2014 Florida gubernatorial election

The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida.

The incumbent Republican, Rick Scott, ran for reelection. The Democratic nominee was former governor Charlie Crist, who was Scott's direct predecessor. Crist was elected governor as a Republican in 2006 but did not run for re-election in 2010, instead opting to run for Senate as an independent. Libertarian nominee Adrian Wyllie and several candidates with no party affiliation also ran. Political pundits considered the race a toss-up.

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
[[File:2014_Florida_Gubernatorial_Republican_Primary_by_county.svg|thumb|Results by county{{legend|#e55651|Scott}}

{{legend|#b00600|Scott—80–90%}}

{{legend|#850400|Scott—>90%}}]]

Declared

 * Yinka Adeshina, pharmacist
 * Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, conservative activist and candidate for governor in 1998
 * Rick Scott, incumbent governor

Withdrew

 * Timothy Devine

Declined

 * Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer of Florida (running for re-election)
 * Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General (running for re-election)
 * Bill McCollum, former Florida attorney general and candidate for governor in 2010
 * Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (running for re-election)
 * John E. Thrasher, state senator
 * Will Weatherford, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
 * Allen West, former U.S. Representative

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. He was defeated in the general election by Republican nominee Marco Rubio. In December 2012, Crist joined the Democratic Party.

Declared

 * Charlie Crist, former Republican turned Independent Governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
 * Nan Rich, former Minority Leader of the Florida Senate

Withdrew

 * Farid Khavari, economist, author and Independent candidate for governor in 2010 (running as an Independent)

Declined

 * Bob Buckhorn, Mayor of Tampa and former Tampa city councilman
 * Manny Diaz, former mayor of Miami
 * Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando, former Minority Leader of the Florida Senate and nominee for Florida Attorney General in 2002
 * Dan Gelber, former Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives, former state senator and nominee for Florida Attorney General in 2010
 * Pam Iorio, former Mayor of Tampa, former Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections and former Hillsborough County Commissioner
 * Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator
 * Jeremy Ring, state senator
 * Alex Sink, former Chief Financial Officer of Florida, nominee for governor in 2010 and nominee for Florida's 13th congressional district in 2014
 * Rod Smith, former chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, former state senator and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010
 * Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. Representative and chair of the Democratic National Committee

Declared

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

Withdrew

 * John Wayne Smith, activist and perennial candidate

Declined

 * Alexander George, former committeeman of the Libertarian Party of Florida and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 (ran as an Independent, then withdrew)
 * Steve LaBianca, activist and businessman
 * Roger Stone, political consultant, lobbyist and strategist

Declared

 * Glenn Burkett, businessman and perennial candidate
 * Farid Khavari, economist, author and independent candidate for governor in 2010

Withdrew

 * Alexander George, former committeeman of the Libertarian Party of Florida 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

Candidates
The following candidates appeared on the ballot for the general election:
 * Rick Scott (Republican), incumbent governor
 * Running mate: Carlos Lopez-Cantera, incumbent lieutenant governor


 * Charlie Crist (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 Democratic Party and nominee for Florida's 18th congressional district in 2008


 * Adrian Wyllie (Libertarian), activist, radio host and former chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida
 * Running mate: Greg Roe, insurance executive


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


 * Farid Khavari (Independent), economist, author and independent candidate for governor in 2010
 * Running mate: Lateresa A. Jones

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. 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 criticised 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.

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 15, 2014 - C-SPAN
 * Complete video of debate, October 21, 2014 - C-SPAN

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 (largest city: Bristol)
 * Madison (Largest city: Madison)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Monroe (largest city: Key West)

By congressional district
Scott won 16 of 27 congressional districts including two held by Democrats, while Crist won 11, including three held by Republicans.