The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the

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

and

Lieutenant Governor of Florida The lieutenant governor of Florida is a statewide constitutional office in the Government of Florida, executive branch of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second highest-ranking official in the state government. The lieutenant governor is el ...

. The incumbent Republican,

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

, ran for reelection. The Democratic nominee was former governor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

, who was Scott's direct predecessor. Crist was elected governor as a Republican in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

but did not run for re-election in 2010, instead opting to run for Senate as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

nominee Adrian Wyllie and several candidates with no party affiliation also ran. Political pundits considered the race a toss-up. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in the state that

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

won in the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. On Election Day, Scott defeated Crist, earning 48% of the vote. With a margin of 1%, this election was the closest race of the 2014 gubernatorial election cycle.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* Yinka Adeshina, pharmacist * Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, conservative activist and candidate for

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

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, incumbent governor

Withdrew

* Timothy Devine

Declined

Jeff Atwater Jeffrey Hardee Atwater (born April 8, 1958) is an American financier who served as the 3rd Chief Financial Officer of Florida from 2011 to 2017, and currently serves as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Financial Officer at Flor ...

Chief Financial Officer of Florida The chief financial officer of Florida is an elected statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet. The CFO is a combination of the former offices of comptroller and ...

(running for re-election) *

Pam Bondi Pamela Jo Bondi ( ; born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as the 87th United States attorney general since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 37th attorney general of Fl ...

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, 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 ...

(running for re-election) *

Bill McCollum Ira William McCollum Jr. (born July 12, 1944) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 2001, representing Florida's 5th congressional district, which was ...

, former Florida attorney general and candidate for governor in 2010 *

Adam Putnam Adam Hughes Putnam (born July 31, 1974) is an American politician and conservationist who served as the 11th Florida commissioner of agriculture from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the U.S. House of Repre ...

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 ...

(running for re-election) * John E. Thrasher, state senator * Will Weatherford, Speaker of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

* Allen West, former U.S. Representative

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

In April 2010 and while still in office as Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist left the Republican Party to run for U.S. Senate as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. He was defeated in the general election by Republican nominee

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

. In December 2012, Crist joined the Democratic Party.

Candidates

Declared

, former Republican turned

Governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 * Nan Rich, former Minority Leader of the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

Withdrew

Farid Khavari Farid A. Khavari () is an Iranian American economist, author, patent-holder, designer, and small business owner. In 2010 and 2014, he ran as an independent candidate for Governor of Florida. Personal Khavari was born in Yazd, Iran. He was am ...

, economist, author and

candidate for governor in 2010 (running as an Independent)

Declined

Bob Buckhorn Robert Francis Buckhorn Jr. (born July 29, 1958) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Tampa, Florida from 2011 to 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party who also served two terms on the Tampa City Council. Early life and ed ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...

and former Tampa city councilman * Manny Diaz, former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Buddy Dyer John Hugh "Buddy" Dyer (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who has served as the Mayor of Orlando since 2003. A member of the Florida Democratic Party, he is Orlando's longest-serving mayor. He previously served as a representative ...

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, former Minority Leader of the

and nominee for

in 2002 *

Dan Gelber Daniel Saul Gelber (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and former prosecutor. He served in the Florida Legislature from 2000 to 2010 and was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Florida in 2010. From 2017 to 2023, he ...

, former Minority Leader of the

, former state senator and nominee for Florida attorney general in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

* Pam Iorio, former

, former Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections and former Hillsborough County Commissioner *

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

, U.S. Senator * Jeremy Ring, state senator *

Alex Sink Adelaide "Alex" Sink (born June 5, 1948) is an American former politician and financier. A member of the Democratic Party, Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State ...

, former

, nominee for governor in 2010 and nominee for

Florida's 13th congressional district Florida's 13th congressional district is an List of United States congressional districts, electoral district for the United States Congress, U.S. Congress on Florida's Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast, assigned to Pinellas County, F ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* Rod Smith, former chairman of the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former commissioner of agriculture Nikki Fried is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial go ...

, former state senator and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010 *

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Deborah Wasserman Schultz ( Wasserman; ; born September 27, 1966) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , first elected to Congress in United States House of Representatives elec ...

, U.S. Representative and

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Declared

* Adrian Wyllie, activist, radio host and former chairman of the

Libertarian Party of Florida The Libertarian Party of Florida (LPF) is the state affiliate of the Libertarian National Committee in Florida. Founded in 1987, it is committed to the principles of limited government, individual freedom, and personal responsibility. The curren ...

Withdrew

* John Wayne Smith, activist and perennial candidate

Declined

* Alexander George, former committeeman of the

and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 (ran as an Independent, then withdrew) * Steve LaBianca, activist and businessman *

Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American Political consulting, political consultant and lobbyist. He is Donald Trump's longest-serving political adviser, best known for the Mueller special counsel investi ...

, political consultant, lobbyist and strategist

Independents

Candidates

Declared

* Glenn Burkett, businessman and perennial candidate *

, economist, author and

candidate for governor in 2010

Withdrew

* Alexander George, former committeeman of the

and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012

Disqualified

* Joe Allen, writer

Write-in candidates

* Piotr Blass :* Running mate: Bob Wirengard * Timothy Michael Devine :* Running mate: Diane Smith * Emelia Sandra Harris :* Running mate: Georgianna G. Harris * Monroe Lee :* Running mate: Juanita Lockett * Caleb Pringle :* Running mate: Jeffery Lunsford * Charles Frederick Tolbert :* Running mate: Christine Timmon

General election

Candidates

The following candidates appeared on the ballot for the general election: *

(Republican), incumbent governor :* Running mate: Carlos Lopez-Cantera, incumbent lieutenant governor *

(Democratic), former Republican-turned-independent governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 :* Running mate: Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, former chair of the

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 coun ...

Democratic Party and nominee for

Florida's 18th congressional district Florida's 18th congressional district is an congressional district, electoral district for the U.S. Congress, located in the Florida Heartland. In the 2020 United States redistricting cycle, 2020 redistricting cycle, the district was redrawn to ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

* Adrian Wyllie (Libertarian), activist, radio host and former chairman of the

:* Running mate: Greg Roe, insurance executive * Glenn Burkett (Independent), businessman and perennial candidate :* Running mate: Jose Augusto Matos *

(Independent), economist, author and

candidate for governor in 2010 :* Running mate: Lateresa A. Jones

Endorsements

Campaign

As of early June 2014, Scott had spent almost $13m since March on television advertisements attacking Charlie Crist, who then appeared the likely Democratic nominee. Although the ads resulted in a tightening of the race, this came about by decreasing Crist's favorability ratings. By contrast, Scott's favorability ratings did not increase. By late September, Scott's television ad spending had exceeded $35m and in mid-October it reached $56.5 million, compared to $26.5 million by Crist. On October 22 it was reported that Scott's total spending had exceeded $83 million and he announced that, having previously said he would not do so, he would be investing his own money into the campaign, speculated to be as much as $22 million. Crist hoped to draw strong support from Florida's more than 1.6 million registered black voters, an effort that was challenging with regards to his previous political career as a Republican. A poll conducted in September 2014 by Quinnipiac University revealed his support among black voters was at 72 percent against Scott, which was below the 90 percent analysts believed he needed to win. Scott and Crist met in a debate on October 15, held by the Florida Press Association at

Broward College Broward College is a public college based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Miramar, Florida, Pembroke Pines, Florida and Davie, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System, and offers several associate and baccalaureate degree programs. H ...

. The debate required candidates to receive at least 15% support in major polls to be included. This was allegedly increased from 10% after Wyllie met the initial criteria, but the Miami Herald reported that the threshold had been 15% since 2013. The decision has been criticized as "suppressing choice" and the Wyllie campaign has filed a lawsuit to be included in the debate. U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn dismissed the lawsuit. At this debate, Scott refused to take the stage for seven minutes because Crist had a small electric fan under his lectern. The incident was dubbed "fangate" by media sources such as ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

''.

Debates

Predictions

Polling

With Scott
With Putnam

Results

Scott defeated Crist by a slim margin garnering 48% percent of the vote to the former's 47%. With the loss, Crist became the first candidate in Florida history to lose statewide elections as a Democrat, as a Republican, and as an Independent.

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Franklin (largest city: Eastpoint) *

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

(largest city:

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

) * Madison (Largest city: Madison)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

(largest city:

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

)

By congressional district

Scott won 16 of 27 congressional districts, including two held by Democrats, with the remaining 11 going to Crist, including three held by Republicans.

References

External links

Florida gubernatorial election, 2014
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 ...

Charlie Crist for GovernorRick Scott for Governor
*
Khavari for Governor
{{FlGovElections

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Independents

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Disqualified

Write-in candidates

General election

Candidates

Endorsements

Campaign

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

See also

References

External links