Governor Of Florida

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

	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
	Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis; Republican Party; Assumed office: January 8, 2019
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 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

The Governor 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 Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

Florida has a Republican triplex. 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[edit]

The 46th and current governor of Florida is Ron DeSantis (R). He was first elected in 2018.

Before becoming governor, DeSantis was a Republican member of the U.S. House from the 6th Congressional District of Florida.^[2]

Authority[edit]

The state constitution establishes the office of the governor in Article IV, the Executive Department.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

The supreme executive power shall be vested in a governor.^[1]

Qualifications[edit]

Per Article IV, Section 5 of the state 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

(b) When elected, the governor, lieutenant governor and each cabinet member must be an elector not less than thirty years of age who has resided in the state for the preceding seven years. The attorney general must have been a member of the bar of Florida for the preceding five years. No person who has, or but for resignation would have, served as governor or acting governor for more than six years in two consecutive terms shall be elected governor for the succeeding term. ^[1]

Elections[edit]

Florida state government organizational chart

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 in Article IV, Section 5 of the Florida Constitution.^[1]

2022[edit]

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Florida

Incumbent Ron DeSantis defeated Charlie Crist, Carmen Gimenez, and Hector Roos 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 are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,771,399
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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

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

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Florida

Charlie Crist defeated Nikki Fried, Cadance Daniel, and Robert Willis 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 no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,514,988
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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)
David Nelson Freeman (D)
Njällssen Amaro Lionheart (D)
Annette Taddeo (D)
Alex Lundmark (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Ron DeSantis advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Florida.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

John Joseph Mercadante (R)

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Hector Roos advanced from the Libertarian primary for Governor of Florida.

2018[edit]

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 no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,220,560 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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

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

Democratic primary election

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 no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,519,492
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 election

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 no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,622,124
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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)

2014[edit]

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-Cantera Incumbent	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 via Florida Division of Elections

Term limits[edit]

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

No person who has, or but for resignation would have, served as governor or acting governor for more than six years in two consecutive terms shall be elected governor for the succeeding term.^[1]

Partisan composition[edit]

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

Vacancies[edit]

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article IV, Section 3 of the Florida 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 the Supreme Court agree on the governor's mental or physical unfitness for office, they may suspend and reinstate the governor, pursuant to § 3.

Duties[edit]

The Governor of Florida is the chief executive of Florida 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 the Florida 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, the Florida 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.^[3]

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[edit]

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^[4]

State budget[edit]

Role in state budget[edit]

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:^[5]

In June or July, the governor sends budget instructions to state agencies.
In September or October, agencies submit their budget requests to the governor.
Budget hearings are held with the public from October through February.
The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature 30 days before the legislature convenes.
The legislature adopts a budget in March, April, or May, effective for the fiscal year beginning on July 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.^[5]

Florida is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.^[5]^[6]

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.^[7]

Governor's office budget[edit]

The budget for the Governor's Office in Fiscal Year 2025 was $1,417,367,261.^[8]

Compensation[edit]

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

The salaries of elected executive officials in Florida are determined by state law as mandated in the Florida Constitution. Article II, Section 5 of the state constitution states that compensation of state officers is determined by the Florida State Legislature.^[9]

Text of Section 5:

Public Officers

(a) No person holding any office of emolument under any foreign government, or civil office of emolument under the United States or any other state, shall hold any office of honor or of emolument under the government of this state. No person shall hold at the same time more than one office under the government of the state and the counties and municipalities therein, except that a notary public or military officer may hold another office, and any officer may be a member of a constitution revision commission, taxation and budget reform commission, constitutional convention, or statutory body having only advisory powers.

(b) Each state and county officer, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall give bond as required by law, and shall swear or affirm:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of Florida; that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the state; and that I will well and faithfully perform the duties of (title of office) on which I am now about to enter. So help me God.”,and thereafter shall devote personal attention to the duties of the office, and continue in office until a successor qualifies.

(c) The powers, duties, compensation and method of payment of state and county officers shall be fixed by law.