2022 Florida gubernatorial election

The 2022 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Florida, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Party governor Ron DeSantis won re-election in a landslide and defeated the Democratic Party nominee, former U.S. representative Charlie Crist, who previously served as governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican and later as an Independent. No Democrat has been elected governor of Florida since 1994.

According to exit polls, DeSantis won 65% of White voters, 13% of Black voters, and 58% of Latinos; of the latter group, DeSantis won 69% of Cubans and 56% of Puerto Ricans. DeSantis' large margin of victory was in part due to him flipping Democratic stronghold Miami-Dade County for the first time since 2002, and Palm Beach County for the first time since 1986, as well as winning Hillsborough, Osceola, Pinellas, and St. Lucie counties for the first time since 2006; this was also the first gubernatorial election since 2006 in which a candidate received over 50% of the vote. His 19.4% margin of victory was the largest since 1982 and the largest for a Republican in state history, compared to 0.4% 4 years earlier. It was also the first time the governorship was won by double digits since 2002, and the first time it was won by over one million votes.

Significantly, Crist's 40% performance was the worst for a Democratic nominee for governor of Florida since 1916. Republicans won the other statewide races by double digits; this is the first time since the end of Reconstruction that Democrats do not hold at least one of the statewide positions. DeSantis also made large gains among Hispanic voters, becoming the first Republican in decades to win a majority of those voters. He also had a major fundraising advantage over Crist, setting an all-time record for a gubernatorial candidate.

Some analysts believe that this election indicates that Florida has transitioned from being a Republican-leaning swing state into a reliable red state.

Qualifying for the ballot
To qualify for the ballot in Florida, partisan candidates must first file with the Division of Elections of the Florida Department of State. After filing, a candidate must then qualify for the ballot by a deadline by either paying qualifying fees totaling 6% of the salary of the position sought, or obtaining sufficiently many signatures. Not all candidates who filed to run for governor subsequently qualified to appear on the ballot.

Nominee

 * Ron DeSantis, incumbent governor

Failed to qualify

 * John Joseph Mercadante, Republican National Committee official and candidate for governor in 2018
 * Donald J. Peterson, marijuana activist

Declined

 * Roger Stone, political consultant

Nominee

 * Charlie Crist, U.S. representative, former Republican governor of Florida and former attorney general of Florida

Eliminated in primary

 * Nikki Fried, Florida commissioner of agriculture
 * Cadance Daniel, consultant
 * Robert Lee Willis, teacher and Baptist minister

Failed to qualify

 * Robert Conner
 * Ivan Graham, dentist
 * Carlos Enrique Gutierrez, property manager and candidate for mayor of Miami Beach in 2021
 * Jonathan Karns, businessman
 * Alex Lundmark, real estate agent and candidate for governor in 2018
 * Christine Powers
 * Randy Zapata, legal advocate

Withdrawn

 * Richard Dembinsky, engineer and candidate for state senate in 2016
 * David Nelson Freeman, businessman
 * Timothy Mosley, charity founder
 * Annette Taddeo, state senator and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014 (running for Florida's 27th congressional district) (endorsed Crist)

Declined

 * Dave Aronberg, Palm Beach County state attorney and former state senator
 * Lauren Book, state senator
 * Randolph Bracy, state senator (running for Florida's 10th congressional district)
 * Val Demings, U.S. representative (running for U.S. Senate)
 * Anna Eskamani, state representative
 * Dan Gelber, mayor of Miami Beach and former state house minority leader (endorsed Crist)
 * Andrew Gillum, former mayor of Tallahassee and nominee for governor in 2018
 * Rebekah Jones, former Florida Department of Health analyst (endorsed Fried)
 * Al Lawson, U.S. representative (endorsed Crist)
 * Stephanie Murphy, U.S. representative
 * Jason Pizzo, state senator
 * Sean Shaw, state representative and nominee for attorney general in 2018 (endorsed Crist)

Polling

 * Graphical summary

Results
[[File:2022 Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary results by county.svg|275px|thumb|Results by county: {{legend|#7996e2|Crist}}

{{legend|#a5b0ff|40–50%}}

{{legend|#7996e2|50–60%}}

{{legend|#6674de|60–70%}}

{{legend|#584cde|70–80%}} {{legend|#5fd35f|Fried}}

{{legend|#87de87|40–50%}} ]]

Running mate selection
In June 2022, Politico released a shortlist of 18 people who Crist was considering as his running mate. On August 26, four days after Crist won the gubernatorial primary, CBS News reported that he had selected Karla Hernández-Mats, one of the people on the Politico shortlist.

Selected

 * Karla Hernández-Mats, president of the United Teachers of Dade

On shortlist

 * María Celeste Arrarás, journalist and former Telemundo news anchor
 * Manny Diaz, chair of the Florida Democratic Party and former mayor of Miami
 * Fentrice Driskell, state representative and minority leader-designate for the 2024-2026 legislative session
 * Anna Eskamani, state representative
 * Anne Gannon, Palm Beach County Tax Collector and former state representative
 * Dan Gelber, mayor of Miami Beach, former state senator, and nominee for Florida Attorney General in 2010
 * Jennifer Jenkins, Brevard County school board member
 * Shevrin Jones, state senator
 * Al Lawson, U.S. representative for Florida's 5th congressional district
 * Amy Mercado, Orange County Property Appraiser and former state representative
 * Wayne Messam, mayor of Miramar and candidate for president in 2020
 * Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, former U.S. representative for Florida's 26th congressional district
 * Tina Polsky, state senator
 * Bobby Powell, state senator
 * Mary Ann Ruiz, attorney
 * Sean Shaw, former state representative and nominee for Florida Attorney General in 2018
 * Marie Woodson, state representative

Withdrawn

 * Brian Moore, activist and perennial candidate (running for state senate)

Withdrawn

 * Gizmo Wexler, IT administrator

Declared

 * Hector Roos

Declined

 * Roger Stone, political activist and consultant

Declared

 * Carmen Jackie Gimenez

Failed to qualify

 * Eugene H. Steele, attorney

Withdrawn

 * Mark B. Graham, computer technician and candidate for president in 2016
 * Frank Hughes Jr., education consultant
 * Jodi Gregory Jeloudov

Declined

 * David Jolly, former U.S. representative

Declared

 * Piotr Blass, perennial candidate
 * James Thompson, pastor

Polling

 * Aggregate polls


 * Ron DeSantis vs. Nikki Fried
 * Ron DeSantis vs. Annette Taddeo
 * Ron DeSantis vs. generic Democrat
 * Ron DeSantis vs. Val Demings

By county

 * Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
 * Duval (largest municipality: Jacksonville)
 * Hillsborough (largest municipality: Tampa)
 * Miami-Dade (largest city: Miami)
 * Osceola (largest municipality: Kissimmee)
 * Palm Beach (largest city: West Palm Beach)
 * Pinellas (largest municipality: St. Petersburg)
 * Seminole (largest municipality: Sanford)
 * St. Lucie (largest city: Port St. Lucie)

By congressional district
DeSantis won 22 of 28 congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats.

Analysis
According to exit polls, DeSantis won 65% of White voters, 13% of Black voters, and 58% of Latinos; of the latter group, DeSantis won 69% of Cubans and 56% of Puerto Ricans. DeSantis' large margin of victory was in part due to him flipping Democratic stronghold Miami-Dade County for the first time since 2002, and Palm Beach County for the first time since 1986, as well as winning Hillsborough, Osceola, Pinellas, and St. Lucie counties for the first time since 2006; this was also the first gubernatorial election since 2006 in which a candidate received over 50% of the vote. His near 20% margin of victory was the largest since 1982 and the largest for a Republican in state history. It was also the first time the governorship was won by double digits since 2002, and the first time it was won by over one million votes.

Significantly, Crist's 40% performance was the worst for a Democratic nominee for governor of Florida since 1916. Republicans won the other statewide races by double digits; this is the first time since the end of Reconstruction that Democrats do not hold at least one of the statewide positions. DeSantis also made large gains among Hispanic voters, becoming the first Republican in decades to win a majority of those voters. He also had a major fundraising advantage over Crist, setting an all-time record for a gubernatorial candidate.