The influential Florida Family Policy Council, a fixture in Tallahassee since its founding in 2004, likes to claim credit for such political triumphs as the state law banning gay marriage, defunding Planned Parenthood, and forcing the state board of education to teach students evolution is merely a theory, not a fact. 

The group’s annual gala has become a pitstop for Republican candidates seeking the organization’s favor — then-Gov. Jeb Bush was the keynote speaker in 2006; in 2023, it’s where Gov. Ron DeSantis made his last big appearance before announcing he was running for president — and in a state where redistricting has made general election seats less and less competitive, an endorsement from the group’s advocacy and lobbying arm, Florida Family Action, can help crown the Republican candidate in the primary.

That group is gearing up to endorse a new slate of favorites for state House and Senate this year, and is asking candidates seeking its backing to fill out a 44-question questionnaire — paperwork that often functions as a litmus test to determine whether a candidate shares the endorsing group’s values. 

Florida Family Action’s 2024 survey, obtained by Rolling Stone, offers a glimpse of the future the influential lobbying group would like to see in the state. (Florida Family Action did not respond to  requests for comment about the candidate survey.)

In addition to collecting standard information about the educational candidate’s background, military service, and other credentials, the questionnaire asks political hopefuls about additional restrictions they might seek to implement on abortion, which is currently banned in Florida after 6 weeks. The group asks if there ought to be penalties for women who seek abortion, and whether abortion should to be banned at fertilization; floats the idea of implementing a Texas-style abortion bounty law in Florida, discusses defunding government programs that offer access to contraceptives and birth control; and questions candidates about regulating in vitro fertilization, or IVF. 

There are also questions about whether the state should ban the use of bathrooms and other facilities by trans people, whether “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” should be added to the state’s non-discrimination statute, whether the state has a role in “prohibiting or regulating certain sexual behaviors,” and whether certain drugs should be decriminalized or legalized. (Amendment 3, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Florida, is slated to appear on the ballot this November.) 

Question 18 of the survey asks: “Should the law ever penalize any woman who has an abortion?” Candidates may select among the options: “Yes,” “No,” and “Unsure;” there is also a space for comments. 

For decades, even the more extreme anti-abortion groups opposed criminalizing or otherwise punishing women seeking an abortion, focusing their attention on penalizing abortion providers instead. But that has seemed to change since 2016, when presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted “there has to be some form of punishment” for a woman seeking an abortion. Trump later backed away from the statement, but since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, lawmakers in South Carolina and Alabama have considered imposing penalties — including the death penalty — on women seeking abortions. 

Question 19 on the survey ponders the possibility of implementing an abortion bounty law in the state, much like S.B. 8, the Texas law that effectively shut down abortion access in the state nine months before Roe v. Wade was overturned. It allows individuals to sue, for monetary damages, anyone suspected of “aiding and abetting” an abortion. (The survey asks: “If state attorneys and law enforcement agencies in certain areas of Florida refuse to enforce state abortion laws against abortion providers, do you believe there should be a private enforcement mechanism, using lawsuits by private citizens and civil causes of action with monetary damages to enforce pro-life laws against abortion providers?”)

The questionnaire also asks, “Is it the proper role of government to fund contraceptives and forms of birth control?” and “Do you believe the state should regulate in vitro fertilization? Why or why not?” It also includes two questions about pornography — whether porn constitutes “protected speech under the first amendment and thus cannot be subjected to excessive governmental regulation,” and whether there ought to be fines levied or private lawsuits filed against “school districts that allow and use pornographic or sexually explicit materials in school instruction or in school libraries.”

In 2022, Florida Family Action threw its weight behind DeSantis, as well as Trump 2024 vice presidential shortlist contenders Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Byron Donalds, and 58 candidates for state House and Senate. This year, candidates likely to seek the group’s backing include Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.   

Read the full questionnaire:

1. What office are you running for (include district number)? 

2. Please share your educational background, military service, and other credentials. 

3. Who is your campaign manager and campaign consultant? Please include contact information. 

4. What prompted you to run for elected office?

5. What are the top 3 priorities you would like to address if elected to office? 

6. Which 3-5 current or former political leaders have influenced you the most? 

7. Are you challenging an incumbent? If so, what motivated you to run against them?

8. Do you have a home church or place of worship? Please share the name and location and how long you have been attending. 

9. How does your faith guide you? Does it influence you relating to legislation and public policy? 

10. Do you believe the government should legislate morality? Please share why or why not. 

11. What are the top three most complex problems the state government will face in the near future? 

12. What is your view on the role of government in society? 

13. How would you identify yourself politically? (Check all that apply. Add comment to define terms if desired.) 

_ Libertarian _ Liberal _ Progressive _ Moderate _ Socialist _ Social Conservative _ Populist _ Fiscal Conservative _ Constitutionalist

14. Do you support AMENDMENT 4, enshrining abortion access as a constitutional right? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided

15. When do you believe that human life begins? 

_ Fertilization _ Heartbeat/6 weeks _ 12 weeks _ 15 weeks _ 24 weeks _ Birth 

16. What is the earliest point that abortion should be limited by law?

_ Fertilization _ Heartbeat/6 weeks _ 12 weeks _ 15 weeks _ 24 weeks  _ Birth _ Never

17. Based on your previous answer, what exceptions should be allowed under a general abortion ban? (Check all that apply.)

_ Rape _ Human Trafficking _ Fetal Disability _ Incest _ Mental health of the mother _ Threat to the mother’s life _ No Exceptions should be allowed

18. Should the law ever penalize any woman who has an abortion? 

_ Yes _ No _ Unsure

Comments: 

19. If state attorneys and law enforcement agencies in certain areas of Florida refuse to enforce state abortion laws against abortion providers, do you believe there should be a private enforcement mechanism, using lawsuits by private citizens and civil causes of action with monetary damages to enforce pro-life laws against abortion providers?

_ Yes _ No _ Unsure

Comments: 

20. Is it the proper role of government to fund contraceptives and forms of birth control?

_ Yes _ No _ Unsure 

Comments: 

21. Do you believe the state should regulate in vitro fertilization? Why or why not?

22. Do you support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia in Florida?

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided

23. Do you support adding the categories ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ to our state’s non-discrimination statute?

24. Do you support AMENDMENT 3, enshrining recreational marijuana use and production in our state constitution?

25. Which of the following drugs do you support decriminalizing possession and legalize for recreational use in the state of Florida? (Check all that apply.)

 _ Psychedelic magic mushrooms _ Marijuana _ Heroine (sic) _ Cocaine _ Methamphetamine _ None _ Other

26. Does the state have a role in prohibiting or regulating certain sexual behaviors? Please elaborate. 

27. Do you support the legalization of prostitution in Florida? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided 

Comments: 

28. During the previous session, the Florida state legislature increased the minimum age from 18 to 21 for working in an adult entertainment establishment. (i.e., strip clubs). Do you support this policy? (Please feel free to elaborate on how you want the government to regulate adult entertainment facilities.) 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided. 

Comments: 

29. What are the main causes of the expansion of human trafficking in our state? How should the legislature address this? 

30. Do you believe pornography is protected speech under the first amendment and thus cannot be subjected to excessive governmental regulation? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided

31. In the situation where any government (state or local) or government supported entity has violated the constitutional rights of a citizen, and where jailtime is not warranted as a punishment for the government official, do you believe there should be recourses against such agencies? How would you address this as an elected official?

 _ Fines and penalties by the state, prosecuted by the Attorney General or state attorneys

 _ Private cause of action, prosecuted by private attorneys seeking financial damages for the victims 

32. Do you believe gambling should be allowed to expand in the state of Florida? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided 

Comments: 

33. Would you support a law mandating that restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, spas, and other such facilities be sex-segregated for both privacy and public safety concerns? Why or why not? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided 

Comments: 

34. Do you believe that parental rights (that is the right of the parents to direct the upbringing of their own children, including but not limited to religious instruction, education choice, and medical care) are fundamental rights that the government should not infringe upon?

 _ Yes _ No _ Undecided 

Comments: 

35. Under what circumstances should the government have the right to limit a parent’s rights? 

36. Do you believe that the case of a parent refusing to affirm and encourage the gender transition of their minor child should be counted as a case of abuse, abandonment, or neglect and potentially result in the removal of that child from the parents? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided 

Comments: 

37. Should the state government have a role in regulating social media corporations? If yes, in what ways? 

38. Do you support HB1, passed in 2023, that expands taxpayer-funded school choice scholarships allowing Florida parents to use the funds to send their child to the school of their choice, including charter schools, private schools, religious schools, and homeschooling? In what ways should the program be either deregulated and expanded or restricted and more heavily regulated?

39. Do you support adding additional penalties either in the form of state fines or private legal action by parents, for school districts that allow and use pornographic or sexually explicit materials in school instruction or in school libraries? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided

40. Do you believe that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) should be encouraged and used in Florida’s public schools? 

_ Yes _ No _ Undecided

Comments: 

41. Regarding vaccine or mask mandates in private corporations and businesses, which of the following best represents your position?  

_ Such mandates in private businesses should be regulated or prohibited by the state. 

_ Such mandates in private business are completely up to the company leadership. 

Comments: 

42. Are there any accusations, true or false, against you which could be an election issue that you would want us to be aware of? 

43. In comparison to the other candidates in your primary, what distinguishes you from the other candidates? 

44. Feel free to provide any other information that you would like to share.