2026 Florida gubernatorial election
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| Elections in Florida |
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 Government |
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.
Eligibility and requirements
[edit]Article IV, Section 5(b), of the Florida Constitution states that, for a person to serve as governor, they must:[1]
- 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
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Announcement pending
[edit]- Byron Donalds, U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district (2021–present)[2]
Publicly expressed interest
[edit]- Matt Gaetz, former U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district (2017–2024)[3][4]
- Ashton Hayward, former Mayor of Pensacola (2011–2018)[5]
Potential
[edit]- Jeanette Nuñez, interim president of Florida International University (2025–present) and former Lieutenant Governor of Florida (2019–2025)[6][7]
- Wilton Simpson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2023–present)[4][7]
- Francis Suarez, mayor of Miami (2017–present)[7]
Declined
[edit]- Casey DeSantis, former WJXT newscaster and First Lady of Florida (2019–present)[8]
- Ashley Moody, U.S. Senator (2025–present) (running for re-election)[9]
Endorsements
[edit]Byron Donalds (not declared)
Executive officials
Polling
[edit]Hypothetical polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Casey DeSantis |
Byron Donalds |
Matt Gaetz |
Ashley Moody |
Jeanette Nuñez |
Jimmy Patronis |
Wilton Simpson |
Francis Suarez |
Michael Waltz |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victory Insights[12] | January 26–27, 2025 | 850 (LV) | ± 3.5% | – | 34% | – | – | – | – | 5% | – | – | – | 61% |
| – | 31% | – | – | 4% | – | 3% | 1% | – | – | 60% | ||||
| Florida Atlantic University/ Mainstreet Research[13] |
June 8–9, 2024 | 366 (RV) | ± 3.3% | 43% | 19% | 13% | 14% | – | 5% | – | – | – | 7%[b] | – |
| Victory Insights[14] | April 3–6, 2024 | 1,200 (LV) | ± 2.9% | – | 21% | 13% | – | – | 3% | 2% | – | 5% | 14%[c] | 43% |
| University of North Florida[15] | October 23 – November 4, 2023 | 788 (LV) | ± 3.77% | 22% | 9% | 9% | 6% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 6%[d] | 40% |
Casey DeSantis vs. Matt Gaetz
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Casey DeSantis |
Matt Gaetz |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research[16] | April 15–17, 2024 | 372 (RV) | ± 3.3% | 38% | 16% | 20% | 26% |
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Publicly expressed interest
[edit]- Fentrice Driskell, minority leader of the Florida House of Representatives (2022–present) from the 67th district (2018–present)[17]
- Shevrin Jones, state senator from the 35th district (2020–present) and chair of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party (2024–present)[6]
- Jason Pizzo, state senator from the 37th district (2018–present)[18][17]
Potential
[edit]- Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County (2020–present)[19][17]
Declined
[edit]- Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party (2023–present), former Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2019–2023), and candidate for governor in 2022[20]
- Jared Moskowitz, U.S. representative from Florida's 23rd congressional district (2023–present)[21] (running for re-election)[22]
Independents
[edit]Filed paperwork
[edit]- Moliere Dimanche, writer[23]
Publicly expressed interest
[edit]- John Morgan, lawyer and founder of Morgan & Morgan[24][17]
General election
[edit]Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[25] | Solid R | January 23, 2025 |
| Inside Elections[26] | Solid R | February 6, 2025 |
Polling
[edit]Hypothetical polling
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]Partisan clients
References
[edit]- ^ "Article IV, Florida Constitution". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Leonard, Kimberly; Fineout, Gary (February 20, 2025). "'Looks like that's that.' Trump may have just ended the Florida governor's race". Politico. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
- ^ Calder, Rich (November 23, 2024). "Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz teases run for Florida governor". New York Post. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Wilson, Kirby (January 7, 2025). "Matt Gaetz: 'I am starting to think about running for governor'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ Little, Jim (November 14, 2024). "Campaign to replace Matt Gaetz in Congress starting to take shape". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
- ^ a b Neely, Samantha (November 25, 2024). "Can DeSantis run in 2026? Matt Gaetz and others who may get in race for Florida governor". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ^ a b c Ogles, Jacob (January 29, 2025). "Byron Donalds holds massive lead in poll on gubernatorial contenders". Florida Politics. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
- ^ Fields, Ashleigh (February 12, 2025). "DeSantis: Wife Casey 'not seeking' Florida governor bid". The Hill. Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ Gancarski, A.G. (January 18, 2025). "2026 cash chase begins for Ashley Moody before Senate swearing-in". Florida Politics. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
- ^ Gancarski, A.G. (May 8, 2024). "After Gainesville pizza problem, Ric Flair endorses Ashley Moody for Governor". Florida Politics.
- ^ Dixon, Matt (February 20, 2025). "Trump backs Rep. Byron Donalds in his likely run for Florida governor in 2026". NBC News. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
- ^ Victory Insights
- ^ Florida Atlantic University/
Mainstreet Research - ^ Victory Insights
- ^ University of North Florida
- ^ Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Kirby (January 10, 2025). "Who's running for Florida governor? How the 2026 field is shaping up". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ Man, Anthony (September 21, 2024). "Dissatisfied with his party's potential candidates, Democratic state senator may run for Florida governor". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ Hanks, Douglas (August 21, 2024). "Miami-Dade's Democratic mayor won big this week. Is a run for Florida governor next?". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ Ogles, Jacob (January 25, 2025). "Nikki Fried confirms she will not run for Governor in 2026". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Solender, Andrew (November 27, 2024). "Scoop: A huge wave of House members is eyeing runs for other offices in 2026". Axios. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ Adragna, Anthony (December 17, 2024). "Moskowitz brushes aside FEMA reports". Politico. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
'I am staying in Congress and running for re-election,' Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said
- ^ Of Elections, Florida Division (June 26, 2024). "Candidate Tracking System". Florida Division of Elections. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- ^ Leonard, Kimberly (December 12, 2024). "John Morgan on how he'd run for gov". Politico. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
- ^ "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
- ^ Cygnal (R)
