# Carlos Smith

Carlos Smith is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate for district 17.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Florida Senate, district 17
- Serving since: 2024-11-05
- Current term: FL 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/df1d6ab6-b2cd-4a6f-b7cc-aa5a63d8011f

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/df1d6ab6-b2cd-4a6f-b7cc-aa5a63d8011f (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

7.1% of the 85 bills Smith sponsored got out of committee, the lowest of 36 in the Florida Senate.

## What Smith says (FL 2025–26 session)

1,249 classified statements: 1,249 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Smith | State Senate Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 8.3% | 2.4% | 26 of 329 |
| Policy criticism | 31.3% | 10.3% | 16 of 329 |
| Policy discussion | 63.8% | 42.9% | 41 of 329 |
| Bipartisanship | 2.9% | 3.4% | 148 of 329 |
| Credit claiming | 10.6% | 16.1% | 199 of 329 |
| Extreme labels | 1.6% | 0.8% | 56 of 329 |

Most discussed policy areas: Government Operations and Politics 25% (State Senate Democrats 14%); Health 17% (State Senate Democrats 17%); Immigration 15% (State Senate Democrats 4.2%); Education 12% (State Senate Democrats 15%); Crime and Law Enforcement 12% (State Senate Democrats 8.4%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.41 (standard error 0.01), from 3,683 donors and 663 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 82% of State Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (FL 2025–26 session)

837 roll calls. Attendance 99.5% (Florida Senate 95.0%). Party unity 45% (90%). 97 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-06-02 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · SB 4F Property Tax Administration · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026F/SB4F/
- 2026-06-02 · voted nay · Third Reading · SB 4F Property Tax Administration · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026F/SB4F/
- 2026-06-02 · voted nay · Third Reading · HJR 1F Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026F/HJR1F/
- 2026-05-12 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · HB 5501E Documentary Stamp Tax Distributions · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026E/HB5501E/
- 2026-05-12 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · HB 5001E General Appropriations Act · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026E/HB5001E/
- 2026-05-12 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · HB 5003E Implementing the 2026-2027 General Appropriations Act · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026E/HB5003E/
- 2026-05-12 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · SB 2508E State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026E/SB2508E/
- 2026-05-12 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · HB 5203E Government Administration · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026E/HB5203E/
- 2026-05-12 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · HB 5601E Higher Education · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026E/HB5601E/
- 2026-05-12 · voted yea · Passage, Third Reading · HB 5207E Department of Management Services · pass · https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026E/HB5207E/

## Legislation (FL 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 85 bills: 83 reached committee, 3 passed one chamber, 1 passed both, 1 became law. Cosponsored 54. 7.1% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Florida Senate 50.9%; rank 36 of 36).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SR 1776: UCF Day (introduced, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SR1776/
- SB 1576: Residential Utility Disconnections (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SB1576/
- SR 1578: Muslim-American Heritage Month (introduced, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SR1578/
- SB 1726: Housing (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SB1726/
- SB 1640: Medicaid Dental Pilot Program for Persons with Disabilities (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SB1640/
- SB 1532: Florida Public Service Commission (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SB1532/
- SB 1710: Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsperson (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SB1710/
- SJR 1406: Threshold for Voter Approval of Constitutional Amendments (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SJR1406/
- SB 1410: Optional Retirement Programs (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SB1410/
- SB 1408: Medical Coverage Assistance Program for Working Individuals with Disabilities (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/fl/bills/2026/SB1408/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $3,800 (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 84% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-10-24 · Post on X · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113793595152933224
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks, policy discussion · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113317171380040101
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113317807970754928
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113327512667504909
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113328166152393196
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113368314798092337
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113368318753243236
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113397717695373471
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2113397861316690285
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/CarlosGSmith/status/2112707921675243784

## Links

- Official site: https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S17
- Campaign site: https://carlosguillermosmith.com/?playlist=10e716f&video=70e02cf
- X: https://x.com/CarlosGSmith
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlosguillermoforflorida/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@carlosgsmithfl
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carlosgsmith?lang=en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlosgsmith

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/df1d6ab6-b2cd-4a6f-b7cc-aa5a63d8011f