Annette Taddeo, a Democrat and former Florida state senator, is running for Florida chief financial officer in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election against incumbent Republican Blaise Ingoglia.

Asked why she is running, Taddeo said in our candidate questionnaire: "Florida families are paying more for everything while Tallahassee looks the other way. … Homeowners are being crushed by the highest insurance rates in the nation, while insiders get billion-dollar no-bid contracts that have never been audited."

Candidate information

Party: Democrat

Family: "My husband, Eric, and I live in Miami with my mom, Elizabeth, and our dogs, Snow and Mocha. Our daughter, Sofia, is away at university in Boston," Taddeo said in our questionnaire.

Education: "I worked as a waitress to put myself through the University of North Alabama, where I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Commercial Spanish/Business Administration. I later earned two executive education scholarships to the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, where I completed an Executive Education program and an Advanced Executive Education program," Taddeo said in our questionnaire.

Background: Taddeo was born April 7, 1967, in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, according to Wikipedia. She moved to the United States at age 17 after her father was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas in Colombia, according to Sparker's Soapbox.

Experience and public service

Occupation: "I am a small business owner. For more than 30 years, I have run LanguageSpeak, a Florida language services company, creating jobs and meeting a payroll," Taddeo said in our questionnaire.

Elected office: "I was elected to the Florida Senate in a 2017 special election, flipping a Republican-held seat, and was reelected to a full four-year term in 2018 by six points. … I served five years on the Banking and Insurance Committee," Taddeo said in our questionnaire.

Endorsements: Taddeo's campaign has received endorsements from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 75, the AFL-CIO, Equality Florida Action PAC, SEIU Florida and Ruth's List Florida, according to Florida Politics and BallotReady.

On the issues

Property insurance: Asked what she would do about insurance costs, Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "I will publish a report card grading every insurance company within my first 100 days: how fast it pays claims, how often it delays or denies, how much of your premium goes to its own affiliates, and how financially sound it is. Every company, by name."

She added: "After a hurricane, I will send storm strike teams from my department into hit communities within 3 to 5 days to help families push stalled claims."

Government transparency: "Every state contract posted in the public FACTS database, as Florida law already requires. No exceptions, no hiding," Taddeo said in our questionnaire. She said hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency contracts "are still missing from it" and pledged to "audit emergency spending starting with the $1.2 billion spent on Alligator Alcatraz, publish what I find in plain language, and refer fraud or abuse for prosecution."

Key differences with opponent: "My opponent was appointed and has never been elected to this office. He has taken a quarter million dollars from insurance interests and voted for a $3 billion tax handout to insurance companies while Floridians pay the highest rates in the nation," Taddeo said in our questionnaire.

Taddeo won the Democratic primary on Aug. 18, 2026, defeating Earle Ford, according to Florida Politics.