2026 Florida gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2026 United States gubernatorial elections.

2026 Florida gubernatorial election

←  2022 November 3, 2026 2030 →

Party Republican Democratic

Incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis Republican

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

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

Candidates

Publicly expressed interest

• Byron Donalds, U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district (2021–present) ^[2]
• 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

• 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

• 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

Ashley Moody (Declined)

Individuals

• Ric Flair, former professional wrestler ^[10]

Polling

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 [11]	January 26–27, 2025	850 (LV)	± 3.5%	–	34%	–	–	–	–	5%	–	–	–	61%
				–	31%	–	–	4%	–	3%	1%	–	–	60%
Florida Atlantic University/ Mainstreet Research [12]	June 8–9, 2024	366 (RV)	± 3.3%	43%	19%	13%	14%	–	5%	–	–	–	7% [b]	–
Victory Insights [13]	April 3–6, 2024	1,200 (LV)	± 2.9%	–	21%	13%	–	–	3%	2%	–	5%	14% [c]	43%
University of North Florida [14]	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 [15]	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) ^[16]
• 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) ^{[17] [16]}

Potential

• Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County (2020–present) ^{[18] [16]}

Declined

• Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party (2023–present), former Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2019–2023), and candidate for governor in 2022 ^[19]
• Jared Moskowitz, U.S. representative from Florida's 23rd congressional district (2023–present) ^[20] (running for re-election) ^[21]

Independents

Filed paperwork

• Moliere Dimanche, writer ^[22]

Publicly expressed interest

• John Morgan, lawyer and founder of Morgan & Morgan ^{[23] [16]}

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [24]	Solid R	January 23, 2025
Inside Elections [25]	Solid R	February 6, 2025

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat

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

See also

• List of governors of Florida
• 2026 United States gubernatorial elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. "Someone else" with 7%
3. "Someone else" with 14%
4. "Someone else" with 6%

Partisan clients

References

1. "Article IV, Florida Constitution". Ballotpedia . Retrieved May 13, 2023.
2. Dixon, Matt (January 15, 2025). "Rep. Byron Donalds makes his move ahead of expected 2026 Florida gubernatorial bid". NBC News . Retrieved January 17, 2025.
3. Calder, Rich (November 23, 2024). "Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz teases run for Florida governor". New York Post . Retrieved November 24, 2024.
4. Wilson, Kirby (January 7, 2025). "Matt Gaetz: 'I am starting to think about running for governor'". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
5. Little, Jim (November 14, 2024). "Campaign to replace Matt Gaetz in Congress starting to take shape". Pensacola News Journal . Retrieved November 18, 2024.
6. 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.
7. Ogles, Jacob (January 29, 2025). "Byron Donalds holds massive lead in poll on gubernatorial contenders". Florida Politics . Retrieved February 17, 2025.
8. 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.
9. Gancarski, A.G. (January 18, 2025). "2026 cash chase begins for Ashley Moody before Senate swearing-in". Florida Politics . Retrieved February 14, 2025.
10. Gancarski, A.G. (May 8, 2024). "After Gainesville pizza problem, Ric Flair endorses Ashley Moody for Governor". Florida Politics.
11. Victory Insights
12. Florida Atlantic University/
    Mainstreet Research
13. Victory Insights
14. University of North Florida
15. Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. Ogles, Jacob (January 25, 2025). "Nikki Fried confirms she will not run for Governor in 2026". Florida Politics . Retrieved January 25, 2025.
20. 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.
21. 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
22. Of Elections, Florida Division (June 26, 2024). "Candidate Tracking System". Florida Division of Elections. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
23. Leonard, Kimberly (December 12, 2024). "John Morgan on how he'd run for gov". Politico . Retrieved December 13, 2024.
24. "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
25. "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections . Retrieved February 7, 2025.
26. Cygnal (R)