Candidate Profile: Rep. RaShon Young

At 27, state Rep. RaShon Young is seeking a full term in the Florida House after first arriving in Tallahassee less than a year ago through a special election. The Orlando Democrat worked as State Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis’s chief of staff for three years until he won the House District 40 seat in September 2025, defeating Republican Tuan Le with about 75 percent of the vote.

Now, Young and Le face off again in the Nov. 3 general election. Members of the Republican State Executive Committee selected Le in late August after Ocoee resident Nate Robertson withdrew.

House District 40 encompasses Windermere, Ocoee, Pine Hills, College Park, Apopka, Maitland, Winter Park and parts of Orlando. Florida state representatives earn $29,697 annually and serve two-year terms.

In a 2025 profile and on his campaign website, Young said his priorities include expanding access to healthcare, lowering costs for working families, making housing and property insurance more affordable, strengthening public schools and supporting teachers. He also advocates for job creation and workforce development, small businesses, improved transportation, environmental protection, juvenile justice, violence prevention and affordable child care.

Young is also a tireless advocate for voting-rights issues.

Earlier this year, he emerged as a leading critic of the Florida SAVE Act (HB 991), arguing that its new voter-verification and identification requirements would create additional barriers to voting. During debate over the measure, he called the requirements a “poll tax by paperwork” and proposed an amendment that replaced the Florida SAVE Act with the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Voting Rights Act of Florida, which would make voting easier and more accessible to more Floridians. Despite substantial support from civil-rights and voting-rights organizations, his amendment failed. 

Speaking before the majority-Republican committee voted to approve the Florida SAVE Act, Young had this to say: 

“I am tired of watching us call barriers ‘integrity.’ I am tired of us dressing 'disenfranchisement' up in the language of security. Because let's call this bill what it is. It does not protect democracy. It restricts it. … It's already illegal for non-citizens to vote. It is prosecuted. It is punishable. So this bill is not solving an existing crisis. It's creating a new barrier for people to be able to access the ballot box, and the people caught in that barrier will overwhelmingly be eligible Floridians, people who are already voting, people who are already on the roll.

“And so I'm frustrated. … I’m frustrated that instead of expanding access, we are restricting it. I'm frustrated that instead of encouraging participation, we are policing it. That instead of building trust in our democracy, we are eroding it time and time again. Because at its core, this bill does indeed send us a message, a message about who we trust, about who we don't, and who we want to participate.

“Democracy works best when participation is high and barriers are low. And I believe the right to vote should be protected … I believe history will judge how we handle moments like this.”‍

Young, who graduated from Bethune-Cookman University in 2021 with a degree in mass communications, is the youngest lawmaker elected to the Florida House and is its first Democratic Gen Z member.

In the House, Young served on several committees, including the State Affairs Committee and two of its subcommittees — Government Operations and Information Technology Budget and Policy — as well as the Healthcare Facilities & Systems Subcommittee and the Higher Education Budget Subcommittee.

He was the first-named sponsor of eight bills and two ceremonial resolutions, including measures involving elections, healthcare, juvenile justice and schools, among other issues. However, most of the bills died in committee. 

Young sponsored two ceremonial resolutions during the 2026 legislative session — one commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Tallahassee Bus Boycott and another recognizing the 100th anniversary of Black History Month. Both were adopted by publication, without recorded votes.

Young was also among numerous co-sponsors of legislation that strengthened penalties for repeat domestic-violence offenders and created an electronic-monitoring pilot program. The measure passed unanimously in both chambers and was signed into law.

Another bill in which Young was one of numerous co-sponsors restricted the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam and required additional monitoring of PFAS in wastewater and biosolids. The measure passed unanimously in both chambers and was signed into law.

The state campaign-finance database shows Young's campaign reported $34,456 in contributions and $12,445.80 in expenditures as of Oct. 6. No contribution records were listed for Le in the database.

VoxPopuli reached out to Young, asking him to respond to a questionnaire on issues facing the district and to request an interview. Despite repeated attempts, Young did not respond to the questionnaire or the interview request.