Evelyn Castillo-Bach pushes Florida living wage pitch ahead of Aug. 18 vote

Florida gubernatorial candidate Evelyn Castillo-Bach is making a living wage a centerpiece of her 2026 campaign, arguing that state pay floors should reflect the actual cost of living in each county. She cites United Way ALICE data showing nearly half of Florida households struggle to afford basic necessities and says the next governor should push lawmakers to act.

Why it matters: - Castillo-Bach is trying to make affordability and wages a central issue in Florida's Aug. 18, 2026 gubernatorial election. - Her plan would tie wage policy to county-level living costs, a direct challenge to a one-size-fits-all minimum wage approach. - The campaign says the goal is to help working families cover housing, child care, food, transportation and health care without needing multiple jobs.

What happened: - Evelyn Castillo-Bach, a candidate for governor of Florida and executive director of Balanced Justice Network, said Aug. 16 that she would work to establish a living wage based on the actual cost of living in Florida communities. - Castillo-Bach said the next governor must push the Florida Legislature to raise the minimum wage so working people can earn a living wage. - Castillo-Bach said she will campaign across Florida, including the Panhandle and the Keys, and meet with voters in every county. - Her name appears first on the Democratic gubernatorial ballot. - Election Day is Aug. 18, 2026.

The details: - United Way ALICE data shows 12.4% of Florida households live at or below the poverty line. - An additional 34.5% are ALICE households, or Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, meaning they work but still cannot cover basic expenses. - Combined, those groups account for 46.8% of Florida households. - Florida ranked 47th among states and the District of Columbia in financial hardship in 2024. - Only about 40% of employed Floridians had a salaried, full-time job in 2024. - The rest relied on hourly work, part-time jobs or gig work, which makes income less predictable and benefits less common. - Even among full-time workers, 56% did not earn enough to afford the ALICE Household Survival Budget for one adult and one school-age child. - A wage of $20 an hour was not enough to meet that budget in 99% of Florida counties. - Part-time workers were more likely to fall below the ALICE threshold than full-time workers, 46% to 26%. - In rural and mid-size counties, more than half of households fall below the ALICE threshold. - Among households below that threshold, 78% of renters and 57% of homeowners are housing-burdened. - Housing burden includes spending 30% or more of income on housing costs, including mortgage payments, utilities, property taxes and property insurance. - Castillo-Bach's proposal would use United Way ALICE data to set wage floors that reflect local costs for housing, groceries and child care. - The proposal rejects a single statewide wage number as a realistic way to measure living costs across Florida. - Castillo-Bach said her campaign is built around "People First, Not Politics," with three pillars: Health, Home and Freedom. - She said a stable home depends on a living wage, and freedom means not having to choose between groceries and the electric bill. - Castillo-Bach describes herself as an Independent-Democrat and a longtime resident of Pembroke Pines. - She currently serves as executive director of Balanced Justice Network.

Between the lines: - Castillo-Bach is framing wages as a cost-of-living issue rather than a partisan one. - By tying her pitch to ALICE data, the campaign is using a widely cited hardship measure to argue that Florida's wage floor is disconnected from everyday expenses. - The emphasis on county-by-county costs suggests the campaign wants to appeal to voters in both high-cost and lower-cost parts of the state without flattening those differences into one standard.

What's next: - Castillo-Bach is expected to keep pressing the living-wage message on the campaign trail ahead of the Aug. 18 vote. - If elected, she says she would push the Legislature for a wage increase aligned with real living costs in Florida communities. - The campaign plans to continue using its "People First, Not Politics" message and its Health, Home and Freedom framework.

The bottom line: - Castillo-Bach is betting that Florida voters will respond to a campaign built around affordability, wages and the claim that nearly half the state is struggling to make ends meet. - Social media: YouTube shorts, TikTok