The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board is endorsing candidates in a number of races in the Nov. 3 elections. The Board has reached out to all candidates who qualified and will publish endorsements on congressional, state and statehouse, Palm Beach County Commission, school board and Port of Palm Beach races.
Whatever your choice, it's important to make your voice heard by early voting, voting by mail or by going to the polls on Nov. 3. For more details on different ways to vote, to confirm if you're registered, to know your voting precinct and/or to follow your vote, go to votepalmbeach.gov.
➤ What is Amendment 3?Impact to Palm Beach County and Florida explained
Mack Bernard for State Senate District 24
The 2026 contest for the Florida Senate District 24 seat features a political newcomer
hoping to topple a far more experienced opponent. Republican Jackie Green declined to respond to a Palm Beach Post questionnaire, which doesn't help us consider her candidacy. The fact that she's running against Democratic Sen. Mack Bernard also makes it easy for the Post Editorial Board to recommend voters in the district re-elect Bernard to another term.
Bernard, 50, an executive at Cornerstone Solutions, has had a long tenure in local and state government. A former Delray Beach city commissioner, Bernard went on to serve in the Florida House and the Palm Beach County Commission before winning a Florida Senate seat. In the senate, he has worked on several important issues, including affordable housing, government finance and local and state taxes.
If elected, his priorities would center on property taxes, affordable housing and health care. He supports the state's property insurance reforms and curbing property taxes, as a way to reducing Florida's high cost of living. He will seek more money for public schools and workforce housing. He has also helped bring home more than $46 million for local projects in the last two budgets. In what is a clear choice, the Post recommends voters pick Bernard for state senate.
David Silvers for State Senate District 26
Florida's 26th senate district is an open seat as the incumbent, Democrat Sen. Lori Berman, is barred from seeking re-election because of term limits. The two aspirants to the seat are both experienced state lawmakers but have big shoes to fill. The Post Editorial Board recommends voters elect Democrat David Silvers. He's the better choice.
Silvers, 47, lives in Boca Raton. He has served eight years in the Florida House where he's advocated behavioral health issues to the point of sponsoring and passing several mental health bills. Affordable housing, property insurance and health care would be his priorities as a state senator. He also would push to curb tax breaks for major corporations when a majority of public school students living in a "wealthy" county are on free or assisted lunch programs.
Republican Rick Roth, 73, president of Roth Farms in the Glades, is also running for the seat. He, too, is an eight-year veteran of the Florida House and would seem to be a good fit, given the district includes the county's agricultural communities. Unfortunately, Roth has had shown lapses in judgement, particularly his 2023 vote in support of a tough anti-immigration bill that hampered farm operations. His comments regarding building a mosque in the Ag Reserve − "... that’s just going to bring strangers into our community” − was also disappointing. In the race of former Florida House members hoping to step up to the more prestigious Florida Senate seat, the Post believes Silvers is the better choice.
Lauren Book for State Senate District 30
In another David-versus-Goliath race to fill a seat that incumbent Democratic State Sen. Tina Polsky's stepped down from, Florida's 30th Senate District features a veteran lawmaker facing an earnest newcomer. The Post Editorial Board urges voters to send Democrat Lauren Book back to Tallahassee. Her previous stint in the legislature gives her and the district a major leg up.
Book, 50, lives in Parkland and is the founder and CEO of a nonprofit dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse. She has been in the Florida Senate before, having served from 2016-24. Her time included a stint as Senate Democratic Leader. Stronger insurance oversight, strengthening child-protection laws and defending gun-safety protections are among Book's stated priorities, if voters return her to the Florida Senate.
Hector Rivera, a 59-year-old real estate broker from Coral Springs is the Republican in the race. His business background might serve him well in the Florida Legislature. However, it won't do much in a campaign against his better known, more experienced and better-financed opponent. The Post recommends Book for state senate.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Post endorses candidates for state Senate | Endorsement
