Election 2026 Florida Governor

Democratic voters have elevated a progressive Senate candidate in Florida, while Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, backed by President Donald Trump, won the GOP nomination as he vies to become the first Black governor of the state. This mixed outcome comes as Republican-led redistricting efforts have scrambled congressional maps. Tuesday's contests in Florida, Alaska, Wyoming and California will shape the fiercely contested midterms this fall. Donalds joins a historic slate of Black gubernatorial nominees across the country. Meanwhile, longtime U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won a diverse, redistricted Florida seat. The internal battle between progressive and establishment candidates continues to play out with mixed results.

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.