Florida gubernatorial election, 2018

Florida gubernatorial election, 2018

November 6, 2018

Party Republican Democratic

Incumbent Governor Rick Scott Republican

The 2018 Florida gubernatorial election will take place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of Florida, concurrently with the election of Florida's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various Florida and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third consecutive term.

Republican primary

Candidates

Potential

• Rick Baker, former Mayor of St. Petersburg^[1][2]
• Richard Corcoran, State Representative^[3]
• Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and candidate for President of the United States in 2008 and 2016^[4][5]
• Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture^[6]
• Will Weatherford, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives^[6][7]

Declined

• Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer of Florida^[6][8]
• Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General^[6][9]
• Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator and candidate for President of the United States in 2016^[10][11]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jeff Atwater	Rick Baker	Pam Bondi	Richard Corcoran	Mike Huckabee	Adam Putnam	Will Weatherford	Other	Undecided
St. Pete Polls	August 2, 2016	1,835	± 2.3%	6.8%	2.8%	25.6%	1.1%	37.1%	7.7%	0.6%	6.6%	11.7%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Potential

• Bob Buckhorn, Mayor of Tampa^[12][13][14]
• Kathy Castor, U.S. Representative^[15][16]
• Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando^[6]
• Andrew Gillum, Mayor of Tallahassee^[17]
• Gwen Graham, U.S. Representative^[18][19]
• Grant Hill, businessman and retired NBA player^[20]
• Philip Levine, Mayor of Miami Beach^[21][22]
• John Morgan, attorney^[23]
• Jeremy Ring, State Senator^[24]
• Jack Seiler, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale^[6]

Declined

• Charlie Crist, U.S. Representative-elect, former Republican turned Independent Governor, nominee for Governor in 2014 and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010^[25][26][27]

• Rick Kriseman, Mayor of St. Petersburg^[28]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Buckhorn	Charlie Crist	Buddy Dyer	Gwen Graham	Philip Levine	Jeremy Ring	Other	Undecided
St. Pete Polls	August 2, 2016	1,807	± 2.3%	9%	37.9%	10.1%	12.3%	3.3%	0.9%	6.9%	19.4%

General election

Polling

with Gwen Graham

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Pam Bondi (R)	Gwen Graham (D)	Undecided
Gravis Marketing	November 22–25, 2016	3,250	± 2.4%	36%	44%	20%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Adam Putnam (R)	Gwen Graham (D)	Undecided
Gravis Marketing	November 22–25, 2016	3,250	± 2.4%	34%	37%	30%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Jolly (R)	Gwen Graham (D)	Undecided
Gravis Marketing	November 22–25, 2016	3,250	± 2.4%	29%	40%	31%

with John Morgan

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Pam Bondi (R)	John Morgan (D)	Undecided
Gravis Marketing	November 22–25, 2016	3,250	± 2.4%	35%	45%	20%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Adam Putnam (R)	John Morgan (D)	Undecided
Gravis Marketing	November 22–25, 2016	3,250	± 2.4%	35%	39%	26%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Jolly (R)	John Morgan (D)	Undecided
Gravis Marketing	November 22–25, 2016	3,250	± 2.4%	31%	42%	27%

See also

• List of Governors of Florida
• United States gubernatorial elections, 2018

References

1. Smith, Adam C. (April 2, 2016). "Reasons Baker should run, or not". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
2. Smith, Adam C. (April 12, 2016). "Rick Baker won't run for Congress in Pinellas County". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
3. Schorsch, Peter (July 20, 2016). "Richard Corcoran for Governor in 2018?". Florida Politics. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
4. http://floridapolitics.com/archives/217601-mike-huckabee-florida-governor
5. http://stpetepolls.org/files/StPetePolls_2016_State_REP_Primary_August_2_Q8U4.pdf
6. Rosica, James L. (January 11, 2015). "Names emerging for 2018 governor's race". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
7. Bousquet, Steve (May 30, 2016). "Weatherford plots his political future, with a wary eye on Trump". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
8. Smith, Adam C. (November 15, 2016). "A leading Florida political figure rules out another campaign". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
9. Wallace, Jeremy (March 17, 2016). "Pam Bondi says she is not running for governor". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
10. Smith, Adam C. (December 20, 2014). "The Buzz: Political insiders think Marco Rubio might run for governor". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
11. Kane, Paul (March 17, 2016). "An exhausted Marco Rubio returns to Senate, vows not to accept VP or run for governor". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
12. Danielson, Richard (February 15, 2015). "Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn working to raise statewide profile". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
13. Perry, Mitch (October 12, 2015). "Bob Buckhorn still considering 2018 run for governor". Florida Politics. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
14. Danielson, Richard (April 21, 2016). "Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn: No decision on running for governor until after presidential election". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
15. Henderson, Jeff (February 18, 2015). "Kathy Castor Casts an Eye on Tallahassee". Sunshine State News. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
16. Perry, Mitch (February 24, 2015). "Kathy Castor not ruling out future run for higher office". Florida Politics. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
17. Caputo, Marc (November 29, 2016). "Democratic student petition: Tallahassee mayor should run for Florida governor". Politico. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
18. Burlew, Jeff (April 21, 2016). "Gwen Graham might run for governor". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
19. Powers, Scott (June 13, 2016). "Gwen Graham: I want to run for governor". Florida Politics. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
20. "Political Operatives Discuss Presidential Campaigns at Duke". Sanford School of Public Policy. October 26, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
21. Sherman, Amy (April 21, 2016). "Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine hasn't ruled out bid for governor". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
22. Smith, Adam C. (June 10, 2016). "Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine is one to watch for Florida's 2018 governor's race". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
23. Schorsch, Peter (November 14, 2016). "Take seriously the idea of John Morgan running for governor in 2018". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
24. Klas, Mary Ellen (April 21, 2016). "State Sen. Jeremy Ring say he too is exploring a run for governor in 2018". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
25. Auslen, Michael (November 16, 2016). "Charlie Crist joins fight to draft John Morgan for governor". The Miami Herald. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
26. Edwards, Barry (June 3, 2016). "Looking Ahead To The Democratic Scramble For Governor". Alive Tampa Bay. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
27. Munzenrieder, Kyle (March 12, 2015). "Florida's Political Chairs: Who Is Running for Senate in 2016? Governor in 2018?". Miami New Times. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
28. March, William (November 5, 2014). "Buckhorn drops hints future could hold run for governor". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved June 17, 2016.