Kim Kendall seeks reelection to Florida House District 18

Republican state Rep. Kim Kendall is seeking a second term representing Florida House District 18 in St. Johns County. The district covers the northern half of the county, including Ponte Vedra Beach, Fruit Cove, World Golf Village and Vilano Beach.

Kendall faces Democrat Art Stresing in the Nov. 3 general election. She won the Aug. 18 Republican primary, defeating Diana Patrice Jordan-Baldwin, according to a post-primary report from Brownstein.

Candidate information

Party: Republican
Age: 59
Residence: St. Augustine
Education: Bachelor's degree in public relations, Florida State University (1989); FAA Air Traffic Control Specialist certification, FAA Air Traffic Control Academy (1990); high school diploma, George Dewey High School, Naval Station, Subic Bay, Philippines
Family: Married to Kelly for 33 years, according to her campaign website

Kendall was born in Arlington, Va., and moved to Florida in 1976, according to her Florida House biography. She grew up on naval bases as a military dependent, according to her campaign website.

She said she moved to St. Johns County in 2001. She was first elected to the Florida House in 2024, winning with 69.9% of the vote against Democratic challenger Keith Matthews, according to News4JAX.

Experience and public service

Kendall worked as an FAA air traffic controller at Jacksonville En Route Air Traffic Center from 1990 to 2000, according to BallotReady. She also worked in the public affairs office at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, according to her Florida House biography.

She said she served on the St. Johns County Education Foundation board from 2005 to 2008 and co-founded the St. Johns County Middle School Athletic Association in 2009. She said she served on the NE FL Early Learning Coalition board from 2010 to 2014.

She said she chairs the Florida Legislative Aerospace Group. She said she was appointed by the speaker of the Florida House to the Florida Defense Support Commission.

On the issues

Growth and infrastructure: Kendall said St. Johns County is the fastest-growing county in Florida and that infrastructure must keep pace. She said she secured $3.5M for the International Golf Parkway/I-95 interchange redesign, and that state and local officials worked together in summer 2026 to secure an additional $18M to complete construction costs.

She said she supports legislation to hold developers to higher fair-share standards.

Workforce development and education: Kendall said she secured $1.3M for First Coast Technical College to expand trades, firefighter and EMT training programs. She said she also secured $600K for First Coast Technical College and St. Augustine High School for commercial agriculture and airport maintenance programs.

She said she secured $2.25M for medical aerospace research at Cecil Spaceport. She said she passed legislation creating workforce certification opportunities for students with autism and individualized education programs. Kendall said she supports expanding vocational and technical education and increasing teacher pay.

Environment: Kendall said she fought to protect Guana River Wildlife Management Area from a proposed land swap and passed legislation to protect it. She said she worked with a 15-year-old constituent who lobbied to raise the age limit on the swim voucher program, a bill that became law.