# 2026 Florida gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 2026 Florida gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third consecutive term.

## Background

Though Florida has leaned Republican at the state level in the 21st century, having consistently elected Republicans to the governorship in particular since 1998, the state has seen a considerable rightward political shift in recent years and is now seen as a moderately to strongly red state at the federal and state levels. In 2022, incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis was re-elected with a 19.4% lead, a considerable improvement from his razor-thin 0.4-point victory four years earlier in the 2018 blue wave election. This was followed two years later by Republican Donald Trump winning his adoptive home state with a 13% lead as he won a second non-consecutive presidential term, building upon his 3.3% margin of victory in 2020 and seemingly diminishing Florida's longtime swing-state status. Additionally, Republicans control all statewide offices, a large majority of the state's U.S. House delegation, both U.S. Senate seats and supermajorities in both houses of the Florida Legislature.

## Eligibility and requirements

Article IV, Section 5(b), of the Florida Constitution states that, for a person to serve as governor, they must:
* Be at least thirty years old;
* Be a permanent resident of Florida for at least seven years;
* Not have served as governor for six years or more of the two prior terms.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Byron Donalds, U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district (2021–present)

#### Publicly expressed interest

* Matt Gaetz, former U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district (2017–2024)
* Ashton Hayward, former Mayor of Pensacola (2011–2018)

#### Potential

* Casey DeSantis, former WJXT newscaster and First Lady of Florida (2019–present)
* Jeanette Nuñez, interim president of Florida International University (2025–present) and former Lieutenant Governor of Florida (2019–2025)
* Wilton Simpson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2023–present)
* Francis Suarez, mayor of Miami (2017–present)

#### Declined

* Ashley Moody, U.S. Senator (2025–present) (running for re-election)

### Endorsements

U.S. presidents
* Donald Trump, 45th and 47th President of the United States (2017–2021; 2025–present)
Executive Branch officials
* Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (2025–present)
* Doug Burgum, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (2025–present)
* Jacob Helberg, nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
* Peter Lamelas, nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Colombia
* Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (2025–present)
* Dan Newlin, nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Argentina
* John Phelan, nominee to be U.S. Secretary of the Navy
* Andy Puzder, nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to the European Union
* David Sacks, chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2025–present)
* Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East (2025–present)
U.S. senators
* Rick Scott, U.S. senator from Florida (2019–present); 45th Governor of Florida (2011–2019)
U.S. representatives
* Vern Buchanan, FL-16 (2007–present)
* Jeff Miller, FL-01 (2001–2017)
State Executive Officials
* Carlos Beruff, Chair of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (2017–2018)
State senators
* Randy Fine, 19th district (2024–present)
* Joe Gruters, 22nd district (2018–present)
State representatives
* Yvette Benarroch, 81st district (2024–present)
* Berny Jacques, 59th district (2022–present)
* Toby Overdorf, 85th district (2018–present)
* Jenna Persons-Mulicka, 78th district (2020–present)
* Juan Carlos Porras, 119th district (2022–present)
* Spencer Roach, 76th district (2022–2024)
Individuals
* Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz
* Brian Ballard, founder of Ballard Partners
* Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb
* Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz
* Jay Kemmerer, owner of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
* Adam Kidan, President of Empire Workforce
* Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA
* Omeed Malik, banker
* Ross Perot Jr., real estate developer
* Harry Sargeant III, oil executive
* David Steward, founder of World Wide Technology
* Donald Trump Jr., businessman and son of President Donald Trump
* Christian Ziegler, Chair of the Florida Republican Party (2023–2024)
* George Zoley, founder and CEO of GEO Group

#### Organizations

* Club for Growth PAC
Individuals
* Ric Flair, former professional wrestler

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Casey DeSantis | Byron Donalds | Matt Gaetz | Ashley Moody | Jeanette Nuñez | Jimmy Patronis | Wilton Simpson | Francis Suarez | Michael Waltz | Other | Undecided |
| Fabrizio Lee & Associates | February 26-27, 2025 | 600 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 30% | 34% | – | – | – | – | 3% | – | – | – | 33% |
| Victory Insights | January 26–27, 2025 | 850 (LV) | ± 3.5% | – | 34% | – | – | – | – | 5% | – | – | – | 61% |
| Victory Insights | January 26–27, 2025 | 850 (LV) | ± 3.5% | – | 31% | – | – | 4% | – | 3% | 1% | – | – | 60% |
| Florida Atlantic University/ Mainstreet Research | June 8–9, 2024 | 366 (RV) | ± 3.3% | 43% | 19% | 13% | 14% | – | 5% | – | – | – | 7% | – |
| Victory Insights | April 3–6, 2024 | 1,200 (LV) | ± 2.9% | – | 21% | 13% | – | – | 3% | 2% | – | 5% | 14% | 43% |
| University of North Florida | October 23 – November 4, 2023 | 788 (LV) | ± 3.77% | 22% | 9% | 9% | 6% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 6% | 40% |
Casey DeSantis vs. Matt Gaetz
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Casey DeSantis | Matt Gaetz | Other | Undecided |
| Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research | April 15–17, 2024 | 372 (RV) | ± 3.3% | 38% | 16% | 20% | 26% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Publicly expressed interest

* Fentrice Driskell, minority leader of the Florida House of Representatives (2022–present) from the 67th district (2018–present)
* Shevrin Jones, state senator from the 35th district (2020–present) and chair of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party (2024–present)
* Jason Pizzo, minority leader of the Florida Senate (2024–present) from the 37th district (2018–present)

#### Potential

* Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County (2020–present)
* Gwen Graham, former Assistant Secretary of Education (2021–2025), former U.S. representative from Florida's 2nd congressional district (2015–2017), daughter of former governor Bob Graham, and candidate for governor in 2018
* Angie Nixon, state representative from the 13th district (2020–present)

#### Declined

* Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party (2023–present), former Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2019–2023), and candidate for governor in 2022
* Jared Moskowitz, U.S. representative from Florida's 23rd congressional district (2023–present) (running for re-election)

## Independents
### Filed paperwork

* Moliere Dimanche, writer

### Publicly expressed interest

* John Morgan, lawyer and founder of Morgan & Morgan

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid R | January 23, 2025 |
| Inside Elections | Solid R | February 6, 2025 |

### Polling

Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Generic Republican | Generic Democrat | Undecided |
| Cygnal (R) | October 26–28, 2024 | 600 (LV) | ± 3.98% | 48% | 41% | 11% |