Florida agriculture commissioner race features Wilton Simpson and Joey Mendoza Atkins

The race for Florida agriculture commissioner features incumbent Republican Wilton Simpson against Democrat Joey Mendoza Atkins, with voters deciding the position in the November 3 general election, WUSF reported.

Wilton Simpson, who has served in the Florida Legislature and as Senate president, is a fifth-generation farmer with over 40 years of experience owning a large-scale egg-laying operation in Florida.

Joey Mendoza Atkins is a trial attorney who has provided legal aid to farmworkers and DACA youth, and has worked in legal, nonprofit, public, and private sectors, including policy work with the UN’s Global Compact, according to his campaign website.

Atkins' platform includes fighting price gouging, suspending the state's gas tax, imposing a moratorium on data centers, and protecting family farms from developers. He also wants to close the 'rent-a-cow' tax loophole and criticized immigration raids for harming agricultural communities.

The agriculture commissioner position is part of the Florida Cabinet, an executive governing body that makes significant state decisions, highlighting the role's importance beyond agriculture, WUSF noted.