A Tampa trial attorney is trying to pull off an upset in a race most Floridians have barely noticed. Joey Mendoza Atkins, the Democratic nominee for Florida agriculture commissioner, is running to unseat Republican incumbent Wilton Simpson, a Pasco County farmer who is seeking a second four-year term in the cabinet-level post he first won in 2022.
The agriculture commissioner oversees the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and sits on the state's four-member Executive Cabinet, according to The Bradenton Times. The office handles food safety inspections, consumer protection, state forests, wildfire response, concealed weapon licensing and the promotion of Florida's agriculture industry, and as WFLA notes, the role has received little attention during this election cycle despite its reach into everyday Floridian life. Simpson won his August primary with 68.91% of the vote against Matt Taylor, while Atkins won his primary with 60.26% against Donald A. “Don” Prichard, per Florida Politics.
A Farmer and a Farmworker Advocate
Simpson is a fifth-generation Floridian and lifelong egg farmer who served ten years in the Florida Senate, including a stint as Senate president, before being elected agriculture commissioner in 2022, according to the Beacon. Atkins is a trial attorney and sports agent who has provided legal aid to migrant farmworkers and DACA recipients, the outlet reports. The matchup pits an entrenched agricultural insider against a newcomer trying to reframe the office around affordability and land protection.
Simpson spent Thursday on the campaign trail for someone else's race, speaking at Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds' rally in Trinity, where Donalds called for Simpson to return as agriculture commissioner, WFLA reports. Simpson has also built a formidable list of endorsements, including President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and 61 of the state's 67 sheriffs, according to a report from WLRN.
Closing the ‘Rent-a-Cow’ Loophole
Atkins is campaigning on reducing gas and food prices, protecting farmland and stopping data-center development, per WFLA. One of his central proposals targets what he calls the “rent-a-cow” tax loophole, which he says lets developers or landowners receive tax breaks by placing a few cows on property before breaking ground. Atkins argues those tax breaks should instead go to Florida's actual farmers and ranchers, according to the outlet's reporting.
Atkins has also said he would work with the governor on diesel and gas tax relief for farmers and ranchers within his first two days in office, per the same report. At a Stetson University candidate forum earlier this month, Atkins hit two central themes with voters: making Florida affordable again, and stopping the development of mass data centers, the Beacon reported. “Florida's farmland is not just empty land waiting to be developed. It's where our food comes from. It's where our water system lies,” Atkins told the outlet. He has also floated newer technology as a fix for citrus greening, pointing to a CRISPR gene-edited citrus rootstock that received EPA approval earlier this year, per the Beacon.
Simpson Touts Conservation and a Cheaper State HQ
Simpson, for his part, says he saved 250,000 acres from development during his first four years in office, according to WFLA, a figure that lines up with reporting from Florida Voice News that the state is approaching 250,000 acres of preserved agricultural land and wildlife corridors. His campaign has also emphasized lower taxes, less regulation and rural-land conservation as core parts of his tenure, according to a Tallahassee Democrat voter guide. Atkins, by contrast, supports agricultural land-use reforms and opposes data-center development he says threatens communities and resources, the same guide notes.
Simpson has worked with lawmakers to secure funding for state fire crews to manage brushfires, and under his watch Florida has bought 81 new bulldozers and nine helicopters and acquired a fleet of drones over the past three years, according to WFLA. He has also pointed to a new agriculture department headquarters complex projected to open in 2027 at a cost of $208 million, which Simpson says is projected to save around $70 million over 30 years by replacing older buildings, the outlet reports.
A Lopsided Money Race
The financial gap between the two campaigns is stark, though the numbers vary depending on which account and reporting period is examined. WLRN reported Simpson entered the race in April with $33 million stashed across four political action committees, while his opponents combined had about $40,000 on hand. Florida Politics separately reported Simpson had about $26.8 million remaining across his campaign account and four committees as of July 31, while Atkins had only about $1,300 left in his campaign account after the primary.
Simpson's Friends of Wilton Simpson committee has reported raising more than $22 million in contributions since its 2021 founding, with roughly $1.3 million still available, according to the Bradenton Times. His Florida Green PAC and Home Grown PAC have together reported $11.7 million in contributions, with about $9.9 million remaining, the outlet found. Florida campaign-finance law caps direct contributions to candidates at $3,000 per person per election, but places no limit on what companies can give to political committees, WLRN reported, which helps explain the scale of Simpson's war chest.
Some of that money has drawn scrutiny over its source. WLRN reported that Friends of Wilton Simpson collected $100,000 from Siboney Ranch, a 1,162-acre cattle operation in Okeechobee County, months after Simpson's department paid the ranch nearly $10 million for a conservation easement. The outlet also found Simpson's committees received more than $690,000 this year from farms, ranches, food distributors, supermarkets and other agriculture-related donors his department oversees, plus at least $314,000 in direct donations from agriculture-related companies and individuals. Separately, Friends of Wilton Simpson received $1 million from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and NextEra Energy gave $250,000 to Simpson's committees.
A Race Flying Under the Radar
Despite the money at stake, public polls have not measured the agriculture commissioner race, even as most other statewide contests are seen as competitive, per public polling cited by WFLA. Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried remains notable in this race's history as the last Democrat to win the agriculture commissioner seat, in November 2018, according to the outlet. Whether Atkins can replicate that outcome against Simpson's financial and political advantages will become clear when voters decide the race on Nov. 3.
