Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2026

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search



2024
Florida's 5th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 24, 2026
Primary: Pending
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Florida

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Florida's 5th Congressional District
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th26th27th28th
Florida elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 5th Congressional District of Florida, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent John Rutherford, Eli Johnson, and Mark Kaye are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 5 on November 3, 2026.


Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Florida

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
John Rutherford Republican Party $231,510 $110,302 $298,878 As of June 30, 2025
Eli Johnson Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Mark Kaye Republican Party $6,063 $733 $5,330 As of June 30, 2025

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
9/2/20258/26/20258/19/20258/12/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

2024

See also: Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)

Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent John Rutherford defeated Jay McGovern and Gary Koniz in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 5 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Rutherford
John Rutherford (R)
 
63.1
 
267,471
Image of Jay McGovern
Jay McGovern (D) Candidate Connection
 
36.9
 
156,570
Image of Gary Koniz
Gary Koniz (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
23

Total votes: 424,064
Candidate Connection = 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. Jay McGovern advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 5.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent John Rutherford defeated Mara Macie in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5 on August 20, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Rutherford
John Rutherford
 
67.1
 
48,628
Image of Mara Macie
Mara Macie Candidate Connection
 
32.9
 
23,792

Total votes: 72,420
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2022

See also: Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

The general election was canceled. Incumbent John Rutherford won election in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 5.

Democratic primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent John Rutherford defeated Mara Macie and Leigha Garner-Lopez in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5 on August 23, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Rutherford
John Rutherford
 
65.7
 
87,720
Image of Mara Macie
Mara Macie Candidate Connection
 
17.7
 
23,607
Image of Leigha Garner-Lopez
Leigha Garner-Lopez Candidate Connection
 
16.7
 
22,283

Total votes: 133,610
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2020

See also: Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent Alfred Lawson defeated Gary Adler in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 5 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Alfred Lawson
Alfred Lawson (D)
 
65.1
 
219,463
Image of Gary Adler
Gary Adler (R)
 
34.9
 
117,510

Total votes: 336,973
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent Alfred Lawson defeated Albert Chester and LaShonda Holloway in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 5 on August 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Alfred Lawson
Alfred Lawson
 
55.7
 
52,823
Image of Albert Chester
Albert Chester Candidate Connection
 
25.9
 
24,579
Image of LaShonda Holloway
LaShonda Holloway
 
18.3
 
17,378

Total votes: 94,780
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5

Gary Adler defeated Roger Wagoner in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5 on August 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Gary Adler
Gary Adler
 
52.1
 
17,433
Roger Wagoner
 
47.9
 
16,012

Total votes: 33,445
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates



District analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

See also

Florida 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
Seal of Florida.png
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
CongressLogosmall.png
Florida congressional delegation
Voting in Florida
Florida elections:
202620252024202320222021202020192018
Democratic primary battlegrounds
Republican primary battlegrounds
U.S. Senate Democratic primaries
U.S. Senate Republican primaries
U.S. House Democratic primaries
U.S. House Republican primaries
U.S. Congress elections
U.S. Senate elections
U.S. House elections
Special elections
Ballot access

External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Neal Dunn (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Anna Luna (R)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
Republican Party (22)
Democratic Party (8)