The 2022 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the

governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Party governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...

won re-election in a landslide, defeating the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee, former U.S. representative

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

, who previously served as governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican. Crist ran for governor in 2014 as well. He was seeking to become the first Democrat elected governor of Florida since

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. According to

exit polls An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for ...

, DeSantis won 65% of White voters, 13% of Black voters, and 58% of

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

; of the latter group, DeSantis won 69% of

Cubans Cubans ( es, Cubanos) are people born in Cuba and people with Cuban citizenship. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic, religious and national backgrounds. Racial and ethnic groups Census The population of Cuba wa ...

and 56% of

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...

. DeSantis' large margin of victory was in part due to him flipping Democratic stronghold

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

for the first time since

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, and

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

for the first time since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, as well as winning Hillsborough,

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula ...

, and St. Lucie counties for the first time since

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. His 19.4% margin of victory was the largest since

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and the largest for a Republican since

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

; it was also the first time the governorship was won by double digits since 2002, and the first time it was won by over one million votes. Republicans won the other statewide races by double digits; this is the first time since the end of Reconstruction that Democrats do not hold at least one of the statewide positions. DeSantis also made large gains among Hispanic voters, becoming the first Republican in decades to win a majority of those voters. He was able to flip Miami-Dade County which hadn't voted for a Republican since

. He also had a major fundraising advantage over Crist, setting an all time record for a gubernatorial candidate. Some analysts believe that this election may be an indication that Florida has transitioned from being a Republican-leaning

swing state In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pre ...

into a reliably Republican

red state Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Failed to qualify

*John Joseph Mercadante,

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

official and candidate for

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

*Donald J. Peterson,

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

activist

Declined

Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist. Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Rea ...

, political consultant

Endorsements

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and former Republican

Eliminated in primary

*Cadance Daniel, consultant *

Nikki Fried Nicole Heather Fried ( ; born December 13, 1977) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 12th Florida commissioner of agriculture from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Fried graduated from the University of Florida ...

Florida commissioner of agriculture The commissioner of agriculture is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Florida that heads the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Elected for a four-year mandate that is ...

*Robert Lee Willis, teacher and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister

Failed to qualify

*Robert Conner *Ivan Graham, dentist *Jonathan Karns, businessman *Alex Lundmark, real estate agent and candidate for

*Christine Powers *Randy Zapata, legal advocate *Carlos Enrique Gutierrez, property manager and candidate for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

in 2021

Withdrawn

* Richard Dembinsky, engineer and candidate for

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

in 2016 *Timothy Mosley, charity founder *

Annette Taddeo Annette Joanne Taddeo-Goldstein (née Taddeo; born April 7, 1967) is a Colombian-American politician and businesswoman serving as a member of the Florida Senate from the 40th district. She was an unsuccessful candidate for several elections star ...

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

and nominee for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

(''

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

for

Florida's 27th congressional district Florida's 27th congressional district is an congressional district, electoral district for the U.S. Congress and was first created in South Florida during 2012, effective January 2013, as a result of the 2010 United States census, 2010 Census. T ...

'') ''(endorsed Crist)'' *David Nelson Freeman, businessman

Declined

Lauren Book Lauren Frances Book (born October 12, 1984) is an American politician and former educator who has served in the Florida Senate since 2016, representing parts of Broward County. A member of the Democratic Party, she has been the Senate's minority ...

Randolph Bracy Randolph Bracy III (born April 23, 1977) is an American politician who is a member of the Florida Senate from the 11th district. Bracy's district includes parts of central and northwest Orange County. Bracy is the first African American to serve a ...

(''

for

Florida's 10th congressional district Florida's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. It was reassigned in 2012, effective January 3, 2013, from the Gulf Coast to inland Central Florida. Before 2017, the district included parts of wes ...

'') *

Val Demings Valdez Venita Demings (née Butler; born March 12, 1957) is an American politician and former police officer serving as the U.S. representative from since 2017. The district covers most of the western half of Orlando and includes much of the ar ...

('' running for U.S. Senate)'' *

Anna Eskamani Anna Vishkaee Eskamani (born May 20, 1990) is an American politician who is the member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 42nd district, encompassing parts of Orlando, Florida, Orlando along with Maitland, Florida, Maitland, Winter ...

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Dan Gelber Daniel Saul Gelber (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and former prosecutor serving as the Mayor of Miami Beach, Florida. He served in the Florida Legislature from 2000 to 2010 and was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General ...

and former state house minority leader ''(endorsed Crist)'' *

Andrew Gillum Andrew Demetric Gillum (born July 26, 1979) is an American former politician who served as the 126th mayor of Tallahassee from 2014 to 2018. He served as a Tallahassee city commissioner from 2003 until 2014, first elected at the age of 23. He i ...

, former

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

and nominee for

* Rebekah Jones, former

Florida Department of Health The Florida Department of Health is responsible for protecting the public health and safety of the residents and visitors of the state of Florida. It is a cabinet-level agency of the state government, headed by a state surgeon general who reports ...

analyst ''(endorsed Fried)'' *

Al Lawson Alfred James Lawson Jr. (born September 23, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who was the U.S. representative for Florida's 5th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. The district, which was eliminated following redistricting du ...

''(endorsed Crist)'' * Stephanie Murphy,

Jason Pizzo Jason William Barnet Pizzo is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Florida Senate for the 38th district from 2018 to 2022. Prior to his election, Pizzo was an Assistant State Attorney, with the Miami Dade State Attorn ...

* Sean Shaw,

and nominee for

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

''(endorsed Crist)'' * Dave Aronberg,

state attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

and former

Endorsements

Polling

;Graphical summary

Results

Running mate selection

In June 2022,

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

released a shortlist of 18 people who Crist was considering as his running mate. On August 26, four days after Crist won the gubernatorial primary,

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

reported that he had selected Karla Hernández-Mats, one of the people on the Politico shortlist.

Selected

*Karla Hernández-Mats, president of the United Teachers of Dade

On shortlist

María Celeste Arrarás María Celeste Arrarás Mangual (born September 27, 1960), better known as María Celeste, is a Puerto Rican broadcast journalist, author, and television personality, who has won three national Emmy Awards for journalism. In 2005, she became the ...

, journalist and former

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

news anchor * Manny Diaz, chair of the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former mayor of Miami Manny Diaz Sr. is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governor o ...

and former

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Fentrice Driskell Fentrice DeNell Driskell (born March 3, 1979) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Representative in the Florida House of Representatives from the 63rd House district in Hillsborough County. She is Of Counsel at the law firm of Carlt ...

, state representative and minority leader-designate for the 2024-2026 legislative session *

, state representative * Anne Gannon,

Tax Collector and former state representative *

, mayor of

, former state senator, and nominee for

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's t ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

*Jennifer Jenkins,

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in ...

school board member *

Shevrin Jones Shevrin D. Jones (born October 12, 1983) is an American politician from the state of Florida. He was elected to the Florida State Senate in 2020 Florida Senate election, 2020 to represent the 35th District. He previously was a Democratic Party (Un ...

, state senator *

, U.S. Representative for

Florida's 5th congressional district Florida's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. It extends along Florida's northern boundary from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. The district includes all of Baker, Gadsden, Hamilton and Madison ...

* Amy Mercado,

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Property Appraiser and former state representative * Wayne Messam, mayor of Miramar and candidate for president in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

*Mary Ann Ruiz, attorney *

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell Debbie Jessika Mucarsel-Powell (born January 18, 1971) is an Ecuadorian-born American politician and academic administrator who served as a U.S. representative for from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, her district covered the w ...

, former U.S. Representative for

Florida's 26th congressional district Florida's 26th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress, which was first created in South Florida in 2013 as a result of Florida's population gain in the 2010 Census. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, it was drawn ...

* Tina Polsky, state senator * Bobby Powell, state senator * Sean Shaw, former state representative and nominee for

* Marie Woodson, state representative

Independent and third-party candidates

Green Party

Withdrawn

* Brian Moore, activist and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

''( running for state senate)''

Independent Party

Withdrawn

* Gizmo Wexler, IT administrator

Libertarian Party

Declared

*Hector Roos

Declined

, political activist and consultant

Independent candidates

Declared

*Carmen Jackie Gimenez

Failed to qualify

*Eugene H. Steele, attorney

Withdrawn

* Mark B. Graham, computer technician and candidate for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

*Frank Hughes Jr., education consultant *Jodi Gregory Jeloudov

Declined

David Jolly David Wilson Jolly (born October 31, 1972) is an American attorney, former lobbyist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district, based in Pinellas County, from 2014 to 2017. A former Republican, ...

, former

Write-ins

Declared

*Piotr Blass, perennial candidate *James Thompson, pastor

General election

Debates and forums

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

;Aggregate polls ;Graphical summary ;Ron DeSantis vs. Nikki Fried ;Ron DeSantis vs. Annette Taddeo ;Ron DeSantis vs. generic Democrat ;Ron DeSantis vs. Val Demings

Results

Results by county

Voter demographics

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Division of Election
Candidate Tracking System
;Official campaign websites
Charlie Crist (D) for Governor

Ron DeSantis (R) for Governor

Kyle "KC" Gibson (I) for Governor

Frank Hughes Jr. (I) for Governor

Hector Roos (L) for Governor
{{FlGovElections

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Ron DeSantis