Florida gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 18 Republican primary)
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← 2022
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| Governor of Florida |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 12, 2026 |
| Primary: August 18, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Florida executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
A Republican Party primary takes place on August 18, 2026, in Florida to determine which candidate will earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial election on November 3, 2026.
In Florida, the gubernatorial nominee is selected in the primary. The gubernatorial nominee then chooses a lieutenant gubernatorial running mate, and they run together on a single ticket in the general election.
This page focuses on Florida's Republican Party gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Florida's Democratic gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Florida gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 18 Democratic primary)
- Florida gubernatorial election, 2026
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
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.
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 = 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. | ||||
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
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris  | Donald Trump  |
|---|---|---|
| Florida's 1st | 31.0% | 68.0% |
| Florida's 2nd | 41.0% | 59.0% |
| Florida's 3rd | 39.0% | 60.0% |
| Florida's 4th | 44.0% | 55.0% |
| Florida's 5th | 39.0% | 60.0% |
| Florida's 6th | 35.0% | 65.0% |
| Florida's 7th | 43.0% | 56.0% |
| Florida's 8th | 38.0% | 61.0% |
| Florida's 9th | 51.0% | 48.0% |
| Florida's 10th | 61.0% | 38.0% |
| Florida's 11th | 41.0% | 58.0% |
| Florida's 12th | 32.0% | 67.0% |
| Florida's 13th | 44.0% | 55.0% |
| Florida's 14th | 53.0% | 46.0% |
| Florida's 15th | 44.0% | 55.0% |
| Florida's 16th | 42.0% | 57.0% |
| Florida's 17th | 38.0% | 62.0% |
| Florida's 18th | 35.0% | 64.0% |
| Florida's 19th | 35.0% | 64.0% |
| Florida's 20th | 69.0% | 30.0% |
| Florida's 21st | 41.0% | 58.0% |
| Florida's 22nd | 52.0% | 47.0% |
| Florida's 23rd | 51.0% | 49.0% |
| Florida's 24th | 65.0% | 35.0% |
| Florida's 25th | 52.0% | 47.0% |
| Florida's 26th | 32.0% | 67.0% |
| Florida's 27th | 42.0% | 57.0% |
| Florida's 28th | 37.0% | 62.0% |
| Source: The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election, 43.7% of Floridians lived in one of the state's 55 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 24.7% lived in one of 6 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Florida was Solid Republican, having voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016, Donald Trump (R) in 2020, and Donald Trump (R) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Florida following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Florida county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 55 | 43.7% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 6 | 24.7% | |||||
| New Republican | 3 | 20.6% | |||||
| Battleground Republican | 3 | 11.0% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 6 | 24.7% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 61 | 75.3% | |||||
Historical voting trends
Florida presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 17 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Florida.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Governor of Florida
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Florida.
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Florida's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Florida | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Republican | 2 | 20 | 22 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 28 | 30 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Florida's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Ron DeSantis |
| Lieutenant Governor | Jay Collins |
| Secretary of State | Cord Byrd |
| Attorney General | James Uthmeier |
State legislature
Florida State Senate
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 11 | |
| Republican Party | 27 | |
| Other | 1 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | |
Florida House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 33 | |
| Republican Party | 84 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 3 | |
| Total | 120 | |
Trifecta control
Florida Party Control: 1992-2025
One year of a Democratic trifecta • Twenty-six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | I | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
The table below details demographic data in Florida and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Florida | United States | |
| Population | 21,538,187 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 53,654 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 59.9% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 15.3% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 2.9% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 16% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 26.7% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89.6% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 33.2% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $71,711 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 12.6% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Florida | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 20,244,914 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 53,625 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 76% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 16.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 23.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 86.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $47,507 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Florida
Florida voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[1]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.
More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Florida
- United States congressional delegations from Florida
- Public policy in Florida
- Endorsers in Florida
- Florida fact checks
- More...
See also
| Florida | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
