Amy Trask Announces Candidacy for Fl House of Reps
Amy Trask announced her candidacy for the Florida House of Representatives District 22 2026 election at Metro Diner Thursday evening.
Trask previously ran for the same seat in 2022 but lost by 13% to David Arreola (D), who then lost by 13% to current representative Chad Johnson (R).
Several community leaders came out to support Trask, including Joe Smith, a board member for the Pride Community Center and the lead pastor of Shift GNV church, along with Gainesville City Commissioner James Ingle.
“Our politicians have chosen distraction over solutions,” said Smith. “They’ve invested in division while real lives hang in the balance. That’s not leadership; that’s neglect. What Florida needs is a new kind of leader, someone who will roll up their sleeves, mix it up, and work strategically to solve real problems,” he said while pointing towards Trask.
Ingle said, “Growing up, I never really saw myself as someone who’d be involved with politics. I was raised by a single mom [in] a broke down trailer [at] the end of a dirt road…. Through my life, out of sheer dumb luck, I ended up falling into an electrical apprenticeship program… Being involved in a labor union has been my life’s passion, and because of that I was able to go to Tallahassee… What I saw up there was that there are not a lot of voices that come from working-class people. The people that sit up there are so far removed from the consequences of their decisions that they don’t even understand what those consequences are. These aren’t people that have had to decide between buying groceries and paying the electric bill. These aren’t people who’ve had to go without so the kids could eat.”
Ingle said Trask is someone who can go to Tallahassee and represent working-class people. Ingle called Fl House 22 one of the few realistically winnable elections for Democrats in Florida.
Despite not being elected into office, Trask has legislative experience. She is the author of the Help Abuse Victims Escape Now (HAVEN) Act, which did not pass, and has drafted multiple bills. She is also a pre-law student.
Trask said she informed Rep. Johnson she was running, and he told her something along the lines of “Good luck Chuck.” Trask said Johnson’s bills have been bad for Florida and that she’s ready and willing to debate him.
Trask talks about Rep. Johnson (GnvInfo)
Trask went over some of her political views and platform in a speech and in an interview with GnvInfo.
Education
Trask is on the district advisory counsel for Alachua County School Board Chair Dr. Sarah Rockwell.
Trask said children “need access to education that isn’t whitewashed or censored” and need to be able to “read books without being worried it’s gonna be pulled off the shelves.”
In an interview, Trask said, “We need to be treating our educators as we do our veterans and soldiers. We need to pay them and compensate them more like doctors because they are the guardians of our democracy and the next generation. We need to ensure they have all the equipment they need. We need to modernize our textbooks… our science curriculums… There shouldn’t be a single child that doesn’t have access to their 504 and IEP.”
Cost of Living and Infrastructure
Trask said college needs to be affordable for everyone and that everyone should be able to make a living off one job regardless of if they pursue higher education.
Speaking to infrastructure issues, Trask said that Gilchrist County, which is in District 22, has just one van to transport people to Gainesville for hospital services.
Trask continued, “We need to look at hurricane prep. We need to look at resiliency—bringing small businesses back… We need to look at—some people don’t like the word climate change, I’m gonna use it because it’s real… We need to protect our resources and our world. We share it together, and it’s slowly dying because we’re destroying it.“
Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy
As a survivor of domestic violence whose child was kidnapped from her by her abuser, Trask is aware of loopholes and inconsistencies in laws relating to domestic violence and child-care.
Trask has proposed multiple bills relating to domestic violence and child advocacy, one of which, the Fostering with Dignity Act, would require the state to give foster kids moving homes duffel bags to carry their belongings, as trash bags are commonly used. She said the bill would give Department of Children and Families (DCF) employees "expanded training with dignity themes at the forefront."
Another bill Trask drafted, the Children's Advocacy and Representation Act, would give children the right to court-appointed legal counsel. This would give children access to dual representation, as a court-appointed guardian is already required. The bill would remove the $1,000 funding cap for children's legal counsel, as it has since become outdated economically.
One of Trask’s bills, the Transcript Accessibility Act, would remove income barriers for obtaining court transcripts, which she said is often relevant in divorce and dependency proceedings.
Another bill Trask proposes, the Safe Shelter Act, would allow domestic violence shelters to serve as temporary residences for children. Trask said, "In 2005, domestic violence shelters in the state of Florida were certified... The only people allowed back in the residential areas are the advocates of people working there... The problem was the other statutes that deal with custody and domestic violence weren't updated at the sane time... Our families are being forced to choose between safety and custody. If there was a home-study done, which could happen for a number off reasons, a DCF or Community Based Care (CBC) worker comes to the house, they go, 'Okay, the child has adequate clothing and food, and they have a place to sleep, and it seems safe, everything's good.' Once there's an approved home study, that's the only location the child can live. If there is a case of domestic violence, and one parent tries to leave that approved home location to go to a domestic violence shelter, DCF or CBC calls and says, 'You have to return the child to the only safe location, because that's where we can keep an eye on them. That's where the approved home study was.' Kids are being forced back into these homes until the criminal justice system works itself out."
Trask also plans to introduce the Survivor-Self Defense Act, which she says would "provide a rebuttable presumption of self-defense in cases against known abusers."
If it passed, the HAVEN act would've created a website to allow domestic abuse victims to discreetly contact law enforcement. Trask plans to reintroduce the bill.
“It’s really difficult to make legislation if you’ve never lived it,” said Trask.
Trask said she has both Republicans and Democrats on her team and that she can find common ground with conservatives. “I think it’s a mistake to say all conservatives are bad,” said Trask. “If you’ve been impacted by the legislation, if you’ve worked in a working-class job, if you’ve struggled to make ends meet, or if you feel lost in a broken system, there’s a place here for you.”
At the end of the announcement party, Trask gave other candidates in the room the opportunity to introduce themselves. FL House 21 candidate Malik Moore (D) spoke, along with candidates for the 3rd congressional district of the federal House of Representatives, Seth Harp (D) and Rock Aboujaoude (D).
Malik Moore speaks on his campaign (GnvInfo)
Democrat voters will have to decide if they want Harp or Aboujaoude to face off against incumbent Kat Cammack. Harp initially appears to be the front-runner for Democrats, as he announced his campaign months ago and is the only Democrat to appear on Ballotpedia. However, the primary doesn't culminate until August 2026, giving Aboujaoude plenty of time to campaign.
Seth Harp speaks on his campaign (GnvInfo)
Rock Aboujaoude speaks on his campaign (GnvInfo)
It’s unclear if Trask will have any opponents in a primary, as it appears no other Democrats have put their name forward.
Edited: This article initially reported that Trask won back custody of her child when she never lost custody and that she was a law student instead of pre-law student.
