Florida Governor
Tue, Nov 3 · Governor Ron DeSantis Republican since Jan 2019 (not a candidate in 2026)
Byron Donalds 49.1David Jolly 43.9
Average of 11 polls, Sep 14 to Oct 29, from VoteHub · how it’s calculated
Newest poll
2 are partisan pollsNewest · InsiderAdvantage, field dates Oct 28 to Oct 29, released Oct 30, 1,200 likely votersPolls fetched Oct 30, 2:02 a.m. ET, from VoteHub
Show all 8 candidates on the ballot
- David JollyDemocratic
- Byron DonaldsRepublican
- Charles BurkettIndependent
- Dean Ocean AbramsIndependent
- Frank J. RussoIndependent
- Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" DattoIndependent
- Moliere "Moe" DimancheIndependent
- Scott Eckhard JewettLibertarian
Write-in candidates, not printed on the ballot
Showing major-party nominees, incumbents and candidates with 5%+ in the latest poll or comparable fundraising.
Polls over time
30 polls, through Election Day Nov 3The thick line is the 7-week average, not a forecast. How it’s calculated. All polls. Polls fetched Oct 30, 2:02 a.m. ET, from VoteHub.
The polls in this chart (30)
6 polls released in the last 14 days · latest results range from 40 to 48.3% (D) and 49 to 51.7% (R) (newest 5 polls on the chart)
30 of the 36 polls for this race, each with both names, plotted on the field end date.
| Pollster | Field dates | Released | Sample | Jolly | Donalds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InsiderAdvantage | Oct 28 to Oct 29 | Oct 30 | 1,200 likely voters | 45 | 49 |
| Echelon Insights | Oct 16 to Oct 23 | Oct 27 | 515 likely voters | 44 | 50 |
| co/efficient | Oct 18 to Oct 20 | Oct 22 | 1,014 likely voters | 40 | 49 |
| University of North Florida | Oct 12 to Oct 19 | Oct 21 | 1,378 likely voters | 47 | 49 |
| ActiVote | Oct 1 to Oct 19 | Oct 20 | 400 likely voters | 48.3 | 51.7 |
| YouGov | Oct 2 to Oct 15 | Oct 20 | 825 registered voters | 42 | 50 |
| MDW Communications | Oct 4 to Oct 10 | Oct 15 | 2,351 likely voters | 43.8 | 45.9 |
| Change Research | Oct 8 to Oct 10 | Oct 13 | 920 likely voters | 47 | 47 |
| St. Pete Polls | Oct 5 to Oct 7 | Oct 9 | 836 likely voters | 45 | 45 |
| Targoz Market Research | Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Oct 9 | 1,200 registered voters | 39 | 48 |
| Targoz Market Research | Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Oct 9 | 849 likely voters | 42 | 52 |
| Change Research | Sep 25 to Sep 27 | Sep 29 | 1,063 likely voters | 48 | 46 |
| Stetson University Center for Public Opinion Research | Sep 14 to Sep 21 | Sep 25 | — | 39 | 51 |
| St. Pete Polls | Sep 15 to Sep 17 | Sep 18 | 913 likely voters | 43.4 | 43.5 |
| Change Research | Sep 7 to Sep 9 | Sep 11 | 1,107 likely voters | 47 | 44 |
| Targoz Market Research | Jul 20 to Jul 26 | Aug 6 | 1,026 registered voters | 38 | 45 |
| University of North Florida | Jul 8 to Jul 17 | Jul 20 | 848 likely voters | 41 | 46 |
| Change Research | May 13 to May 16 | Jun 17 | 1,593 likely voters | 46 | 42 |
| Cherry Communications | May 1 to May 9 | May 18 | 604 likely voters | 39 | 47 |
| The Public Sentiment Institute | Apr 27 | May 5 | 687 likely voters | 40 | 40 |
| Echelon Insights | Apr 3 to Apr 9 | Apr 21 | 406 likely voters | 43 | 49 |
| MDW Communications | Mar 27 to Apr 3 | Apr 14 | 1,834 likely voters | 40.5 | 41.2 |
| Emerson College | Mar 29 to Mar 31 | Apr 14 | 1,125 likely voters | 39.4 | 44.2 |
| University of North Florida | Feb 21 to Mar 2 | Apr 14 | 786 likely voters | 36 | 42 |
| Public Sentiment Institute | Feb 20 | Apr 14 | 200 registered voters | 42.3 | 35.8 |
| Targoz Market Research | Feb 13 to Feb 16 | Apr 14 | 1,200 registered voters | 34 | 36 |
| University of North Florida | Oct 15 to Oct 25 | Apr 14 | 728 likely voters | 34 | 45 |
| Targoz Market Research | Sep 16 to Sep 18 | Apr 14 | 1,118 registered voters | 32 | 36 |
| McLaughlin & Associates | Aug 25 to Aug 27 | Apr 14 | 800 likely voters | 41 | 49 |
| Victory Insights | Jun 7 to Jun 10 | Apr 14 | 600 likely voters | 31.4 | 36.7 |
Polls left off the chart (6 of 36)
| Poll | Why it is not on the chart |
|---|---|
| Targoz Market ResearchJul 20 to Jul 26 | Names fewer than two candidates on this ballot (lists Jay Collins, David Jolly) |
| The Public Sentiment InstituteApr 27 | Names fewer than two candidates on this ballot (lists James Fishback, David Jolly) |
| Stetson UniversityMar 25 to Apr 13 | Names fewer than two candidates on this ballot (lists Byron Donalds, Jerry Demings) |
| Echelon InsightsApr 3 to Apr 9 | Names fewer than two candidates on this ballot (lists Byron Donalds, Jerry Demings) |
| University of North FloridaFeb 21 to Mar 2 | Names fewer than two candidates on this ballot (lists Jerry Demings, Byron Donalds) |
| University of North FloridaOct 15 to Oct 25 | Names fewer than two candidates on this ballot (lists Jerry Demings, Byron Donalds) |
Side by side
Left column: DonaldsRight column: Jolly
- Donor-based spectrum
- LiberalCentristConservativeDonaldsNo published score for Jolly
- Races won and lost
- 5-1
- None on file
- Years since first win on file
- 5
- Not available
- Age on Election Day
- 48
- 54
How these are counted
The spectrum is a published research score, not our rating. How this works. Wins and losses count the races in our results files, the same as each profile.
What changed in this race
Newest firstNEW POLLFlorida Governor
Florida Governor: Byron Donalds 49, David Jolly 45
InsiderAdvantage, Oct 28 to Oct 29, 1,200 likely voters
NEW POLLFlorida Governor
Florida Governor: Byron Donalds 50, David Jolly 44
Echelon Insights, Oct 16 to Oct 23, 515 likely voters
More about this race
Candidates on the ballot
- David JollyDemocratic
- Byron DonaldsRepublican
- Charles BurkettIndependent
- Dean Ocean AbramsIndependent
- Frank J. RussoIndependent
- Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" DattoIndependent
- Moliere "Moe" DimancheIndependent
- Scott Eckhard JewettLibertarian
Write-in candidates, not printed on the ballot
Source: dos.elections.myflorida.com, dated Oct 28
Vote in Florida
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History (9 elections for this seat)
- Votes for listed candidates
- 7,771,399
- Election day
- November 8, 2022
Governor, Florida, 2022, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share RepublicanRon DeSantisWon Republican 4,614,21059.4% DemocraticCharlie Crist Jr. Democratic 3,106,31340.0% IndependentCarmen Jackie Gimenez No Party Affiliation 31,5770.4% LibertarianHector Roos Libertarian Party of Florida 19,2990.2% - Votes for listed candidates
- 8,220,561
- Election day
- November 6, 2018
Governor, Florida, 2018, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share RepublicanRon DeSantisWon Republican 4,076,18649.6% DemocraticAndrew Gillum Democratic 4,043,72349.2% OtherDarcy G. Richardson Reform 47,1400.6% IndependentKyle KC Gibson No Party Affiliation 24,3100.3% IndependentRyan Christopher Foley No Party Affiliation 14,6300.2% IndependentBruce Stanley No Party Affiliation 14,5050.2% Scattered write-ins 670.0% - Votes for listed candidates
- 5,951,561
- Election day
- November 4, 2014
Governor, Florida, 2014, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share RepublicanRick ScottWon Republican 2,865,34348.1% DemocraticCharlie Crist Democratic 2,801,19847.1% LibertarianAdrian Wyllie Libertarian Party of Florida 223,3563.8% IndependentGlenn Burkett No Party Affiliation 41,3410.7% IndependentFarid Khavari No Party Affiliation 20,1860.3% Scattered write-ins 1370.0% - Votes for listed candidates
- 5,359,735
- Election day
- November 2, 2010
Governor, Florida, 2010, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share RepublicanRick ScottWon Republican 2,619,33548.9% DemocraticAlex Sink Democratic 2,557,78547.7% OtherPeter Allen Independence 123,8312.3% IndependentC.C. Reed No Party Affiliation 18,8420.4% IndependentMichael E. Arth No Party Affiliation 18,6440.3% IndependentDaniel Imperato No Party Affiliation 13,6900.3% IndependentFarid Khavari No Party Affiliation 7,4870.1% Scattered write-ins 1210.0% - Votes for listed candidates
- 4,829,270
- Election day
- November 7, 2006
Governor, Florida, 2006, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share RepublicanCharlie CristWon Republican 2,519,84552.2% DemocraticJim Davis Democratic 2,178,28945.1% OtherMax Linn Reform 92,5951.9% IndependentJohn Wayne Smith No Party Affiliation 15,9870.3% IndependentRichard Paul Dembinsky No Party Affiliation 11,9210.2% IndependentKarl C.C. Behm No Party Affiliation 10,4860.2% Scattered write-ins 1470.0% - Votes for listed candidates
- 5,100,581
- Election day
- November 5, 2002
Governor, Florida, 2002, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share RepublicanJeb BushWon Republican 2,856,84556.0% DemocraticBill McBride Democratic 2,201,42743.2% IndependentBob Kunst No Party Affiliation 42,0390.8% Scattered write-ins 2700.0% - Votes for listed candidates
- 3,964,441
- Election day
- November 3, 1998
Governor, Florida, 1998, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share RepublicanJeb BushWon Republican 2,191,10555.3% DemocraticBuddy MacKay Democratic 1,773,05444.7% Scattered write-ins 2820.0% - Votes for listed candidates
- 4,206,659
- Election day
- November 8, 1994
Governor, Florida, 1994, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share DemocraticLawton ChilesWon Democratic 2,135,00850.8% RepublicanJeb Bush Republican 2,071,06849.2% Scattered write-ins 5830.0% - Votes for listed candidates
- 3,530,871
- Election day
- November 6, 1990
Governor, Florida, 1990, every candidate Candidate Party Votes and share Share DemocraticLawton ChilesWon Democratic 1,995,20656.5% RepublicanBob Martinez Republican 1,535,06843.5% Scattered write-ins 5970.0%
1990 to 2022: Cha, Kuriwaki and Snyder, Candidates in American General Elections, version 3.1 (2006-2023 governor rows), retrieved Oct 28, 2026. Compiled by Cha, Kuriwaki and Snyder (Harvard Dataverse) from official returns; not an official source
Governor races before 1990 are not on file.
Data notes (12)
- Source priority per race: (1) a state election office's own certified results parsed in scripts/data/gov_results.py (NJ Division of Elections PDFs, Virginia Department of Elections, the Civera ElectionStats databases run by CT, VA, VT, CO, NY, NM and SC, the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, the NC State Board of Elections archive); (2) the open Cha/Kuriwaki/Snyder 'Candidates in American General Elections' file (Harvard Dataverse, CC0), which copies each state's statement of vote; (3) OpenElections county files and the 2020 Dataverse official-results tables, used only to add named candidates the Dataverse file omitted and to add the write-in count; (4) MEDSL precinct sums, used the same way and only when their Democratic and Republican totals agree with the Dataverse rows to 0.3 percent. Each race's source is listed in web/data/sources/gov-results.json.
- total is the sum of the candidate rows in the file, and pct is votes divided by that total, rounded to one decimal. Blank, void, over and under votes are never in total. Write-in votes are in total as a 'Write-ins' row (writein: true) wherever a source reports them: the official databases, OpenElections, and MEDSL precinct returns. The Dataverse file leaves write-ins out, so MEDSL's write-in sum is added when MEDSL's count for every named candidate equals the Dataverse count exactly (for example AK 2022, 784 write-ins, and AL 2022, 9,432, both matching the state's statement of vote). Each race's source ids are in the race's source and sourceAlso fields and in the gov-results-<st> entry of sources.json.
- 151 races not taken from a state's own results file have no write-in row. Either the state counted no write-ins, or the sources on file leave them out (MEDSL's precinct sums did not match every named candidate exactly, or MEDSL has no file for that year); where they were left out, total is short by the write-ins and pct can run slightly above the state's printed percentage: AK 2006, AK 2010, AK 2014, AL 2006, AL 2010, AL 2014, AL 2018, AR 2006, AR 2014, AR 2018, AR 2022, AZ 2002, AZ 2014, AZ 2022, CA 2014, CA 2018, CA 2022, DE 2008, DE 2012, DE 2016, DE 2020, DE 2024, GA 2014, GA 2018, HI 2006, HI 2010, HI 2014, HI 2018, HI 2022, IA 2006, IA 2010, IA 2014, ID 1998, ID 2006, ID 2010, ID 2022, IL 2010, IL 2014, IL 2018, IN 2004, IN 2008, IN 2012, IN 2016, IN 2020, KS 2006, KS 2010, KS 2014, KS 2018, KS 2022, KY 2007, KY 2011, KY 2015, KY 2019, LA 2007, LA 2011, LA 2015, LA 2019, LA 2023, MD 2006, MD 2014, MD 2022, ME 2006, ME 2010, ME 2014, ME 2022, MI 2006, MI 2010, MI 2014, MI 2022, MN 2006, MN 2010, MN 2014, MO 2020, MS 2007, MS 2011, MS 2015, MS 2019, MS 2023, MT 2000, MT 2004, MT 2008, MT 2012, MT 2016, MT 2020, MT 2024, ND 2008, NE 2006, NE 2010, NE 2014, NE 2018, NE 2022, NH 2008, NH 2010, NH 2012, NH 2014, NH 2024, NM 2010, NV 2006, NV 2010, NV 2014, NV 2018, NV 2022, OH 2014, OH 2018, OK 2006, OK 2010, OK 2014, OK 2018, OK 2022, OR 2006, OR 2010, OR 2014, OR 2018, OR 2022, PA 2002, PA 2006, PA 2010, PA 2014, PA 2018, PA 2022, RI 2006, RI 2010, RI 2014, SC 2006, SD 2006, SD 2010, SD 2014, SD 2018, SD 2022, TX 2014, TX 2018, TX 2022, UT 2008, UT 2010, UT 2012, UT 2020, WA 2008, WA 2012, WA 2016, WI 2006, WI 2010, WI 2014, WI 2018, WV 2008, WV 2011, WV 2012, WV 2016, WV 2020, WV 2024, WY 2002, WY 2006.
- party is D, R, I, L, G, O or N from the party label in the source; party_label keeps the source's wording. The Dataverse file prints short labels (Lbt, Grn, Const, DFL, NPA); those are expanded to Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Democratic-Farmer-Labor and No Party Affiliation. Fusion candidates (NY, CT, SC, and the Democratic-Progressive line in VT) are one candidate with all of their ballot lines added together.
- Names: the Dataverse file stores 'LAST, FIRST MIDDLE (NICKNAME), SUFFIX'; the display name uses the nickname when there is one (Josh Shapiro, Bob Riley) and otherwise the given names. All-caps source names were title-cased by rule and can be wrong for internal capitals (DiGiulio, DeWine). Official lists that print only surnames (NJ 1997; MA tickets from 2010 on) take the full name from the Dataverse row of the same race where the surname and party match, otherwise stay surname-only.
- incumbent is true or false only for races built from the Dataverse file (it carries an incumbency code; code 3, a governor who succeeded to the office, is treated as incumbent). It is null for official-source races and for candidates added from OpenElections or MEDSL.
- Louisiana uses an open primary with a runoff. One race per election is stored: the round that decided it (the October primary when someone won more than 50 percent, otherwise the November runoff, marked runoff:true). Exact dates for those rounds come from the Dataverse/official files where present and are set in the script otherwise (LA_DATES); check them before showing a date.
- Recall elections (Wisconsin June 2012, California September 2021) are not included. Only regular and special general elections for the office are stored; primaries and runoff primaries are not.
- scripts/data/federal_results.py, if it is re-run, rewrites every web/data/results/governor/{ST}.json to []. Run scripts/data/gov_results.py after it, or remove build_governor() from that script.
- Candidate name is the sitting governor's officials-file spelling for 16 rows (the race's winner, same state, race within the governor's tenure, same surname and a compatible first name). Text encoding and casing are repaired by scripts/data/names.py.
- Governor races earlier than the first year listed are not loaded yet for 50 states (AK from 2006; AL from 2006; AR from 2002; AZ from 2002; CA from 2002; CO from 1990; CT from 1990; DE from 2008; FL from 1990; GA from 2002; HI from 2006; IA from 2002; ID from 1994; IL from 2006; IN from 2004; KS from 2006; KY from 2007; LA from 2007; MA from 1990; MD from 2006; ME from 2006; MI from 2006; MN from 2006; MO from 2008; MS from 2007; MT from 2000; NC from 1992; ND from 2008; NE from 2006; NH from 2006; NJ from 1993; NM from 2002; NV from 2006; NY from 1994; OH from 2002; OK from 2006; OR from 2006; PA from 2002; RI from 2006; SC from 2006; SD from 2006; TN from 2002; TX from 1994; UT from 2008; VA from 1993; VT from 1990; WA from 2008; WI from 2006; WV from 2000; WY from 2002). The sources on file start later; nothing was filled in from memory. Each governor page says so under History.
- 1 duplicate candidate rows merged: a 0-vote placeholder row beside the real row is dropped. governor/CO 2022 Paul Noël Fiorino
Download and cite
Cite this page
Election Wrld. (2026). Governor of Florida. https://www.electionwrld.com/fl/governor. Retrieved October 30, 2026.
Sources
Sources: Wikidata SPARQL (governor position holders, party) (CC0-1.0), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by the Wikidata community (not an official source; to be cross-checked against official governor pages) from official returns, not an official source; 3 U.S.C. 1, 2 U.S.C. 1 and 7: Election Day, first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (US government work, public domain), retrieved Oct 28, 2026; Cha, Kuriwaki and Snyder, Candidates in American General Elections, version 3.1 (2006-2023 governor rows) (CC0 1.0), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by Cha, Kuriwaki and Snyder (Harvard Dataverse) from official returns, not an official source; Cha, Kuriwaki and Snyder, Candidates in American General Elections, version 4.1 (2024 governor rows) (CC0 1.0), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by Cha, Kuriwaki and Snyder (Harvard Dataverse) from official returns, not an official source; OpenElections state results repositories (github.com/openelections/openelections-data-<st>) (No license is stated in the OpenElections repositories. OpenElections says its data is free for anyone to use. Written permission requested (docs/PERMISSION-REQUESTS.md). No CC0 claim.), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by OpenElections volunteers from official returns, not an official source.
DataState data (JSON)Sources: Cha, Kuriwaki and Snyder, Candidates in American General Elections, version 3.1 (2006-2023 governor rows), VoteHub polls (CC BY 4.0), DIME (ODC-BY), Portraits: unitedstates/images (public domain), Photo creditsData as of Oct 28, 2026