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Fried: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Caldwell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Florida |
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The 2018 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election occurred on November 6, 2018, to elect the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. Democrat Nikki Fried narrowly defeated Republican Matt Caldwell. This was the only statewide victory in 2018 for Democrats in Florida.
As of 2025, this is the last time that a Democrat has won a statewide election in Florida, and the only time since 2012, when Bill Nelson was re-elected to the Senate and Barack Obama won the state in the concurrent presidential race.
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State legislators
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Newspapers
State legislators
Mayors and other municipal leaders
Other individuals
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Statewide officials
Mayors and other municipal leaders
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Matt Caldwell | Denise Grimsley | Mike McCalister | Baxter Troutman | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gravis Marketing [43] | August 21–25, 2018 | 579 | ± 4.1% | 18% | 17% | 13% | 19% | 33% |
Gravis Marketing [44] | August 21–22, 2018 | 321 | ± 5.5% | 20% | 15% | 13% | 18% | 34% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Matt Caldwell | 523,051 | 34.60% | |
Republican | Denise Grimsley | 402,525 | 26.62% | |
Republican | Baxter Troutman | 393,098 | 26.01% | |
Republican | Mike McCalister | 193,002 | 12.77% | |
Total votes | 1,511,676 | 100.0% |
Statewide officials
Newspapers
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Nikki Fried | 826,009 | 58.65% | |
Democratic | R. David Walker | 359,081 | 25.50% | |
Democratic | Jeffrey Duane Porter | 223,299 | 15.85% | |
Total votes | 1,408,389 | 100.0% |
No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
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Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
Matt Caldwell | Nikki Fried | |||||
1 | Oct. 21, 2018 | WFOR-TV | Jim DeFede | YouTube (Part 1) YouTube (Part 2) YouTube (Part 3) | P | P |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Matt Caldwell (R) | Nikki Fried (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of North Florida [55] | October 23–26, 2018 | 1,046 | ± 3.0% | 41% | 43% | 17% |
Cherry Communications [56] | September 19–24, 2018 | 622 | ± 4.4% | 37% | 42% | 17% |
St. Pete Polls [57] | September 5–6, 2018 | 2,240 | ± 2.1% | 45% | 47% | 8% |
With Grimsley
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Nikki Fried (D) | Denise Grimsley (R) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frederick Polls [58] | August 16–20, 2018 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 42% | 40% | 17% |
With Troutman
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Nikki Fried (D) | Baxter Troutman (R) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frederick Polls [58] | August 16–20, 2018 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 43% | 39% | 17% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Nikki Fried | 4,032,954 | 50.04% | +8.71% | |
Republican | Matt Caldwell | 4,026,201 | 49.96% | −8.71% | |
Total votes | 8,059,155 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Matt Caldwell snagged a high-profile endorsement in his race for Florida's next Agriculture Commissioner, with the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) announcing its support Tuesday.
Official campaign websites