This midterm election year, Central Florida Public Media is bringing together five Central Floridians from varying walks of life for a series of conversations about the issues shaping their lives and their votes.
They’re Democrats, Republicans, NPAs, and undecided. They represent different generations and communities in urban and rural areas throughout Central Florida.
To begin this conversation with the members of Central Florida Public Media’s 2026 Voter Insight Panel, we asked each to briefly describe the state of the country.
“Confused is the first one that comes to mind, uneducated in a lot of respects, hooked on media. lonely, angry,” said Margit Roberts.
After years as a registered Democrat, 72-year-old retired teacher Roberts registered with No Party Affiliation for the first time, saying protecting democracy matters more than party labels. She said too many people are working separately instead of together.
Sean Roberts, a 55 year-old Republican and former educator from New York City, sees opportunity in the current moment.
“The country I believe is in a situation where we all have the opportunity to make it better. I support our current president. I'm not saying that he's perfect, but I support his vision of the country, as opposed to the opposing vision of the country,” he said.
Jaydon Souza is a mobile mechanic in St. Cloud and a registered Democrat still figuring out where he fits politically. The 21-year-old came back to Central Florida after more than a decade in Brazil with a new perspective on American politics today.
“If I had to put it in words, I'd say divided and isolated,” he said.
Alison Yurko is a Winter Park attorney and the mother of triplets. The self-described rule of law Republican said democracy is facing a critical moment.
“I think democracy is at a flexion point right now, and I think there's an alarming under-appreciation in our country,” she said. “There's a sense of entitlement that Americans have because we've always seen democracy.”
Yurko worries about apathy and declining civic engagement.
“People are upset, and they're not voting, they're not engaging, they're not listening to the news, and I think they naively believe that things are going to be okay, and I don't think they appreciate that things are slipping away right in front of us,” she said.
Some of those concerns resonated with 40-year-old Anna Ashie, a Democrat from Orlando whose political views shifted dramatically from her conservative upbringing.
“Extreme disintegration, not just of every day it feels like more of our rights, but also our rule of law that is being eroded, and how the systems that were set up are honestly disintegrating is what it feels like,” Ashie said.
Democracy matters
Despite their political differences, everyone agreed democracy matters and expressed concerns about its future. As the conversation continued, it became clear the group defines the threats to democracy differently.
The discussion took a more personal turn when Sean asked Anna to explain why she believes people are losing their rights.
Still, the group of two registered Republicans, two registered Democrats, and an independent, found common ground. They all emphasized the importance of participating in elections.
Yurko ended the conversation with a story about why voting matters to her.
“When the triplets were about two years old and they were all asleep in the back of the car, I went to the city of Edgewood to vote, and I started to get out of the car and I realized that I was going to wake them all up and it would be a nightmare.”
She says a candidate’s mother who was at that polling location, noticed what was happening.
“She said, 'Would you like me to watch the triplets so you can go in and vote?’ And I said, 'Sure.’ So that's how important voting was to me. I let a stranger watch my children.”
We will continue the conversation with Alison Yurko, Jaydon Souza, Anna Ashie, Sean Roberts, and Margit Roberts in the coming weeks through the November elections to get a better understanding of how their priorities and perspectives evolve in this midterm election year.
