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Florida general election: November 3, 2026

Who is running for Florida Senate, District 28 in 2026?

Here are the candidates for Florida Senate, District 28 on the November 3, 2026 ballot. This race is on the ballot for voters in Florida Senate District 28.

Positions come only from each candidate's own votes, official actions, statements and questionnaire answers, never from party labels. Every item links to its source.

Side by side

Each candidate's position on the issues this office handles, from their own record. Details and sources are in each profile below.

IssueDavid SilverbergDemocratLauren Uhlich MeloRepublican
AbortionNo public positionIllegal, except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incestVoted · medium
GunsNo public positionRemove most restrictions; bearing arms is a rightVoted · medium
School choiceNo, keep public money in traditional public schoolsSaid · mediumYes, universal school choice for every familyOfficial action · medium
Curriculum and booksKeep access broad; removals should be rareSaid · mediumParents, including the right to remove material they object toVoted · medium
Policing and crimeNo public positionTougher sentences, more police funding, and stricter bailVoted · medium
Election rulesNo public positionStrict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsVoted · medium
Gender care for minorsNo public positionNo, ban these treatments for minorsVoted · medium
RedistrictingNo public positionState legislatures draw maps and may redraw any time, including for partisan advantageVoted · medium
Death penaltyNo public positionExpand it and use it more often, including for crimes like child rapeVoted · medium
Kids onlineNo public positionBan social media accounts for minorsVoted · medium
Transgender athletesNo public positionNo, teams should be based on biological sex, with open or coed optionsVoted · medium
DEI programsNo public positionBan DEI offices and required training at public institutionsVoted · medium
China policyNo public positionGet tougher: broad tariffs, state bans on land purchases, and forced app salesVoted · medium

David Silverberg

Democrat

Private citizen (retired journalist, publisher of The Paradise Progressive)

David Silverberg is a retired journalist and permanent Florida resident since 2013 who has written the political blog The Paradise Progressive since 20181. He was founding editor of Homeland Security Today, managing editor of The Hill, and communications director for a 2018 congressional campaign in District 191. He lists a 2021 resolution reaffirming Collier County's allegiance to the Constitution among his career highlights1.

Where they stand 2 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

  • School choiceNo, keep public money in traditional public schoolsmedium
    Said · medium confidence
    • His campaign platform says to stop diverting public school dollars to charter and parochial schools. (2026) source
  • Curriculum and booksKeep access broad; removals should be raremedium
    Said · medium confidence
    • His campaign platform says to end book bans. (2026) source

No public position found on: Safety net programs, Minimum wage, Business regulation, Healthcare, Abortion, Guns, Immigration, Energy and climate, Housing and growth, Policing and crime, Election rules, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Marijuana, Gender care for minors, Redistricting, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Ranked-choice voting, Death penalty, Qualified immunity, Mandatory minimums, Drug prices, Childcare and pre-K, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, Kids online, School vaccines, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate, Transgender athletes, DEI programs, Religion in schools, China policy.

Lauren Uhlich Melo

Republican

Florida State Representative, District 82 (candidate for Senate District 28)

Lauren Melo is a real estate broker from Naples who started a trucking company in 1991 and has served in the Florida House since 2020, currently representing District 8212. She chairs the House Human Services Subcommittee and is running for the Senate seat in District 2813.

Where they stand 16 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

  • AbortionIllegal, except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incestmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on HB 5 (2022), which banned most abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions for the mother's life or health and fatal fetal conditions but not for rape or incest; it passed the House 78 to 39. (2022-02-17) source
    • Voted yes on SB 300 (2023), which banned most abortions after six weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and trafficking up to 15 weeks and for the mother's life or serious health risk; it passed the House 70 to 40. (2023-04-13) source
  • GunsRemove most restrictions; bearing arms is a rightmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on HB 759 (2025), which would have lowered the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 21 to 18; it died in the Senate; it passed the House 78 to 34. (2025-03-26) source
    • Voted yes on HB 133 (2026), which would have lowered the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 21 to 18; it died in the Senate; it passed the House 74 to 37. (2026-01-15) source
    • Co-sponsored HB 1543 (2023), a bill to lower the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun; it died in the Senate. (2023) source
    • Her campaign site says she fights to protect Second Amendment rights. (2026) source
    • Co-sponsored HB 1223 (2024), a bill to lower the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun; it died in the Senate. (2024) source
  • School choiceYes, universal school choice for every familymedium
    Official action · medium confidence
    • Co-sponsored HB 1 (2023), which made every Florida K-12 student eligible for a state scholarship that can pay for private school or home education. (2023) source
  • DEI programsBan DEI offices and required training at public institutionsmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 266 (2023), which barred public colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs; it passed the House 81 to 34. (2023-05-03) source
    • Voted yes on HB 7 (2022), the Individual Freedom Act often called the Stop WOKE Act, which restricted how race related concepts can be taught in schools and in workplace training; it passed the House 74 to 41. (2022-02-24) source
    • Voted yes on SB 1134 (2026), which bars counties and cities from funding or promoting diversity, equity and inclusion or taking official action on it; it passed the House 77 to 37. (2026-03-10) source
  • Gender care for minorsNo, ban these treatments for minorsmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 254 (2023), which banned puberty blockers, hormones and surgery for minors as treatment for gender dysphoria; it passed the House 83 to 28. (2023-05-04) source
    • First named sponsor of HB 743 (2026), which adds enforcement, including state civil actions, against people who help provide banned gender transition treatment to minors; it died on the House calendar. (2026) source
  • Transgender athletesNo, teams should be based on biological sex, with open or coed optionsmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 1028 (2021), which limits school and college sports teams designated for girls or women to students who were female at birth; it passed the House 79 to 37. (2021-04-28) source
    • Co-sponsored HB 1475 (2021), the companion bill limiting girls and women sports teams to students who were female at birth. (2021) source
  • Election rulesStrict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 90 (2021), which limited ballot drop boxes, required voters to renew mail ballot requests more often and added identification requirements for mail ballot requests; it passed the House 77 to 40. (2021-04-29) source
    • Voted yes on SB 524 (2022), which created a state election crimes office, expanded voter roll maintenance and raised penalties for collecting others' ballots; it passed the House 76 to 41. (2022-03-09) source
    • Voted yes on HB 991 (2026), which requires election officials to verify that registered voters are U.S. citizens and to record the proof used; it passed the House 83 to 31. (2026-02-25) source
  • Policing and crimeTougher sentences, more police funding, and stricter bailmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on HB 1 (2021), which created new crimes and tougher penalties tied to riots and let the state review local cuts to police budgets; it passed the House 76 to 39. (2021-03-26) source
  • Curriculum and booksParents, including the right to remove material they object tomedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on HB 1467 (2022), which required school districts to post library materials, have certified media specialists review them and give parents a process to object to books; it passed the House 79 to 41. (2022-03-10) source
    • Voted yes on HB 1557 (2022), the Parental Rights in Education law, which barred classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade; it passed the House 69 to 47. (2022-02-24) source
    • Voted yes on HB 1069 (2023), which extended limits on instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity through eighth grade and expanded the process for parents to object to school library books; it passed the House 77 to 35. (2023-03-31) source
  • Death penaltyExpand it and use it more often, including for crimes like child rapemedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on HB 1297 (2023), which allows the death penalty for sexual battery of a child under 12; it passed the House 95 to 14. (2023-04-13) source
    • Voted yes on SB 450 (2023), which allows a death sentence when at least 8 of 12 jurors recommend it instead of requiring a unanimous jury; it passed the House 80 to 30. (2023-04-13) source
  • China policyGet tougher: broad tariffs, state bans on land purchases, and forced app salesmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 264 (2023), which restricts people and companies from China and several other countries from buying land in Florida, with the strictest limits on China; it passed the House 95 to 17. (2023-05-04) source
  • RedistrictingState legislatures draw maps and may redraw any time, including for partisan advantagemedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 2-C (2022), which adopted the congressional map proposed by the governor after the 2020 census; it passed the House 68 to 38. (2022-04-21) source
    • Voted yes on HB 1-D (2026), which redrew Florida's congressional districts in the middle of the decade at the governor's request; it passed the House 83 to 28. (2026-04-29) source
  • Kids onlineBan social media accounts for minorsmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on HB 1 (2024), which would have barred social media accounts for children under 16; the governor vetoed it and a narrower bill, HB 3, later passed nearly unanimously; it passed the House 106 to 13. (2024-01-24) source
    • Co-sponsored HB 1 (2024) and HB 3 (2024), the online protections for minors bills. (2024) source
  • ImmigrationNo single answer fitsmedium
    Voted · medium confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 1718 (2023), which required private employers with 25 or more workers to use E-Verify, created penalties for transporting people who entered the country illegally, and voided out of state driver licenses issued to people without legal status; it passed the House 83 to 36. (2023-05-02) source
    • Voted yes on SB 2-C (2025), which created a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, funded local cooperation with federal immigration agents and required local law enforcement to take part; it passed the House 85 to 30. (2025-02-13) source
    • Voted yes on SB 4-C (2025), which created state crimes for entering Florida after entering the country illegally and required those charged to be held without bond; it passed the House 85 to 29. (2025-02-13) source
  • E-Verify mandateNo single answer fitslow
    Voted · low confidence
    • Voted yes on SB 1718 (2023), which required private employers with 25 or more workers to use E-Verify, created penalties for transporting people who entered the country illegally, and voided out of state driver licenses issued to people without legal status; it passed the House 83 to 36. (2023-05-02) source
  • Religion in schoolsNo single answer fitslow
    Voted · low confidence
    • Voted yes on HB 931 (2024), which lets school districts choose to allow volunteer chaplains in schools; it passed the House 89 to 25. (2024-02-22) source

No public position found on: Safety net programs, Minimum wage, Business regulation, Healthcare, Energy and climate, Housing and growth, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Marijuana, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Ranked-choice voting, Qualified immunity, Mandatory minimums, Drug prices, Childcare and pre-K, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, School vaccines, Nuclear power.

Last reviewed 2026-10-07. Spotted something wrong? Every claim links to its source so you can check it yourself.