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 second 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.

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 (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 (2017–2024) Francis Suarez, 43rd mayor of Miami (2017–2025) and candidate for president in 2024

Endorsements

Debates 2026 Florida Republican gubernatorial debate Date Host Moderators Link Republican Republican Republican RepublicanKey: Participant  Invited Withdrawn Absent  Not invited  Jay Collins Byron Donalds James Fishback Paul RennerJuly 2, 2026PBD PodcastPatrick Bet-DavidYoutube

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.

2026 Florida Republican cancelled gubernatorial debates Date Host Moderators Location Republican Republican Republican RepublicanKey: Participant  Invited Withdrawn Absent  Not invited  Jay Collins Byron Donalds James Fishback Paul Renner June 27, 2026 Republican Party of Florida Fort Lauderdale July 15, 2026 CBS News Jacksonville July 21, 2026 Fox News Tampa

Fundraising Campaign finance reports as of August 13, 2026CandidateRaisedSpentJay Collins (R)$1,842,546$352,104Byron Donalds (R)$13,792,445$5,377,379James Fishback (R)$705,217$699,846Paul Renner (R)$1,090,595$470,796Sources:

Polling Aggregate polls Source of pollaggregationDatesadministeredDatesupdated JayCollins ByronDonalds JamesFishback PaulRenner Other/UndecidedMargin270toWinJuly 13 – August 6, 2026August 18, 202613.5%47.5%9.0%4.5%25.5%Donalds +34.0%Decision Desk HQthrough August 11, 2026August 18, 202616.6%37.2%18.4%7.6%20.2%Donalds +18.8%FiftyPlusOnethrough August 11, 2026August 18, 202615.5%39.9%15.0%29.6%Donalds +24.4%RealClearPoliticsJuly 8–29, 2026August 18, 202613.6%45.4%9.6%4.0%27.4%Donalds +31.8%Race to the WHthrough July 29, 2026August 18, 202616.0%45.5%9.5%4.9%24.1%Donalds +29.5%Average15.0%43.1%12.3%5.3%25.4%Donalds +28.1%

Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin JayCollins ByronDonalds JamesFishback PaulRenner Other UndecidedDavid J WolfsonJuly 28–29, 2026988 (LV)± 3.0%30%46%10%6%4%4%Quantus Insights (R)July 27–29, 2026635 (LV)± 4.1%16%50%12%4%5%13%Targoz Market ResearchJuly 20–26, 2026532 (LV)rowspan="2" 18%49%4%8%4%17%592 (RV)17%47%4%9%4%20%Listener Group/Political Matrix News (R)July 21–23, 20261,020 (LV)± 3.1%2%32%13%19%32%Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R)July 14–16, 2026400 (LV)10%53%9%4%24%Cygnal (R)July 12–13, 2026500 (LV)± 4.4%11%43%12%2%31%Change Research (D)July 9–11, 2026 (LV)14%37%12%2%5%30%The Tyson Group (R)July 8–11, 2026600 (LV)± 4.0%9%48%8%4%4%27%David J WolfsonJuly 2–6, 2026934 (LV)± 3.0%20%38%10%2%28%McLaughlin & Associates (R)June 3–7, 2026386 (LV)± 3.0%5%54%8%2%31%Listener Group/Political Matrix News (R)May 31 – June 3, 2026973 (LV)± 3.1%11%29%2%14%44%Change Research (D)May 13–16, 2026 (LV)8%48%9%3%28%Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R)April 26–30, 2026420 (LV)± 4.78%7%54%9%2%28%Stetson UniversityMarch 25 – April 13, 2026373 (LV)6%38%5%7%17%28%Keystone AnalyticsMarch 27 – April 6, 2026795 (LV)± 3.5%43%19%38%Tarrance Group (R)March 30 – April 2, 2026466 (LV)± 4.7%6%50%9%3%32%Emerson CollegeMarch 29–31, 2026465 (LV)± 4.5%4%46%4%3%4%39%The American PromiseFebruary 23–26, 2026800 (LV)± 3.5%4%44%5%2%45%University of North FloridaFebruary 16–20, 2026657 (LV)± 4.38%4%31%6%1%6%51%3%28%4%1%28%36%Targoz Market ResearchFebruary 13–16, 2026401 (RV)15%33%3%9%40%Patriot Polling (R)January 19–29, 2026827 (LV)± 4.0%37%23%40%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyJanuary 8–13, 2026400 (RV)± 5.0%7%37%3%4%49%Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R)January 4–6, 2026600 (LV)± 4.0%6%45%4%3%41%39%3%1%26%31%47%5%4%43%Public Opinion Strategies (R)December 7–11, 2025700 (RV)± 3.7%13%40%9%38%The Tyson Group (R)December 8–9, 2025800 (LV)± 3.5%9%38%2%1%49%The American PromiseNovember 17–19, 2025800 (LV)± 3.5%1%43%0%2%54%Victory Insights (R)November 11–13, 2025600 (LV)1%45%1%3%49%St. Pete PollsOctober 13–15, 20251,034 (LV)± 3.0%4%39%3%54%12%52%36%Targoz Market ResearchSeptember 16–18, 2025506 (RV)29%9%62%The American PromiseSeptember 4–5, 2025800 (LV)± 3.5%2%40%2%54%

Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin CaseyDeSantis ByronDonalds MattGaetz AshleyMoody JeanetteNuñez JimmyPatronis WiltonSimpson FrancisSuarez MichaelWaltz Other UndecidedEmerson CollegeMarch 29–31, 2026465 (LV)± 4.5%7%44%15%34%St. Pete PollsOctober 13–15, 20251,034 (LV)± 3.0%21%47%36%Targoz Market ResearchSeptember 16–18, 2025510 (RV)26%23%2%9%39%University of North FloridaJuly 14–22, 2025797 (RV)± 3.9%32%29%8%1%2%10%18%St. Pete PollsJuly 8–10, 2025831 (LV)± 3.4%27%35%3%2%32%Targoz Market ResearchMay 5–7, 2025516 (RV)29%28%10%7%4%5%4%13%Targoz Market ResearchApril 15–22, 2025619 (RV)28%22%8%9%4%7%4%18%Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R)February 26–27, 2025600 (LV)± 5.0%30%34%3%33%Victory Insights (R)January 26–27, 2025850 (LV)± 3.5%34%5%61%31%4%3%1%60%Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet ResearchJune 8–9, 2024366 (RV)± 3.3%43%19%13%14%5%7%Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet ResearchApril 15–17, 2024372 (RV)± 3.3%38%16%20%26%Victory Insights (R)April 3–6, 20241,200 (LV)± 2.9%21%13%3%2%5%14%43%University of North FloridaOctober 23 – November 4, 2023788 (LV)± 3.8%22%9%9%6%2%3%1%1%1%6%40%

Results

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 (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 (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 (2023–present) (running for re-election) Angie Nixon, state representative from the 13th district (2020–present) (running for U.S. Senate)

Endorsements

Polling