The 2018 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next

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 an

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and other state and local elections. Incumbent two-term Republican governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

was term-limited and could not run for a third term, so he instead ran for Florida's Class I Senate seat. Republican U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis narrowly defeated Democratic

Mayor of Tallahassee The Mayor of Tallahassee is head of the executive branch of the government of Tallahassee, Florida. For part of the city's history the office of mayor was a rotating position chosen among city commissioners. Tallahassee switched to the direct e ...

Andrew Gillum for the governorship, in what some considered an upset. The candidate filing deadline was June 22, 2018, and primary elections were held on August 28. Florida uses a closed primary process, in which the selection of each party's candidates for a general election is limited to registered members of that party; Gillum won the Democratic primary and DeSantis the Republican primary. The close margin mandated a machine recount, which had a deadline of November 15, 2018. After the recount was complete, DeSantis was certified as the winner. Gillum conceded on November 17. DeSantis's victory marked the sixth straight election in which Florida elected a Republican to the governorship, and the third in a row that the margin of victory was under two percent. With a margin of 0.4%, this election was the closest race of the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle. Gillum became the first Democrat to win Duval County 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 ...

and Seminole County since

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, while DeSantis became the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win Jefferson County since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. On November 10, 2022, former president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

claimed on his

Truth Social Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH Social) is a social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group, an American media and technology company founded in October 2021 by former U.S. president Donald Trump. It has been called a competitor ...

page that he had prematurely ended the recount to prevent DeSantis and Senate candidate

from losing, under the unsubstantiated belief that ballots for them were being removed.

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 ...

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 ...

has asked

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 ...

Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...

to investigate. Sarah Isgur, the spokeswoman of the Department of Justice from 2017 to 2019, has said that it "never happened," a position which was supported by other former Department of Justice officials. Broward County Commissioner

Steven Geller Steven Anthony Geller (born November 4, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who serves on the Broward County Commission for District 5. As of November 2020, Geller was the mayor of Broward County from November 2020 till November 2021. H ...

has agreed that no interference took place.

Republican primary

Nominee

* Ron DeSantis,

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 ...

Eliminated in primary

* Don Baldauf, contractor * Timothy Devine, candidate for

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 ...

* Bob Langford, attorney * 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 * Bruce Nathan, physical therapist and candidate for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

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 ...

Adam Putnam Adam Hughes Putnam (born July 31, 1974) is an American politician who served as the 11th Commissioner of Agriculture of Florida from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for fi ...

and former

* Bob White, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida

Withdrawn

* Issak Almaleh, notary * Frederick Buntin, incarcerated felon * Usha Jain, medical director * Jack Latvala, former

Florida state senator The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopte ...

* Armando Adames Rivas, banker * Angel Rivera, businessman, political strategist * Nathan Dale Wilson

Declined

* Jeff Atwater, former Chief Financial Officer of Florida *

Pam Bondi Pamela Jo Bondi (born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician. A Republican, she served as the 37th Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019, the first woman elected to the office. In 2020, Bondi was one of Presid ...

, Florida Attorney General (endorsed

) *

Richard Corcoran Richard Corcoran (born March 16, 1965) is an American politician and former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. A Republican, Corcoran represented the 37th District, which includes central Pasco County, from 2012 to 2018, and previou ...

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives The speaker is the presiding member of the Florida House of Representatives. The Speaker and his staff provide direction and coordination to employees throughout the House and serve the members in carrying out their constitutional responsibilitie ...

(endorsed

) * John Delaney, former mayor of Jacksonville *

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...

, former

governor of Arkansas 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 ...

and candidate for president in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and in

Francis Rooney Laurence Francis Rooney III (born December 4, 1953) is an American politician and diplomat who was a U.S. Representative for from 2017 to 2021. A Republican, he served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 until 2008. Represe ...

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

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 ...

and

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

for president in

Will Weatherford Will Weatherford (born November 14, 1979) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, representing the 61st District from 2006 to 2012 and the 38th District, which included east ...

, former

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Nominee

* Andrew Gillum,

mayor of Tallahassee The Mayor of Tallahassee is head of the executive branch of the government of Tallahassee, Florida. For part of the city's history the office of mayor was a rotating position chosen among city commissioners. Tallahassee switched to the direct e ...

Eliminated in primary

Gwen Graham Gwendolyn Graham (born January 31, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2015 to 2017. She is the daughter of Bob Graham, the former United States senator and governor of Florida. A Democrat, ...

, former

and daughter of former U.S. senator and Governor

Bob Graham Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the Dem ...

* Jeff Greene, real estate billionaire and candidate for the

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 ...

* Chris King, entrepreneur and founder of Elevation Financial Group * Philip Levine, former mayor of Miami Beach *Alex Lundmark, real estate agent *John Wetherbee, entrepreneur

Withdrew

* Henry E. Davis, judge * Richard Paul Dembinsky, candidate for

and candidate for

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 ...

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 ...

* Lucretia Fordyce, activist *

Josue Larose Josue is a name, a variant of the name Joshua (name), Joshua. It may refer to: Given name * Josué Dubois Berthelot de Beaucours (1662-1750), French military officer * Athanase Josué Coquerel (1820-1875), French Protestant theologian * Josue Dupon ...

, perennial candidate * Brooke Russell Locke Marx, notary * Louis McClanahan, plant operator

Declined

* Bob Buckhorn,

mayor of Tampa The Mayor is the highest elected official in Tampa, Florida. Since its incorporation in 1856, the town has had 59 mayors. Tampa had no mayor from 1862 until 1866, during which time the city government was temporarily suspended during and immediate ...

Kathy Castor Katherine Anne Castor (born August 20, 1966) is an American politician and lawyer currently representing in the United States House of Representatives, serving since 2007. The district, numbered as the 11th district from 2007 to 2013, is based ...

(running for reelection) *

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 ...

, former

, and nominee for governor in

(running for reelection) * Buddy Dyer,

mayor of Orlando The city of Orlando, Florida, was incorporated in 1875. The first mayor, William Jackson Brack, took office in 1875. The Orlando mayor is officially a nonpartisan election. The current mayor is Buddy Dyer, who was first elected in a special e ...

* Rick Kriseman, mayor of St. Petersburg * John Morgan, lawyer and

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

advocate * Patrick Murphy, former

and nominee for the

* Bill Nelson,

( running for reelection) *

Jeremy Ring Jeremy Ring (born August 10, 1970) is an American Democratic politician and former tech startup executive from Florida. He served in the Florida Senate from 2006 to 2016, representing parts of Broward County. He was the Democratic nominee for Ch ...

, former

( running for CFO) * Jack Seiler,

mayor of Fort Lauderdale The Mayor of Fort Lauderdale serves a three-year term, no greater than six consecutive terms, for a maximum of eighteen years. Mayor-Council Government (1912–1925) Mayor was appointed from the Council. * 1912–1913 W.H. Marshall * 1913–1914 ...

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Independent and third party candidates

Reform Party

Declared

*Darcy Richardson, author 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 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Libertarian Party

Withdrawn

* Riquet Caballero, banker and Afro-Cuban activist (running for state representatives) * Randy Wiseman, former chair of the Lake County School Board, candidate for

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 ...

in 2004, and candidate for mayor of Mount Dora in 2013

Constitution party

Withdrawn

* Daniel P. Zutler, businessman and candidate for

Independents

Declared

* Ryan Christopher Foley, former emergency medical technician * Kyle "KC" Gibson, pastor * Bruce Stanley, environmental activist

Declined

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...

, former professional basketball player * John Morgan, lawyer and

advocate * Ellen Marie Wilds, JPO supervisor ''(became Kyle "KC" Gibson's running mate)''

Endorsements

General election

Debates

First debate

The first debate moderated by

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

's Jake Tapper was hosted on October 21, 2018, at WEDU,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. It was an hour long debate featuring topics like

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

, the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...

, DeSantis's "monkey up" comment and President

being a role model for children. This debate was held a day before early voting started in Florida on October 22, 2018.

Second debate

The second debate occurred on October 24, 2018, and was hosted at Weston, Florida. It was moderated by Leadership Florida and the Florida Press Association.

Endorsements

Predictions

Polling

;with Ron DeSantis and Gwen Graham ;with Ron DeSantis and Jeff Greene ;with Ron DeSantis and Chris King ;with Ron DeSantis and Philip Levine ;with Adam Putnam and Andrew Gillum ;with Adam Putnam and Gwen Graham ;with Adam Putnam and Jeff Greene ;with Adam Putnam and Chris King ;with Adam Putnam and Philip Levine ;with Bob White and Andrew Gillum ;with Bob White and Gwen Graham ;with Bob White and Chris King ;with Bob White and Philip Levine ;with generic Republican and Democrat ;with Richard Corcoran and Andrew Gillum ;with Richard Corcoran and Gwen Graham ;with Richard Corcoran and Chris King ;with Richard Corcoran and Philip Levine ;with Richard Corcoran and John Morgan ;with David Jolly and John Morgan ;with Jeff Atwater and Gwen Graham ;with Jeff Atwater and John Morgan ;with Pam Bondi and Gwen Graham ;with Pam Bondi and John Morgan ;with David Jolly and Gwen Graham ;with Andrew Putnam, Andrew Gillum, and John Morgan ;with Andrew Putnam, Gwen Graham, and John Morgan ;with Richard Corcoran, Andrew Gillum, and John Morgan ;with Richard Corcoran, Gwen Graham, and John Morgan ;with Adam Putnam and John Morgan

Results

Close margin

The close margin mandated a machine recount, which had a deadline of November 15, 2018. If the margin was below 0.25% after machine recount, Ken Detzner, the

Secretary of State of Florida The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...

, would commission a manual recount of over-votes and under-votes. However, after the recount was complete, DeSantis' margin was 0.40%; therefore he was certified the winner. Gillum conceded on November 17. In November 2022, Donald Trump stated that he had sent FBI agents to Florida to stop the 2018 election from being "stolen" from DeSantis, a claim that was met with skepticism.

Voter demographics

Notes

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Candidates
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

;Official campaign websites
Ron DeSantis (R) for GovernorAndrew Gillum (D) for GovernorDarcy Richardson (Reform) for GovernorBruce Stanley (No Party Affiliation) for Governor
{{FlGovElections

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 ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Ron DeSantis

Republican primary

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Independent and third party candidates

Reform Party

Declared

Libertarian Party

Withdrawn

Constitution party

Withdrawn

Independents

Declared

Declined

Endorsements

General election

Debates

First debate

Second debate

Endorsements

Predictions

Polling

Results

Close margin

Voter demographics

See also

Notes

References

External links