, Christine Schwarzman, Kathy Shoulders, William Shoulders, and Carlos Zaffirini. These 20 named contributors represent a portion of the overall donor pool; the FEC data covers 843 additional contributing records not broken out in this summary.

The absence of outside spending is consistent with the race's competitive profile. Heavily favored incumbents in safe districts rarely attract large independent expenditure campaigns, which tend to concentrate on contested general elections.

Ratings vs. Odds

Cook Political Report rates the seat Solid Republican, a rating it has held since at least July 16. Sabato's Crystal Ball issued the same Solid Republican rating as of July 30, and Inside Elections matched that assessment as of Aug. 6. The consensus rating, which aggregates across forecasters, sits one notch lower at Likely Republican as of Aug. 6, still a strong indicator of Republican dominance in the fall.

On prediction markets, Kalshi gives the Republican nominee a 91.5 percent probability of winning the general election, against 8.5 percent for the Democrat, with no probability assigned to other candidates. The market had recorded $3,143 in trading volume as of Aug. 7, a modest figure that reflects general certainty about the seat's November outcome rather than active speculative interest.

The primary contests on Aug. 18 will determine which Republican and which Democrat advance to a general election that forecasters and markets alike treat as a near-certain Republican hold.

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