2026 in Florida

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Florida Historical outline of Florida List of years in Florida 2026 in the United States

The following is a list of events of the year 2026 in Florida.

Incumbents

State Government

• Executive Branch
  • Governor: Ron DeSantis (R)
  • Lieutenant Governor: Jay Collins (R)
  • Attorney General: James Uthmeier (R)
  • Chief Financial Officer: Blaise Ingoglia (R)
  • Commissioner of Agriculture: Wilton Simpson (R)
• Legislative Branch
  • Senate President: Ben Albritton (R)
  • House Speaker: Daniel Perez (R)
• Judicial Branch
  • Chief Justice: Carlos Muñiz

Chairs of Major Political Parties

• Republican Party of Florida: Evan Power (R)
• Florida Democratic Party: Nikki Fried (D)

Events

January

• January 7 – Governor DeSantis calls for a special legislative session on congressional redistricting, ahead of the 2026 United States midterm elections. ^[1]
• January 9 – Governor DeSantis signs a death warrant for Ronald Palmer Heath, convicted of killing a traveling salesman during a Gainesville robbery in 1990. ^[2]
• January 12 – Lieutenant Governor Collins declares his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election. ^[3]
• January 13
  • The 2026 regular session of the Florida Legislature begins. ^[4] Governor DeSantis delivers his final State of the State Address, reflecting on his governorship. ^[5]
  • Neal Dunn, a Republican, announces that he will not seek re-election as U.S. House Representative from Florida's 2nd congressional district. ^[6]
• January 14 – Governor DeSantis appoints Adam Tanenbaum, a judge from the Florida First District Court of Appeal, as the 94th Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, succeeding Charles Canady. ^[7]
• January 15
  • The Supreme Court of Florida seeks to remove the American Bar Association as the sole law school accreditor for Florida Bar admission. Jorge Labarga dissents. ^[8]
  • University of Miami announces that they hired former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a guest lecturer in political science. ^[9]
• January 16 – A 4-mile stretch of Southern Boulevard between Palm Beach International Airport and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach County is renamed President Donald J. Trump Boulevard. ^[10]
• January 18 – DeSantis political aide Christina Pushaw and Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback engage in a public feud over social media. ^[11]
• January 19
  • The 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship is played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida between the Indiana Hoosiers and Miami Hurricanes. The Hoosiers beat the Hurricanes 27–21 to claim Indiana's first ever title. ^[12]
  • Attorney General Uthmeier issues an opinion that race-based laws, including affirmative action, are presumptively unconstitutional and his office will not enforce them. Uthmeier relies on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. ^[13] The Democratic Black Caucus of Florida denounces Uthmeier's opinion. ^[14]
• January 23
  • Governor DeSantis and German Ambassador Jens Hanefeld signed a Joint Declaration of Intent between the State of Florida and the Federal Republic of Germany. As of 2024, Germany was Florida’s seventh largest trading partner. ^[15]
  • Governor DeSantis signs a death warrant for Melvin Trotter, a man convicted for murder of a Manatee County grocery-store owner in 1986. ^[16]
  • Lawyer Keith Gross files a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission accusing Florida GOP Chair Evan Power of misusing the resources of the Florida Republican Party in his congressional campaign to replace Neal Dunn; Gross is Power’s rival in seeking the Republican nomination. Power denies Gross's allegations as baseless and false. ^[17]
• January 25 – Florida Senate President Ben Albritton is hospitalized for chest pains, where physicians discovered a small blood clot in his lung. Albritton is discharged from the hospital three days later and intends to finish the regular legislative session. ^[18]
• January 27
  • Vern Buchanan, a Republican, announces that he will not seek re-election as U.S. House Representative from Florida's 16th congressional district. ^[19]
  • The AIDS Healthcare Foundation files a complaint at the Division of Administrative Hearings over the Florida Department of Health changing the eligibility requirements for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program in an effort to cut $120 million in state expenses. ^[20] The DeSantis administration claims the cuts are necessary because of increasing insurance premiums and the federal government cutting money to the Ryan White grant, which is used to fight HIV and AIDS. Critics say the cuts will make thousands of Florida HIV patients lose access to life-saving medication by March 1, 2026. ^[21]
• January 28
  • The Florida Second District Court of Appeals disqualify Hillsborough Circuit Judge Michelle Sisco from conducting a sentencing hearing for the only defendant so far convicted in the ambush killing of Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio. ^[22]
  • A Boca Raton nurse's license was suspended as a result of a viral TikTok video wishing harm on White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. ^[23]
• January 29
  • Governor DeSantis signs a death warrant for Billy Leon Kearse, a man convicted of killing Danny Parrish, a Fort Pierce police officer during a traffic stop in 1991. ^[24]
  • A Miami nurse relinquished his license following Facebook posts saying he would refuse anesthesia to MAGA patients. ^[25]

February

• February 1 – The Florida Department of State announces that all current citizen initiatives for constitutional amendments have failed to qualify for the 2026 Florida general election ballot. ^[26]
• February 3 – Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas of the Florida Department of Education warns students that participating in protests during the school day, particularly those against ICE, could face discipline. ^[27]
• February 6 – Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles begins administering all driver’s license knowledge and skills exams in English only. ^[28]

Scheduled events

• April 20–April 24 – Special legislative session of the Florida Legislature on congressional redistricting. ^[29]
• August 18 – Democratic and Republican primaries for the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election and 2026 United States Senate special election in Florida. ^[30]
• November 3 –
  • 2026 Florida gubernatorial election ^[31]
  • 2026 Florida Attorney General election
  • 2026 Florida Chief Financial Officer election
  • 2026 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election
  • 2026 Florida Senate election
  • 2026 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida
  • 2026 United States Senate special election in Florida
• October – Jury trial scheduled for Phoenix Ikner, the suspect in the 2025 Florida State University shooting. ^[32]

Unknown dates

• The 2026 G20 Miami summit will be held at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Florida. ^[33]

See also

• 2026 in the United States

References

1. Fineout, Gary (January 7, 2026). "DeSantis calls April special legislative session on Florida congressional redistricting". Politico.
2. Spitzer, Michelle (January 12, 2026). "Florida's first execution of 2026 is in February. Here's the details". Florida Today.
3. Gancarski, A.G. (January 12, 2026). "Jay Collins declares for Governor". Florida Politics.
4. Teman, Sasha (January 12, 2026). "Florida legislative session kicks off Tuesday". Spectrum News 13.
5. Perry, Mitch (January 13, 2026). "In his last State-of-the-State address, DeSantis vows: 'We will get the job done.'". Florida Pheonix.
6. Svirnovskiy, Gregory (January 13, 2026). "Florida Rep. Neal Dunn to retire". Politico.
7. Jones, Samadhi (January 14, 2026). "Tanenbaum Joins the Supreme Court". Florida Bar News.
8. Jones, Samadhi (January 16, 2026). "Court opens door to new law school accreditors for Bar admission". Florida Bar News.
9. Grylls, George (January 21, 2026). "Boris Johnson is teaching at US universities. Students can't get enough". The Times.
10. Fins, Antonio (January 16, 2025). "Southern Boulevard named for Trump. Is Palm Beach International next?". The Palm Beach Post.
11. Gancarski, A.G. (January 19, 2026). "Severed alliance: Christina Pushaw befriends, advises James Fishback … then regrets it". Florida Politics.
12. Russo, Ralph (January 19, 2026). "Indiana completes one of the most astonishing turnarounds in all sports with first national title". The New York Times.
13. Dixon, Drew (January 19, 2026). "James Uthmeier: Florida's affirmative action laws are unconstitutional". Florida Politics.
14. Schneider, Mike (January 22, 2026). "Florida's Black lawmakers denounce attorney general's opinion as damaging political stunt". Associated Press.
15. Gancarski, A.G. (January 24, 2026). "'Team Freedom': Gov. DeSantis tightens Florida's ties with Germany". Florida Politics.
16. Saunders, Jim (January 23, 2026). "DeSantis signs death warrant for man convicted in 1986 murder of Manatee grocery-store owner". WUSF.
17. Ogles, Jacob (January 23, 2026). "Keith Gross accuses Evan Power of abusing Florida GOP resources to boost congressional bid". Florida Politics.
18. Rosica, Jim (January 28, 2026). "Florida Senate president Albritton discharged from hospital". Naples Daily News.
19. Scorsch, Peter (January 27, 2026). "Vern Buchanan to retire from Congress after 20 years of distinguished service". Florida Politics.
20. Sexton, Christine (January 28, 2026). "DeSantis administration sued over changes to AIDS insurance and drugs program". Florida Phoenix.
21. Butler, Cody (January 20, 2026). "Florida to cut $120 million from AIDS drug assistance program". WCTV.
22. Sullivan, Dan (January 29, 2026). "Tampa judge barred from sentencing in shooting of rapper Julio Foolio". Tampa Bay Times.
23. Shields, Malcolm (January 28, 2026). "Florida bans nurse from practicing after disturbing social media comments about White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt". WPBF 25 News.
24. Khalyleh, Hana; Greenlee, Will (January 31, 2026). "Florida cop killer's death warrant signed by DeSantis. What to know". USA Today.
25. Shepard, Skyler (January 30, 2026). "Second FL nurse loses RN status after posts saying he'd refuse anesthesia to MAGA patients". WPEC CBS 12.
26. Turner, Jim (February 3, 2026). "Florida declares end to all 2026 ballot initiative petition drives as new law takes effect". Jacksonville Business Journal.
27. Harrell, Gershon (February 3, 2026). "Florida DOE warns against student protests, educator involvement". CBS12 News.
28. Coultoff, Alexa (January 30, 2026). "Florida to give driver's license exams only in English, DMV says". Tampa Bay Times.
29. "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Special Legislative Session on Congressional Redistricting". Executive Office of the Governor. January 7, 2026.
30. "2026 State Primary Election Dates". NCSL. May 9, 2025.
31. McCloud, Cheryl (3 September 2025). "Race for next Florida governor hits 27 candidates. See list of those seeking to replace DeSantis" . Retrieved 10 October 2025.
32. Christensen, Caroline (October 1, 2025). "Trial delayed until Oct. 2026 for man charged with FSU shooting". WCTV.
33. Jacobs, Jennifer; O'Keefe, Ed; Brown, Kristen (September 5, 2025). "Trump announces plans to host 2026 G20 summit at his Doral resort". CBS News.