Florida Heads to August 18 Primaries With Governor and Senate Races Atop the Ballot

Florida voters go to the polls Aug. 18 for closed party primaries that will set the November field in the most consequential state election cycle in nearly a decade. Two statewide contests sit at the top of the ballot: an open race for governor, and a U.S. Senate special election to fill the remainder of the term vacated when Marco Rubio became secretary of state.

The governor's race is open because Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited under the Florida Constitution, which bars a third consecutive term. It is the first Florida gubernatorial election without an incumbent on the ballot since 2018, and the first since 2010 in which neither major party has a sitting governor seeking reelection.

Below those races, all 28 of Florida's U.S. House seats are on the ballot under a mid-decade redrawn congressional map, along with state legislative seats, judicial races, county offices, and proposed constitutional amendments. Turnout in Florida primaries is typically far lower than in general elections, which magnifies the influence of the voters who do participate.

The governor's race

On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds has led public polling of the primary field consistently through the spring and summer, with surveys showing him well ahead of the rest of the field. A significant share of Republican primary voters has remained undecided in those surveys, a common pattern in low-information primary races until the final weeks.

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, appointed to the office by DeSantis, is also seeking the nomination. Collins recently brought an unsuccessful court challenge to the residency qualifications of another Republican candidate, investment executive James Fishback, who was allowed to remain on the ballot after a Leon County circuit judge rejected the challenge this week.

On the Democratic side, polling has shown former U.S. Rep. David Jolly with an early lead over Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, with a majority of Democratic primary voters undecided in surveys taken earlier this year. Jolly, a former Republican congressman from the Tampa Bay area, switched parties and has campaigned as a Democrat.

Florida has trended Republican in statewide elections over the past two cycles, and Republicans now hold a substantial voter registration advantage over Democrats statewide, a reversal of the historical pattern that held for most of the state's modern political history.

The U.S. Senate special election

The Senate special election exists because Rubio left the Senate in January 2025 to serve as secretary of state. DeSantis appointed then-Attorney General Ashley Moody to the seat, and Moody is now running to hold it. Under Florida law and the federal constitutional framework for Senate vacancies, the appointee serves until a special election fills the remainder of the term.

Moody faces Republican primary challengers including Neelam Taneja Perry, Chris Gleason, and Ernie Rivera. She has substantially outraised her primary opponents and has secured endorsements from President Donald Trump and a broad set of Florida Republican officials and organizations.

On the Democratic side, Alex Vindman and Angie Nixon are competing for the nomination. Vindman, a retired Army officer who became nationally known during the first Trump impeachment proceedings, has drawn national fundraising attention. Nixon is a state representative from Jacksonville.

The seat is one of a handful nationally that could influence Senate control, which gives the Florida race outsized attention from national party committees and outside spending groups. Florida is an expensive state to campaign in, with 10 separate media markets ranging from Pensacola to Key West.

Congressional races under a new map

Florida's congressional districts were redrawn in a special legislative session earlier this year, an unusual mid-decade redistricting undertaken ahead of the midterms. The Legislature passed the new map, with the House approving it 83 to 28 and the Senate 21 to 17.

Florida's delegation currently stands at 20 Republicans and eight Democrats across 28 seats. Analysts assessing the new lines based on voter registration and past performance have projected the map could shift that balance further toward Republicans, though actual outcomes depend on candidates, spending, and national conditions.

Opponents have argued the mid-decade redraw conflicts with the Fair Districts amendments Florida voters added to the state constitution in 2010, which prohibit drawing districts with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent. Legal challenges to the map have been anticipated since it passed.

For voters, the practical consequence is that many Floridians are voting in a different congressional district than they did in 2024. County supervisors of elections mail new voter information cards when district assignments change, and voters can confirm their district through the Florida Division of Elections.

What else is on the ballot

Florida's November ballot includes proposed constitutional amendments, the most closely watched of which would expand homestead property tax exemptions and place new restrictions on local government use of property tax revenue. That measure has drawn organized opposition from local government associations, fire service organizations, and the Florida Democratic Party, along with multiple lawsuits over its ballot summary language.

State legislative races will determine the composition of the Florida House and Senate for the 2027 session. Republicans currently hold supermajorities in both chambers, which allows the Legislature to place constitutional amendments on the ballot and override vetoes without Democratic support.

Judicial races, including circuit and county judge contests, appear on the August ballot in many counties, and those races are nonpartisan and often decided outright in August if a candidate wins a majority. School board races are also nonpartisan and frequently decided in the primary.

County-level offices including sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector, clerk of court, and supervisor of elections are on ballots across the state. In counties where all qualified candidates are from one party, Florida's universal primary provision opens that race to all registered voters regardless of affiliation.

How to vote in Florida's primary

Florida uses closed primaries, meaning voters may only vote in the primary of the party with which they are registered. The deadline to change party affiliation ahead of the August primary has passed, so the electorate for each party's primary is now fixed.

Vote-by-mail requires an active request on file with the county supervisor of elections. Florida law now requires voters to renew mail ballot requests each general election cycle rather than allowing them to carry over indefinitely, a change that has caused some longtime mail voters to be caught without a ballot.

Early voting periods are set by each county supervisor within a window established by state law, and hours and locations vary by county. Election Day polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, and voters in line at 7 p.m. are entitled to vote.

Voters can verify registration, party affiliation, precinct, sample ballots, and mail ballot status through their county supervisor of elections office or the Florida Division of Elections website.

Turnout patterns in Florida primaries

Primary turnout in Florida typically falls well below general election turnout, often by a margin of half or more. That gap means primaries are decided by a smaller and generally older, more partisan, and more consistently voting electorate than the November contests.

The August timing compounds the effect. Late summer in Florida coincides with vacation travel, the start of the school year, and the beginning of hurricane season activity, all of which historically depress participation relative to spring or fall election dates.

Vote-by-mail has changed the composition of primary electorates over the past decade, though usage patterns shifted after the Legislature required voters to renew mail ballot requests each general election cycle. Some longtime mail voters have been surprised to find no ballot arriving.

County supervisors of elections report turnout data as voting proceeds, including early voting and mail ballot returns by party. Those figures are published daily during the early voting period and are watched closely by campaigns for signals about the shape of the electorate.

Money and media in a 10-market state

Florida is among the most expensive states in which to run a statewide campaign. The state contains 10 distinct media markets, from Pensacola in the west to Miami-Fort Lauderdale in the southeast, with no single market reaching a dominant share of the electorate.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg, Orlando-Daytona Beach, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale markets together reach a large majority of Florida voters, which is why statewide campaigns concentrate spending along the Interstate 4 corridor and in South Florida.

South Florida adds language and media diversity that requires separate strategies. Spanish-language broadcast and radio reach substantial Cuban American, Venezuelan, Colombian, and Puerto Rican populations, and Creole-language outlets serve the Haitian American community.

Campaign finance reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections and, for federal candidates, the Federal Election Commission provide the public record of fundraising and spending. Political committees operating independently of campaigns account for a large share of Florida political spending.

What's next

The three weeks before the primary are typically when the heaviest advertising spending lands, particularly in the Tampa, Orlando, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale markets, which together reach a large share of Florida's electorate. Candidates with fundraising advantages generally deploy that spending late.

Any appeals from ballot access litigation, including the Fishback residency ruling, would need to be resolved on a compressed schedule to have practical effect. Ballots are already being printed and mailed, including to overseas and military voters under federal deadlines.

After Aug. 18, the general election campaign runs to Nov. 3. Florida general elections increasingly feature heavy spending on the governor's race and, in this cycle, a Senate contest with national implications for chamber control.

Election results on primary night are reported by county supervisors and aggregated by the Division of Elections. Florida generally reports results relatively quickly compared with other large states, in part because mail ballots may be processed and tabulated before Election Day.