Florida primary election set to decide high-stakes governor match-up
With the Florida Primary Election less than 24 hours away, the governor's race has become a focal point.
Candidates – ranging from current Florida leaders, members of congress, doctors, attorneys, former firefighters and activists – are making the final push to get the votes.
Six Florida Governor candidates in Primary Election. (Left to Right) Byron Donads (R), Jay Collins (R), David Jolly/Gwen Graham (D), James Fishback (R), Paul Renner (R) and Dottie Joseph (D).
Know your ballot
Florida is a closed primary state, meaning registered Republicans only vote for Republican candidates, and registered Democrats only vote for Democratic candidates in partisan races.
A person may change their party affiliation by the registration deadline for that primary election. Once that deadline passes, their ballot is locked into their existing party. The registration deadline has since passed. Several non-party affiliated and write-in candidates are running for governor.
Poll locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Read more: Find your voting precinct
Florida gubernatorial candidates make final push ahead of primary election
Ahead of Tuesday's primary election, Florida candidates vying for a spot on the November ballot for governor are making a final push to reach voters. FOX 35 spoke with Republican candidate Paul Renner, while Democratic front-runner David Jolly stopped by an early voting location in Tampa.
Meet the candidates
A total of 29 candidates have qualified for governor. The complete list of candidates for the Florida 2026 General Election can be found on the state’s website.
The primary ballot lists "Governor and Lt. Governor" in the same category, but voters must only choose one name. This is due to candidates not naming a running mate at this time – except for David Jolly (D), who has named Gwen Graham, and James Fishback (R), who has named Sean Lozano.
Read more: Get to know the gubernatorial candidates
List of candidates
Republican candidates
- Jay Collins | Campaign website
- Byron Donalds | Campaign website
- James Fishback/Sean Lozano | Campaign website
- Jim Holcomb | Campaign website
- Arthur Joseph McCaffrey
- Daniel Nokovich | Campaign website
- Paul Renner | Campaign website
- Rachel Rodriguez | Campaign website
- James Shaw | Campaign website
- Caneste Succe | Campaign website
- Bobby Williams | Campaign website
Democrat candidates
- Evelyn Castillo-Bach | Campaign website
- Thomas Eloy Fernandez
- Dayna Marie Foster | Campaign website
- David Jolly/Gwen Graham | Campaign website
- Dottie Joseph | Campaign website
- Stephann Norman | Campaign website
No Party Affiliation candidates
- Dean Ocean Abrams
- Charles Burkett | Campaign website
- Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto
- Moliere "Moe" Dimanche | Campaign website
- Desond Meade | Campaign website
- Frank J. Russo | Campaign website
Write-in candidates
- Kathy Anderson
- David "DJ" DeJesus
- Richard Paul Dembinsky
- M.W. Khan
- Erik Morris | Campaign website
Libertarian Party
- Scott Jewett is running unopposed within the Libertarian Party | Campaign website
Other state races
Chief Financial Officer
Current Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Blaise Ingoglia will face off against Frank William Collige on the Republican ballot. Democrats Earle Ford and Annette Taddeo are in the running as well.
Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami will face up against current Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in the Nov. 3 general election. (Source: Florida House of Representatives)
Attorney General
Advancing to the general election, Jose Javier Rodriguez (D) – running uncontested – is running against the current Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) – the former chief of staff for Gov. Ron DeSantis – who is also uncontested.
Rodriguez is a former state senator who represented Miami-Dade County. He served in the Biden Administration as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor.
What's next:
Primary Election Day: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. Polls open 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
General Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from the State of Florida's website and candidate profiles.