Florida's 8th Congressional District
Florida's 8th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Mike Haridopolos (R).
As of the 2020 Census, Florida representatives represented an average of 770,376 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 700,029 residents.
Elections
See also: Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2030
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
See also: Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2028
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
See also: Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Florida District 8
Incumbent Mike Haridopolos (R), Paul Dellinger (D), and Lacey Villareal (Independent) are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 8 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Haridopolos (R) | |
 | Paul Dellinger (D)  | |
| Lacey Villareal (Independent) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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See also: Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2024
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 8
Mike Haridopolos (R) defeated Sandy Kennedy (D) in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 8 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Haridopolos (R) | 62.2 | 280,352 |
 | Sandy Kennedy (D) | 37.8 | 170,096 | |
| Total votes: 450,448 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jose Dieppa (No Party Affiliation)
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 8
Sandy Kennedy (D) defeated Daniel McDow (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sandy Kennedy | 60.7 | 24,701 |
 | Daniel McDow | 39.3 | 15,999 | |
| Total votes: 40,700 | |||
| = 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 U.S. House Florida District 8
Mike Haridopolos (R) defeated John Hearton (R) and Joseph Babits (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Haridopolos | 72.1 | 61,710 |
 | John Hearton | 21.7 | 18,604 | |
 | Joseph Babits | 6.1 | 5,250 | |
| Total votes: 85,564 | |||
| = 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
- Bill Posey (R)
- Brian Jones (R)
See also: Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 8
Incumbent Bill Posey (R) defeated Joanne Terry (D) in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 8 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Bill Posey (R) | 64.9 | 222,128 |
 | Joanne Terry (D) | 35.1 | 120,080 | |
| Total votes: 342,208 | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 8
Joanne Terry (D) defeated Danelle Dodge (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanne Terry | 54.6 | 29,542 |
 | Danelle Dodge | 45.4 | 24,592 | |
| Total votes: 54,134 | |||
| = 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
- Perry Gregg (D)
Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for August 23, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Bill Posey (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 without appearing on the ballot.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Patrick Wells (R)
See also: Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2020
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 8
Incumbent Bill Posey (R) defeated Jim Kennedy (D) in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 8 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bill Posey (R) | 61.4 | 282,093 |
 | Jim Kennedy (D) | 38.6 | 177,695 | |
| Total votes: 459,788 | |||
| = 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
The Democratic primary scheduled for August 18, 2020, was canceled. Jim Kennedy (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 without appearing on the ballot.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Hicham Ammi (D)
- Robert Fox (D)
- Dena Grayson (D)
- Tiffany Jean Patti (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 8
Incumbent Bill Posey (R) defeated Scott Caine (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bill Posey | 62.5 | 54,861 |
| Scott Caine | 37.5 | 32,952 | ||
| Total votes: 87,813 | |||
| = 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
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 8
Incumbent Bill Posey (R) defeated Sanjay Patel (D) in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 8 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bill Posey (R) | 60.5 | 218,112 |
 | Sanjay Patel (D) | 39.5 | 142,415 | |
| Total votes: 360,527 (100% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 8
Sanjay Patel (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Sanjay Patel |
| ||||
| = 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
- Dena Grayson (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 8
Incumbent Bill Posey (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 8 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Bill Posey |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
District map
Redistricting
2020-2024
On March 27, 2024, the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida upheld the state's congressional map after it was struck down by a lower court on Sep. 2, 2023. As a result, this map was used for Florida's 2024 congressional elections. According to the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida's order:
| “ | This case involves constitutional challenges to the congressional districting map proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis and enacted by the Florida Legislature in 2022 ... Plaintiffs had to prove both discriminatory effects and a discriminatory purpose. They proved neither. Thus, [we] concur in the decision to grant judgment in the Secretary’s favor.[10][11] | ” |
On December 1, 2023, the Florida First District Court of Appeal ruled 8-2 that the redistricting plan did not unconstitutionally limit Black voting power.[12] The plaintiffs appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which heard arguments on September 12, 2024.[13]
On September 2, 2023, Leon County Circuit Court Judge J. Lee Marsh struck down enacted North Florida congressional districts and ordered the Legislature to redraw district boundaries.[14] On June 2, 2022, the Florida Supreme Court had declined to block Florida's enacted congressional map, which Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law on April 22.[15]
The Florida First District Court of Appeal had reinstated the congressional district boundaries on May 20, overruling Leon County Circuit Court Judge Layne Smith's temporary hold on the map.[16][17] On May 11, Smith issued an order declaring Florida's enacted congressional map unconstitutional, saying, "The enacted map is unconstitutional under the Fair District amendment. It diminishes African-Americans’ ability to elect the representative of their choice." Smith also said a map drawn by a court-appointed special master should be substituted for the enacted map in the 2022 elections.[18] The plaintiffs in the case filed an emergency appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on May 23, 2022, seeking a hold on the enacted congressional map.[19]
DeSantis signed the original congressional map into law on April 22, 2022.[20] The map bill was proposed and approved by the Florida State Legislature during a special session called for the purposes of redistricting. The Florida State Senate voted 24-15 to approve the map on April 20, and the Florida House of Representatives voted 68-34 to approve the map on April 21.[21][22]
This was the second congressional map bill approved by the state legislature. DeSantis vetoed the first on March 29. Republican leaders in the legislature said on April 11 that they would wait to receive a map from DeSantis to support.[23] DeSantis submitted a map to the legislature on April 13, which became the enacted map.[24]
How does redistricting in Florida work? In Florida, both congressional and state legislative district lines are drawn by the state legislature. Congressional lines are adopted as regular legislation and are subject to gubernatorial veto. State legislative lines are passed via joint resolution and are not subject to gubernatorial veto. State legislative district maps are automatically submitted to the Florida Supreme Court for approval. In the event that the court rejects the lines, the legislature is given a second chance to draft a plan. If the legislature cannot approve a state legislative redistricting plan, the state attorney general must ask the state supreme court to draft a plan. There are no similar procedures in place for congressional districts.[25]
The Florida Constitution requires that all districts, whether congressional or state legislative, be contiguous. Also, "where doing so does not conflict with minority rights, [districts] must be compact and utilize existing political and geographical boundaries where feasible." Districts cannot be drawn in such a way as to "favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent."[25][26]
2020
2024
2010-2011
In 2011, the Florida State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census. Prior to redistricting the 8th District took in parts of Orange County, Lake County, Marion County and Osceola County. Most of Orlando was included in the district.
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
2026
Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 8th the 119th most Republican district nationally.[27]
2024
Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 8th the 127th most Republican district nationally.[28]
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 58.3%-40.6%.[29]
2022
Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 8th the 131st most Republican district nationally.[30]
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 40.6% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 58.3%.[31]
2018
Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 8th Congressional District the 127th most Republican nationally.[32]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.09. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.09 points toward that party.[33]
See also
- Redistricting in Florida
- Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2024
- Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2022
- Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2020
- Florida's 8th Congressional District election, 2018
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidate Listing for 2016 General Election," accessed June 25, 2016
- ↑ Politico, " Florida House Races Results," August 30, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Florida," November 6, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, "Common Cause Florida v. Byrd," March 27, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CBS News, "Florida appeals court upholds congressional redistricting plan backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis," December 1, 2023
- ↑ Politico, "Florida’s high court poised to protect DeSantis’ congressional map that helps GOP," September 12, 2024
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Judge rules against DeSantis in challenge to congressional map," September 2, 2023
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Florida Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to congressional map ahead of Midterms," June 2, 2022
- ↑ Orlando Sentinel, "Florida appeals court reinstates DeSantis’ congressional map," May 20, 2022
- ↑ Florida District Court of Appeal, First District, "Secretary of State Laurel Lee v. Black Voters Matter, et al.," May 20, 2022
- ↑ NBC News, "Florida judge says he’ll block DeSantis' congressional redistricting map," May 11, 2022
- ↑ Florida Supreme Court, "Black Voters Matter, et al. v. Cord Byrd, Florida Secretary of State," May 23, 2022
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Gov. DeSantis signs his congressional map into law," April 22, 2022
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Florida Senate passes Gov. DeSantis’ congressional map," April 20, 2022
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Legislature approves Gov. DeSantis’ controversial congressional redistricting map," April 21, 2022
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Florida Legislature won’t draft new redistricting map, deferring to DeSantis," April 11, 2022
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Gov. DeSantis submits congressional redistristing plan critics contend is ‘partisan gerrymandering’," April 14, 2022
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 All About Redistricting, "Florida," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Florida Constitution, "Article III, Sections 20-21," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed January 10, 2024
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts," accessed September 15, 2022
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed February 6, 2023
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts," accessed September 15, 2022
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
