APTOPIX Election 2026 Florida

Attendees watch results at a primary election night watch party for Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Miami Lakes, Fla.

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US Rep Byron Donalds wins GOP nod for Florida governor against Ex-Rep David Jolly for the Democrats

US Rep Byron Donalds wins GOP nod for Florida governor against Ex-Rep David Jolly for the Democrats

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds has won the Republican nomination for Florida governor and former Rep. David Jolly has picked up the Democratic nod, setting the stage for a fall campaign to replace outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis and decide the state's future political direction. Donalds would become Florida's first Black governor if elected. Jolly is a former Republican congressman who switched parties last year. Also Tuesday, progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon won the Democratic nomination and will face the GOP pick, Sen. Ashley Moody, in a special election for the last two years of Marco Rubio's Senate term. Rubio left the Senate last year to become secretary of state.