Florida Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$141,400
2025 FY Budget:	$1,417,367,261
Term limits:	2 consecutive terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder(s)
Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis Republican Party Assumed office: January 8, 2019
Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2022
Other Florida Executive Offices
Governor•Lieutenant Governor•Secretary of State•Attorney General•Chief Financial Officer•Commissioner of Education•Agriculture Commissioner•Insurance Commissioner•Environmental Protection Secretary•Economic Opportunity Secretary•Public Service Commission

TheGovernor of the State of Florida is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch, and the highest state office in Florida. The governor is elected by popular election every four years. There is no lifetime limit on the number of times he or she may be elected, but a governor who has been elected to two consecutive terms must be out of office for at least one election cycle before being eligible for re-election.^[1]

Florida has a Republicantrifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

Florida has a Republicantriplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

See also:Florida State Legislature,Florida House of Representatives,Florida State Senate

Current officeholder

The current Governor of Florida isRon DeSantis (R). DeSantis assumed office in 2019.

Authority

Thestate constitution establishes the office of the governor inArticle IV, the Executive Department.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016 •2015 •2014
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016 •2015 •2014

PerArticle IV, Section 5 of thestate constitution, the governor must be at least 30 years old and have been a resident and registered voter of Florida for at least seven years.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 5

Elections

See also:Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also:Election of governors

Florida elects governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years. For Florida, 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030, and 2034 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following an election. The procedures for electing Florida's governor is laid out inArticle IV, Section 5 of theFlorida Constitution.^[1]

Term limits

See also:States with gubernatorial term limits

Florida governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait one term before being eligible to run again.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 5

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Florida governors from 1992 to 2013.

Election results

• 2030
• 2026
• 2022
• 2018

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2030

There are noofficial candidates yet for this election.

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 18, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Governor of Florida

The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of Florida on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Brandon L. McIntyre (Constitution Party)
		Scott Jewett (L)
	Submit photo	Surindar Bedi (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	James Brown (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Jeffrey Peter Datto (No Party Affiliation)
		Moliere Dimanche (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Insley Evans (No Party Affiliation)
		Kyle Gibson (No Party Affiliation)
		Neil Gillespie (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Mourice Hylton (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Holly Klask (No Party Affiliation)
		Andrea Lynn Klink (No Party Affiliation)
		Jason Pizzo (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Frank J. Russo (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	David Wexler (No Party Affiliation)
	Submit photo	Reginald Strachan (Independent)
		Rodney Glover (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)

---

	There are noincumbents in this race.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Florida on August 18, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Faith E. Antonio
		Evelyn Castillo-Bach
		Richard Dembinsky
		Jerry Demings
		Thomas E. Fernandez
		Dayna Foster
	Submit photo	Indony Jean Baptiste
		David Jolly
		Charles Lewis I
	Submit photo	Donald Peterson
	Submit photo	Christopher Powell
	Submit photo	Jessica Vernekar

---

	There are noincumbents in this race.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Florida on August 18, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	William Todd Andros
		Jay Collins
		Shea Cruel
		Byron Donalds
		James Fishback
	Submit photo	Jim Holcomb
	Submit photo	Daniel Imperato
		John Joseph Mercadante
		William Reicherter
		Paul Renner
	Submit photo	Rachel Rodriguez
	Submit photo	Caneste Succe
		Bobby Williams Jr.

---

	There are noincumbents in this race.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matthew Taylor (R)

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Florida

IncumbentRon DeSantis (R) defeatedCharlie Crist (D),Carmen Gimenez (No Party Affiliation), andHector Roos (L) in the general election for Governor of Florida on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron DeSantis (R)	59.4	4,614,210
		Charlie Crist (D)	40.0	3,106,313
		Carmen Gimenez (No Party Affiliation)	0.4	31,577
		Hector Roos (L)	0.2	19,299

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,771,399
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Frank Hughes Jr. (No Party Affiliation)
• Jodi Jeloudov (No Party Affiliation)
• Mark Graham (Unity Party)
• Piotr Blass (No Party Affiliation)
• Kyle Gibson (No Party Affiliation)
• James Thompson (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Governor of Florida

Charlie Crist (D) defeatedNikki Fried (D),Cadance Daniel (D), andRobert Willis (D) in the Democratic primary for Governor of Florida on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Charlie Crist	59.7	904,524
		Nikki Fried	35.3	535,480
		Cadance Daniel	2.5	38,198
		Robert Willis	2.4	36,786

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,514,988
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Dembinsky (D)
• Njällssen Amaro Lionheart (D)
• Alex Lundmark (D)
• David Nelson Freeman (D)
• Annette Taddeo (D)

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for August 23, 2022, was canceled. IncumbentRon DeSantis (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Florida without appearing on the ballot.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Joseph Mercadante (R)

Libertarian Party primary

The Libertarian Party primary scheduled for August 23, 2022, was canceled.Hector Roos (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party primary for Governor of Florida without appearing on the ballot.

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Florida

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Florida on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron DeSantis (R)	49.6	4,076,186
		Andrew Gillum (D)	49.2	4,043,723
		Darcy Richardson (Reform Party)	0.6	47,140
		Kyle Gibson (No Party Affiliation)	0.3	24,310
	Submit photo	Ryan Foley (No Party Affiliation)	0.2	14,630
		Bruce Stanley (No Party Affiliation)	0.2	14,505
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0%	66

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,220,560 (100% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Randy Wiseman (L)
• Raphael Herman (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Florida on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andrew Gillum	34.4	522,164
		Gwen Graham	31.3	474,875
		Philip Levine	20.3	308,801
		Jeff Greene	10.1	152,955
		Christopher King	2.5	37,616
	Submit photo	John Wetherbee	0.9	14,426
		Alex Lundmark	0.6	8,655

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,519,4920
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Dembinsky (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Florida on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron DeSantis	56.5	916,298
		Adam Putnam	36.5	592,518
		Bob White	2.0	32,710
	Submit photo	Timothy Devine	1.3	21,380
	Submit photo	Bob Langford	1.2	19,842
		Bruce Nathan	0.9	14,556
	Submit photo	Don Baldauf	0.8	13,173
		John Joseph Mercadante	0.7	11,647

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,622,1240
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Angel Rivera (R)

Previous election results

2014

See also:Florida Gubernatorial and Lieutenant Gubernatorial election, 2014

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Scott/Carlos Lopez-CanteraIncumbent	48.1%	2,865,343
	Democratic	Charlie Crist/Annette Taddeo-Goldstein	47.1%	2,801,198
	Libertarian	Adrian Wyllie/Greg Roe	3.8%	223,356
	No Party Affiliation	Glenn Burkett/Jose Augusto Matos	0.7%	41,341
	No Party Affiliation	Farid Khavari/Lateresa Jones	0.3%	20,186
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0%	137
Total Votes				5,951,561
Election results viaFlorida Division of Elections

Vacancies

See also:How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed underArticle IV, Section 3 of theFlorida Constitution.

Whenever the governor is unable or unwilling to discharge the office, either temporarily or permanently, the lieutenant governor takes over all the duties of the governorship either until the governor is able to resume the office or until the next election.

At any time that the governor is on trial for impeachment, the lieutenant governor becomes the acting governor.

Additionally, at any time that three members of the cabinet and the Chief Justice of theSupreme Court agree on the governor's mental or physical unfitness for office, they may suspend and reinstate the governor, pursuant to§ 3.

Duties

The Governor of Florida is the chief executive ofFlorida and serves as chairman of the Florida cabinet. The governor has the power to execute Florida's laws and to call out the state militia to preserve the public peace, being commander-in-chief of the state's military forces that are not in active service of the United States. At least once every legislative session, the governor is required to deliver an address to theFlorida Legislature, referred to as the "State of the State Address," regarding the condition and operation of the state government and to suggest new legislation. These primary duties are laid out in § 1 (a).

Additionally, the governor may initiate judicial action against a state, county, or municipal officer to enforce compliance with law and the duties of the individual's office, may request opinions and interpretations of constitutional matters from the members of the Florida Supreme Court, and may fill all vacancies in elected and appointed office where the law does not otherwise prescribe the method.^[1]

In March 2012, theFlorida Legislature passed legislation that expanded the powers of the governor to include more oversight over agency rulemaking, members of local jobs agencies, and the distribution of money used to recruit new business to relocate to Florida.^[2]

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• assigning official duties to the lieutenant governor, in addition to those set forth by law (§ 2).
• casting a tie breaking vote when needed in cabinet matters
• under § 4 (e), sitting as chair of the Florida Board of Administration, pursuant to Article IX, Section 16 of the Constitution of 1885, and which shall continue as a body at least for the life of Article XII, Section 9(c).
• under § 4 (f), sitting as chair of the trustees of the internal improvement trust fund and the land acquisition trust fund
• under § 4 (g),sitting as agency chair of the state Department of Law Enforcement
• suspending and reinstating all officers, including militia officers, for any reason related to neglect, incompetence, or inability to fulfill duties; the exception applies in cases of impeachment (§ 7).
• excepting cases of treason and impeachment, suspend fines and grant reprieves, pardons, and clemency; by himself or herself, the governor may suspend a fine for up to 60 days. For more substantial matters, two cabinet matters must concur (§ 8).
• cooperating with the cabinet, making all necessary budget reductions in the event of a revenue shortfall (§ 13).

Divisions

Florida state government organizational chart

Updated January 14, 2021

• Administration Office
• Appointments Office
• Cabinet Affairs
• Chief Inspector General’s Office
• Citizen Services
• Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities
• Communications Office
• Executive Office
• External Affairs
• Office of General Counsel
• Information Systems
• Legislative Affairs
• Office of Adoption and Child Protection
• Office of Open Government
• Office of Policy and Budget
• Scheduling^[3]

State budget

Role in state budget

See also:Florida state budget and finances

The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:^[4]

1. InJune orJuly, thegovernor sends budget instructions to state agencies.
2. InSeptember orOctober, agencies submit their budget requests to the governor.
3. Budget hearings are held with the public fromOctober through February.
4. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to thestate legislature30 days before the legislature convenes.
5. The legislature adopts a budget inMarch,April, orMay, effective for the fiscal year beginning onJuly 1. A simple majority is required to pass a budget.

The governor is statutorily required to submit a balanced budget to the legislature. In turn, the legislature must pass a balanced budget, and any budget signed into law by the governor must be balanced.^[4]

Florida is one of 44 states in which the governor hasline item veto authority.^[4][5]

Florida budgets three major funds: the General Fund, the Major Special Revenue Fund, and the Special Revenue Fund. Both the Major Special Revenue Fund and the Special Revenue Fund are composed of lesser funds. The Major Special Revenue Fund is composed of three lesser funds, and the Special Revenue Fund is composed of about 19 to 20 lesser funds.^[6]

Governor's office budget

The budget for the Governor's Office in Fiscal Year 2025 was $1,417,367,261.^[7]

Compensation

See also:Comparison of gubernatorial salaries andCompensation of state executive officers

The salaries of elected executive officials in Florida are determined by state law as mandated in theFlorida Constitution.Article II, Section 5 of the state constitution states that compensation of state officers is determined by theFlorida State Legislature.^[8]

2023

In 2023, the officer's salary was $141,400, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[9]

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $134,181, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[10]

2021

In 2021, the governor received a salary of $134,181, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[11]

2020

In 2020, the governor's salary was $130,273, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[12]

2019

In 2019, the governor's salary was $130,273, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[13]

2018

In 2018, the governor's salary was $130,273.Rick Scott (R) refused his salary according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[14]

2017

In 2017, the governor received a salary of $130,273, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[15]

2016

In 2016, the governor received a salary of $130,273, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[16]

2015

In 2015, the governor received a salary of $130,273, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[17]

2014

In 2014, Gov.Rick Scott (R) did not collect his salary of $130,273, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[18]

2013

In 2013, the governor's salary was $130,273, but Gov.Rick Scott (R) refused to accept compensation.^[19]

2010

In 2010, the governor was paid $130,273 a year, according to theCouncil of State Governments.^[20]

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also:Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States andBallotpedia:Who Runs the States, Florida

Partisan breakdown of the Florida governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, in Florida there were Democratic governors in office for 7 years while there were Republican governors in office for 14 years. Florida was under Republicantrifectas for the last three years of the study period.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of theOffice of the Governor of Florida, theFlorida State Senate and theFlorida House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Florida state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. During the years studied, Florida achieved place in the top-10 in only one year (2007). The state had one Democratic trifecta in 1992, while it has had a Republican trifecta for a total of fourteen years. Florida’s most precipitous drop in the SQLI ranking occurred between 2007 and 2008, when the state dropped from 8th to 19th. Florida also experienced a significant drop in the ranking between 2009 and 2010.

• SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: 29.00
• SQLI average with Republican trifecta: 19.00
• SQLI average with divided government: 29.71

Chart displaying the partisanship of Florida government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

Historical officeholders

There have been 46 governors since 1845. Of the 46 officeholders, nine were Republican, 34 were Democrat, one was Whig, one was Democrat/Prohibition, and one was Provisional.^[21]

State profile

Presidential voting pattern

See also:Presidential voting trends in Florida

Floridavoted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted forDonald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting forBarack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won thesePivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.^[22]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won asRetained Pivot Counties and those won byJoe Biden (D) asBoomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.

More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Florida
• United States congressional delegations from Florida
• Public policy in Florida
• Endorsers in Florida
• Florida fact checks
• More...

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the termsGovernor Florida. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Contact information

Address:Executive Office of Governor Ron DeSantis
400 S Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Phone: (850) 488-7146
E-mail: GovernorRon.Desantis@eog.myflorida.com

See also

Florida	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis
Florida State Executive OfficesFlorida State LegislatureFlorida Courts	2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016Florida elections:2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016	Party control of state governmentState government trifectasState of the state addressesPartisan composition of governors

External links

• Office of the Governor of Florida website

Footnotes

	v • e State ofFlorida Tallahassee (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? |Elections in 2026 |How to vote |How to run for office |Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? |U.S. President |U.S. Congress |Federal courts |State executives |State legislature |State and local courts |Counties |Cities |School districts |Public policy