The 2026 Florida gubernatorial election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Florida. Primary elections took place on August 18, 2026. Incumbent governor Ron DeSantis is ineligible to seek re-election to a third consecutive term.
Republicans have won every gubernatorial election in Florida since 1998. If he wins, Byron Donalds would become the first African American governor of Florida, the first African American governor elected in the Deep South, the third African American governor elected in the Southern United States, and the first elected African American Republican governor. This is the second consecutive Florida gubernatorial election in which the Democratic nominee is a former Republican.
The 2026 Florida gubernatorial election took place in the US state on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Florida. Republican Representative Byron Donalds narrowly defeated former Representative David Jolly. Incumbent two-term Republican governor Ron DeSantis was term-limited and ineligible for a third term.
Primary elections were held on August 18, 2026. In the Republican primary, Representative Byron Donalds won with 47.8% of the vote. In the Democratic primary, former Representative David Jolly won with 61.0% of the vote.
The election ended up being closely contested, highlighting a stronger-than-expected Democratic challenge in a state that had increasingly favored Republicans. Donalds’ victory was historic as Florida’s first African American governor and the first elected African American Republican governor in U.S. history. The narrow Republican victory also marked a significant contrast with the party’s landslide gubernatorial win in 2022. This was the second consecutive Florida gubernatorial election in which the Democratic nominee was a former Republican and the eighth consecutive victory for Republicans.
Background
A heavily populated South Atlantic state with a large and increasingly conservative Latino American population and the northern parts lying in the Bible Belt, Florida is considered to be a moderately to strongly red state, having not elected a Democratic governor since 1994 nor a Democrat for president since 2012 and having moved significantly rightward in the last decade. In 2022, incumbent governor Ron DeSantis was re-elected by a 19.4% margin, a considerable improvement from his 0.4-point victory four years earlier in the gubernatorial election during the 2018 blue wave.
This was followed in 2024 by Republican Donald Trump winning his adoptive home state by a 13% margin as he won a second non-consecutive presidential term, improving his 3.4% margin of victory in 2020 and seemingly diminishing Florida's longtime swing-state and bellwether status. Republicans also 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.
Candidate 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
Nominee
Byron Donalds, U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district (2021–present)
Running mate: Bryan Avila, former Florida state senator from the 39th district (2022–2026)
Eliminated in primary
Jay Collins, 21st lieutenant governor of Florida (2025–present)
Running mate: Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (2021–present)
Paul Renner, 103rd speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2022–2024) from the 19th district (2015–2024)
James Fishback, investment firm founder
Running mate: Sean Lozano, police officer
Jim Holcomb
Arthur Joseph McCaffrey
Daniel Nokovich
Rachel Rodriguez, attorney
James Walker Shaw, farmer
Caneste Succe, public representative
Bobby Williams, activist and food bank volunteer
Failed to qualify
Charles Burkett, mayor of Surfside (2006–2010, 2020–2022, 2024–2026) (running as an independent)
Shea Cruel, U.S. veteran
Jenny Patricia Curtman, naturopathic doctor
Daniel J. Imperato, consultant
John Joseph Mercadante, retired carpenter
Withdrawn
Bill Reicherter, real estate agent, candidate for state house in 2024, and candidate for state senate in 2022
Declined
Casey DeSantis, First Lady of Florida (2019–present)
Matt Gaetz, former U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district (2017–2024)
Francis Suarez, 43rd mayor of Miami (2017–2025) and candidate for president in 2024
Endorsements
Byron Donalds
Donald Trump, president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present)
Dan Bongino, former Deputy Director of the FBI (2025–2026)
Elon Musk, former senior advisor to the president (2025) (Independent)
Rick Scott, Florida (2019–present)
Ashley Moody, Florida (2025–present)
Ted Cruz, Texas (2013–present)
Aaron Bean, FL-04 (2023–present)
Gus Bilirakis, FL-12 (2007–present)
Vern Buchanan, FL-16 (2007–present)
Kat Cammack, FL-03 (2021–present)
Mario Díaz-Balart, FL-26 (2003–present)
Neal Dunn, FL-02 (2017–present)
Tom Emmer, House majority whip (2023–present) from MN-06 (2015–present)
Randy Fine, FL-06 (2025–present)
Scott Franklin, FL-18 (2021–present)
Russell Fry, SC-07 (2023–present)
Mike Haridopolos, FL-08 (2025–present)
Mike Johnson, speaker of the House (2023–present) from LA-04 (2017–present)
Laurel Lee, FL-15 (2023–present)
Anna Paulina Luna, FL-13 (2023–present)
Brian Mast, FL-21 (2017–present)
Lisa McClain, MI-09 (2021–present)
Cory Mills, FL-07 (2023–present)
Jimmy Patronis, FL-01 (2025–present)
Chip Roy, TX-21 (2019–present)
John Rutherford, FL-05 (2017–present)
María Elvira Salazar, FL-27 (2021–present)
Steve Scalise, House majority leader (2023–present) from LA-01 (2008–present)
Elise Stefanik, NY-21 (2015–present)
Daniel Webster, FL-11 (2011–present)
Jeff Landry, governor of Louisiana (2024–present) and special envoy to Greenland (2025–present)
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas (2023–present)
Blaise Ingoglia, chief financial officer of Florida (2025–present)
Wilton Simpson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2023–present)
James Uthmeier, Attorney General of Florida (2025–present)
Ben Albritton, President of the Florida Senate (2024–present)
Jim Boyd, president-designate of the Florida Senate from the 20th district (2020–present)
Wyman Duggan, speaker pro tempore of the Florida House of Representatives (2024–present) from HD-12 (2018–present)
Sam Garrison, speaker-designate of the Florida House of Representatives from the 11th district (2020–present)
Daniel Perez, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2025–present) from HD-116 (2018–present)
Tyler Sirois, majority leader of the Florida House of Representatives (2024–present) from HD-31 (2018–present)
59 other state representatives
9 state senators
Spencer Roach, former HD-76 (2018–2024)
Lara Trump, former co-chair of the Republican National Committee (2024–2025)
Christian Ziegler, former chair of the Florida Republican Party (2023–2024)
Christi Fraga, mayor of Doral (2022–present)
D. C. Reeves, mayor of Pensacola (2022–present)
Chad Chronister, sheriff of Hillsborough County (2017–present)
Vicki Lopez, Miami-Dade County Commissioner from the 5th district (2025–present)
Rosie Cordero-Stutz, sheriff of Miami-Dade County (2025–present)
Bob Gualtieri, sheriff of Pinellas County (2011–present)
Grady Judd, sheriff of Polk County (2005–present)
Dennis Lemma, sheriff of Seminole County (2017–present)
T. K. Waters, sheriff of Duval County (2022–present)
Morris Young, sheriff of Gadsden County (2004–present) (Democratic)
Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz
Brian D. Ballard, founder of Ballard Partners
Carlos Beruff, real estate developer
Bill Conerly, politician
Erika Donalds, school choice activist (candidate's spouse)
Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel LLC
Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz
Benny Johnson, political commentator
Jay Kemmerer, owner of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
Adam Kidan, president of Empire Workforce
Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA (deceased)
Omeed Malik, banker
Phil Mickelson, professional golfer
Nicki Minaj, rapper
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
Zach Witkoff, businessman
George Zoley, CEO of GEO Group
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Florida
Americans for Prosperity
Club for Growth PAC
Florida Faith and Freedom
Florida Chamber of Commerce
Florida Farm Bureau
Gun Owners of America
Leading the Future
Turning Point Action
James Fishback
Carrie Prejean, former member of the Religious Liberty Commission (2025–2026) and beauty pageant titleholder
Anthony Sabatini, former member of the Florida House of Representatives (2018-2022), and Lake County commissioner (2024–present)
Asmongold, online streamer and political commentator
Tucker Carlson, conservative political commentator
Nick Fuentes, far-right political activist
Tyler Oliveira, right-wing YouTuber
Sneako, political commentator
Andrew Tate, internet personality
Hodgetwins, political comedy duo
Kyle Rittenhouse, the Kenosha unrest shooter
Joel Webbon, Christian Nationalist pastor
MAHA Institute (endorsement rescinded)
Ashley Moody (declined)
Ric Flair, former professional wrestler
Declined to endorse
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida (2019–present) (later endorsed Byron Donalds)
Debates
Cancelled debates
In June 2026, the Republican Party of Florida announced that they would not be hosting a gubernatorial debate, as originally planned, later that month. The party stated that they had made the decision to cancel the debate after no candidate except Donalds met its qualifications. The party's minimum requirements for a candidate to participate included:
At least 10% support in a Republican party-sponsored primary voter poll
A minimum $10 million in raised contributions
Over 10,000 unique individual campaign donors
The announcement drew criticism from gubernatorial candidates Collins, Fishback, and Renner, as well as incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis attacked the party for trying to "engineer the outcome" of the primary election and acting against "the best interest of Republican voters." DeSantis additionally noted that he himself would not have qualified under the set criteria during his 2018 primary run. The Miami Herald also panned the decision, calling for a primary debate to take place.
On June 24, WJAX-TV announced that the planned CBS debate would be cancelled, after "a majority of the Republican candidates didn’t agree to participate." Only Fishback and Renner agreed to debate, with Collins stating that he would only accept if Donalds showed as well. Donalds refused to participate in any debate, leading Fishback labeling Donalds a "coward".
On June 25, Renner announced on X that the planned Fox 13 debate, set for July 21, had been cancelled.
Polling
Aggregate polls
Lieutenant gubernatorial nomination
Nominee
Bryan Avila, member of the Florida Senate (2022–2026)
Considered, but not selected
Kat Cammack, U.S. Representative from FL-03 (2021–present)
Fiona McFarland, member of the Florida House of Representatives (2020–present)
Ana Maria Rodriguez, member of the Florida Senate (2020–present)
Meg Weinberger, member of the Florida House of Representatives (2024–present)
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
David Jolly, former Republican U.S. representative from Florida's 13th congressional district (2014–2017)
Running mate: Gwen Graham, former Assistant Secretary of Education (2021–2025), former U.S. representative from Florida's 2nd congressional district (2015–2017), and candidate for governor in 2018
Eliminated in primary
Evelyn Castillo-Bach
Thomas Eloy Fernandez
Dayna Marie Foster, mathematics teacher
Dotie Joseph, state representative from the 108th district (2018–present)
Stephann Norman
Withdrawn
Jerry Demings, mayor of Orange County (2018–present) and husband of former U.S. representative Val Demings
Jessica Vernekar, social media influencer
Declined
Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party (2023–present), former Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2019–2023), and candidate for governor in 2022
Fentrice Driskell, minority leader of the state House of Representatives (2022–present) (running for state senate)
Gwen Graham, former Assistant Secretary of Education (2021–2025), former U.S. representative from Florida's 2nd congressional district (2015–2017), and candidate for governor in 2018 (endorsed Jolly, running for lieutenant governor)
Shevrin Jones, state senator from the 34th district (2020–present)
Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County (2020–present)
Jared Moskowitz, U.S. representative from Florida's 23rd congressional district (2023–present) (running for re-election)
Angie Nixon, state representative from the 13th district (2020–present) (running for U.S. Senate)
Endorsements
David Jolly
Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States (1993–2001)
Eric Holder, former attorney general of the United States (2009–2015) and chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee
Donna Shalala, former secretary of health and human services (1993–2001) and FL-27 (2019–2021)
Allen Boyd, former FL-02 (1997–2011)
Maxwell Frost, FL-10 (2023–present)
Gwen Graham, former FL-02 (2015–2017) and 2018 gubernatorial candidate (candidate's running mate)