2026 Florida gubernatorial election

The 2026 Florida gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third term in office.

Eligibility and requirements
Article IV, Section 5(b), of the Florida Constitution states that, for a person to serve as governor, they must:


 * Be at least thirty years old;
 * Be a permanent resident of Florida for at least seven years;
 * Not have served as governor for six years or more of the two prior terms.

Publicly expressed interest

 * Byron Donalds, U.S. Representative from FL's 19th congressional district (2021–present)
 * Michael Waltz, U.S. Representative from FL's 6th congressional district (2019–present)

Potential

 * Richard Corcoran, president of New College of Florida (2023–present), former commissioner of the Florida Department of Education (2019–2022), and former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2016–2018) from the 37th district (2010–2018)
 * Casey DeSantis, former WJXT newscaster and First Lady of Florida (2019–present)
 * Ashley Moody, Attorney General of Florida (2019–present)
 * Jeanette Nuñez, Lieutenant Governor of Florida (2019–present)
 * Jimmy Patronis, Chief Financial Officer of Florida (2017–present)
 * Marco Rubio, U.S. senator from Florida and candidate for president in 2016
 * Anthony Sabatini, chair of the Lake County Republican Party (2022–present), former state representative from the 32nd district (2018–2022), and candidate for FL's 7th congressional district in 2022 and the FL's 11th congressional district in 2024
 * Wilton Simpson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2023–present)
 * Francis Suarez, mayor of Miami (2017–present) and candidate for president in 2024

Declined

 * Matt Gaetz, U.S. Representative from FL's 1st congressional district (2017−present)

Polling

 * Casey DeSantis vs. Matt Gaetz

Publicly expressed interest

 * Shevrin Jones, state senator from the 35th district (2020–present) and chair of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party (2024–present)
 * Jared Moskowitz, U.S. Representative from FL's 23rd congressional district (2023–present)

Potential

 * Lauren Book, Minority Leader of the Florida Senate (2023–present) from the 35th district (2016–present)
 * Donna Deegan, mayor of Jacksonville (2023–present)
 * Fentrice Driskell, minority leader of the Florida House of Representatives (2022–present) from the 67th district (2018–present)
 * Anna Eskamani, state representative from 42nd district (2018–present)
 * Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party (2023–present), former Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (2019–2023), and candidate for governor in 2022
 * Jason Pizzo, state senator from the 37th district (2018–present)

Publicly expressed interest

 * John Morgan, lawyer and founder of Morgan & Morgan