Charles Lewis I

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Charles Lewis I

Democratic Party

Candidate, Governor of Florida

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Next election

August 18, 2026

Education

High school

Greenville High School

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1972 - 1991

Personal

Birthplace

Greenville, TX

Religion

Christian

Profession

Military

Charles Lewis I (Democratic Party) is running for election for Governor of Florida. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 18, 2026.^[source]

Biography

Charles Lewis I was born in Greenville, Texas. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1972 to 1991. He graduated from Greenville High School. His career experience includes working in the military and with SCSEP. He has been affiliated with VFW.

Elections

2026

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 18, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Governor of Florida

The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of Florida on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Brandon L. McIntyre (Constitution Party)
		Scott Jewett (L)
	Submit photo	Surindar Bedi (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	James Brown (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Jeffrey Peter Datto (No Party Affiliation)
		Moliere Dimanche (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Insley Evans (No Party Affiliation)
		Kyle Gibson (No Party Affiliation)
		Neil Gillespie (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Mourice Hylton (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Holly Klask (No Party Affiliation)
		Andrea Lynn Klink (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Jennifer Pearl (No Party Affiliation)
		Jason Pizzo (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Frank J. Russo (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	David Wexler (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Jayson Winer (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Reginald Strachan (Independent)
		Rodney Glover (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Florida on August 18, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Faith E. Antonio
		Evelyn Castillo-Bach
		Richard Dembinsky
		Jerry Demings
		Thomas E. Fernandez
		Dayna Foster
	Submit photo	Indony Jean Baptiste
		David Jolly
		Charles Lewis I
	Submit photo	Donald Peterson
	Submit photo	Christopher Powell
	Submit photo	Jessica Vernekar

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Florida on August 18, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	William Todd Andros
		Jay Collins
		Shea Cruel
		Jenny Patricia Curtman
		Byron Donalds
		James Fishback
	Submit photo	Jim Holcomb
	Submit photo	Daniel Imperato
		John Joseph Mercadante
		William Reicherter
		Paul Renner
	Submit photo	Rachel Rodriguez
		James Shaw
	Submit photo	Caneste Succe
		Bobby Williams Jr.

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matt The Welder (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Florida State Senate District 39

Incumbent Bryan Avila defeated Charles Lewis I in the general election for Florida State Senate District 39 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bryan Avila (R)	69.8	133,270
		Charles Lewis I (D)	30.2	57,635

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 190,905
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Charles Lewis I advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 39.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Bryan Avila advanced from the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 39.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lewis in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Charles Lewis I has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Charles Lewis I, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Charles Lewis I completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lewis' responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born and raised in Texas and attended High School in Greenville, Texas. Entered the military in 1972 serving with pride and dedication to my GOD and my country. I have a AA degree in Business and Marketing and also Mortuary Science. I retired from the Marine Corps with a Honorable Discharge. I was a single father while on active duty in the Marines while stationed in Hawaii. I am the father of five (5) children, fourteen (14) grandkids and four (4) greatgrands.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am advocating for Women Rights. Every woman should have the right to make their own decision concerning their bodies. No man nor government entity should push their beliefs upon them. Those options should be between her husband, herself and their doctor.
• Immigration: The United States was founded on immigrants and those seeking a better life and freedom of oppression.
• Veterans Rights. That hose of our military who have fought for all of our freedoms should be treated with honor and respect and given compensation for their sacrifice. Not having our benefits cut as this Congress has done.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most concerned about affordable housing and the high cost of insurance for vehicles and our homes.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father. I would follow the example of my father and two uncles who served in the mi;litary. One uncle Eugene C Huff an Army Major and another uncle James Morgan Reed a MGySgt in the Marines. These three men instilled dedication, devotion and attention to duty and service. My father used a phrase (It shall me done) that I still use until this day, and I have told to my sons.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

No

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Doing the will of the people. Staying steadfast in making decisions concerning the citizens of the state of Florida

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Military training, good work ethics and the ability to work with others.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To always be upfront, diligently working for the people, doing the will of the people.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That he stood for the equality of everyone.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assination of President John Kennedy and I was about 8 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Working at a hat factory each summer. Did that for 2 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Westers by Donald Clayton Potter

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman/Black Panther

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Its Forever by The EboniesWe

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

The ability to work together and compromise if needed to get the business of the State done.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Immigration, abortion rights, education and the rights of women of this state.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes it is beneficial but not necessary for one to serve his State and its people.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes. Getting to know your other legislators is important so that you both can best serve the people of Florida.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

No

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Yes. Governor

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

One woman was telling how she came to the United States as a mom leaving her son and not seeing him again until about 20 years later.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Don't have one

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

To restore the rights of women to have their own self atonomy.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

DVCF and DBC

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

That our citizens should always know that the government is ready to show what has been accomplished on their behalf.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

None at this time I would need to check further into it.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Charles Lewis I campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Florida State Senate District 39	Lost general	$2,521	$100
Grand total			$2,521	$100
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

See also

2026 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

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