Polk County Commission · District 2
Still running flat out for Polk County.
Rick Wilson ran 206 NASCAR Cup races and never moved away from Bartow. He is a second-generation cattleman, second generation in the family's heavy equipment business, and eight years into representing District 2 on the Polk County Commission. Sheriff Grady Judd wants him to stay.
- 8
- years on the commission
- 206
- NASCAR Cup starts
- 2
- generations on the same land
- 1
- county, his whole life
The endorsement that travels in Polk County
Sheriff Grady Judd is with Rick Wilson.
“Because we're from Polk County, if you weren't the best, I wouldn't be standing here.”
Judd did not send a statement. He stood next to Rick Wilson on camera and said it. He called him conservative, in his words “you conserve water, you conserve resources.” He said Wilson is not just managing today but visioning for the future. Then he asked Polk County for four more years of him.
This is the man who runs law enforcement in Polk County, talking about the board that funds it. His political committee put money behind the endorsement too.
Sheriff Grady Judd endorsing Rick Wilson. Posted by the campaign, July 31, 2026.
Read the transcript
Sheriff JuddHello, everyone. Sheriff Grady Judd here. I’m with my friend, Commissioner Rick Wilson.
Rick WilsonHey, and it’s great to be here today on a beautiful day.
Sheriff JuddOh, I’m telling you. And do you know, when I think about Rick Wilson, I automatically think about Polk County. We’re both born and raised here. And, in fact, it’s an honor that you would give of your time to be a county commissioner.
Rick WilsonWell, I enjoy it. I love working for this county and making it better. I enjoy working with you, making this county safer.
Sheriff JuddCommissioner, what I like is you’re conservative. Yes, you conserve water. You conserve resources. You do what’s best for the people of Polk County, and that is important. And that’s why people are flooding here. They’re seeking a community that has the kind of leadership that you are doing every day. And that’s why we’re successful. And that’s why I love working with you. And that’s why I love our commissioners, because you’re not just managing today; you’re visioning for the future. But we need your experience over the next four years to continue that vision, continue that leadership, and make good things happen.
Rick WilsonI agree. And I will continue to fight for Polk County and the people of this county to make this a better county, if it’s possible to do.
Sheriff JuddAnd you know, because we’re from Polk County, if you weren’t the best, I wouldn’t be standing here.
Rick WilsonI agree.
Sheriff JuddBut you are.
Rick WilsonWell, thank you, sir.
Sheriff JuddThank you, my friend.
Polk County GOP
Two Republicans are running for this seat, and on August 3, 2026 the Polk County Republican Executive Committee picked one of them. In its own words: “We met last night with more than a quorum present and the vote was unanimous. Not close. Not divided. Unanimous.”
Polk County Professional Firefighters
IAFF Local 3531, the union for the county's professional firefighters, is behind Wilson. They answer close to 400 calls a day, and he has voted for the stations they answer them from, including Bradley Fire Rescue and the Masterpiece Road station that opened in Bartow in June 2025.
Business Voice of Greater Lakeland
The political committee that Lakeland Chamber of Commerce members formed in 2000 to back pro-business candidates. It endorsed Wilson for another term.
Lakeland Realtors
Endorsed Wilson's re-election on August 6, 2026. The association's political committee also contributed.
Austin Gravley, Frostproof City Council
Hosted Wilson in Frostproof on August 7, 2026 and endorsed him the same day: “I'm proud to endorse Rick Wilson for Polk County Commission.” Gravley pointed to the working relationship between the county board, the City of Frostproof and the employers in it.
Why Aug. 18 matters
In Polk County, August is the election.
Every candidate for this seat is a Republican, and the winner has no opponent waiting in November. Under Florida’s universal primary rule that opens the Aug. 18 contest to every registered Polk County voter. Republican, Democrat, or no party affiliation.
There is no runoff and no second chance. Whoever wins on Aug. 18 represents District 2 for the next four years. Polk elects its commissioners countywide, so you do not have to live in District 2 to vote in this race. Check your sample ballot at PolkElections.gov.
The record
What eight years actually bought.
Polk sent him. Twice.
In 2018 Polk County picked Rick Wilson by nearly two to one. The seat came open early when the sitting commissioner resigned, and Gov. Rick Scott put him in it that October. In 2022, voters sent him back.
He voted the sales tax down
In November 2023 the board was asked to put a half-cent sales tax increase on the ballot. It would have raised roughly $2.1 billion for road projects over twenty years. Wilson voted no, alongside Commissioners Combee, Braswell and Santiago. The motion failed 4–1.
Firefighters and paramedics, paid for
Wilson voted for the construction agreements behind the Bradley Fire Rescue Station, a capital project of just over $6 million. He backed a $1.42 million land purchase for a new Polk County Fire Rescue EMS and fire station in south Lakeland. The Masterpiece Road station in Bartow opened in June 2025.
Growth
The county's job starts where the city limits end.
Polk County covers about 1.3 million acres, and roughly 84 percent of it is unincorporated. That is the County Commission's ground. But about three out of every four new homes in Polk go up inside city limits, approved by city governments. The commission rules on development in the unincorporated county only.
Eighty-four percent of the map. That is the part he answers for.
What the county board decides is the countywide backbone. Roads, water, public safety, EMS. That is where Rick Wilson's record is, and it is the part of Polk County that has to work no matter who approves the houses.
- 84%
- of Polk County is unincorporated. That is the commission's ground.
- 24%
- of new homes are built there. The rest are approved by cities.
On the job
Jobs, roads, and the land itself.
Polk County's own page for District 2 lists what its commissioner works on. It is short, and the campaign did not write it.
Meaningful job opportunities
“Helping to create meaningful job opportunities for Polk's residents.” That is what a day like August 7 was: a steel mill and a citrus company in Frostproof, walked with the people who run them.
A stronger transportation network
“Committed to making the county's public transportation network stronger through transportation planning.” Roads and transit are county decisions, and they are the ones growth makes or breaks first.
Natural resources and environmental lands
“Preserving the county's natural resources and environmental lands.” In a county this size that means water, floodplain, and working land that does not come back once it is gone.
Those are the county's words, not ours.
Before the commission
206 starts. One hometown.
Petty Enterprises, 1993. Richard Petty picked the man who would drive it.
Across fourteen seasons, Rick Wilson ran 206 races in NASCAR's top division. In the summer of 1988 he ran side by side with Bill Elliott all the way to the stripe at Daytona and finished second. When Richard Petty hung up his helmet, Petty picked Wilson to drive the Petty Enterprises No. 44 in 1993. He won twice in the Busch Series in 1989, at Bristol and at Dover, and led 161 of the 200 laps at Bristol doing it.
Best points season: 17th, in 1989. One career pole, at Bristol. Polk County put him in its Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
And he never moved away.
206
Cup Series starts across 14 seasons
23
top-ten finishes
1988
second at Daytona, side by side to the line
2024
Polk County Sports Hall of Fame
Off the clock
He still lives on the ranch.
Land use is not a slide in a presentation to a man who runs cattle on it.
Rick Wilson is a second-generation cattleman and a second-generation business owner. The heavy equipment company his family started in the 1940s is still going. So is the family cattle ranch, and that is where he lives, in the same town he was born in.
- Bartow, start to finish
- Born in Bartow on January 31, 1953. Raised there. Still there. Rick Wilson has never had to learn this county on the job.
- Second generation, both times
- The family heavy equipment business started in the 1940s. He is the second generation to run it, and the second generation on the ranch.
- Cattlemen and Rotary
- Member of the Polk County Cattlemen's Association, the Florida Cattlemen's Association, and Rotary International.
- Teresa, and three grown kids
- Wilson and his wife Teresa have three grown children.
Make your plan
You already know what you're getting.
Eight years of votes you can look up. A sheriff who wants him back. A county party that picked him over another Republican, unanimously. A man who has lived in Polk County every day of his life and has no plans to go anywhere.
The primary is Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day. Early voting, vote-by-mail deadlines and every early voting location in Polk County are laid out on one page.
On Tuesday, August 18, vote Rick Wilson for Polk County Commission, District 2.
Or look up your ballot at PolkElections.gov.
Before August 18
Three things that actually move votes.
Vote early
Early voting runs through Saturday, August 15, nine to six, at any of ten sites in the county. Voting early is one less thing that can go wrong on election day.
Find a sitePut a sign in your yard
Signs on the road are most of how a county race gets seen. Email the campaign and one will find you.
Ask for a signBring somebody with you
County commission races turn on a few thousand votes. One conversation with a neighbour counts for more here than it would almost anywhere else.
Questions about registration, precincts or mail ballots go to the voting page and, for anything official, to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections.