Governor of Florida

Head of state and of government of the U.S. state of Florida

For a list, see List of governors of Florida.

Governor of Florida

Seal of the State of Florida

Flag of the State of Florida

Incumbent
Ron DeSantis

since January 8, 2019

Executive branch of the Florida government
Style|

* Governor (informal)
* The Honorable (formal)
* His Excellency (courtesy)

Type|

* Head of state
* Head of government
* Commander-in-chief

Residence| Florida Governor's Mansion
Seat| Tallahassee, Florida
Appointer| Popular vote
Term length| Four years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrument| Constitution of Florida
Precursor| Governor of the Florida Territory
Formation| June 25, 1845
(180 years ago) (1845-06-25)
First holder| William Dunn Moseley
Succession| Line of succession
Deputy| Lieutenant Governor of Florida
Salary| $134,181 (2023)[1]
Website| flgov.com

Politics of Florida

Constitution and law

* United States Constitution
* Florida Constitution
* Florida law

Executive

* Governor: Ron DeSantis (R)
* Lieutenant Governor: Jeanette Nuñez (R)
* Cabinet
* Attorney General: Vacant
* Chief Financial Officer: Jimmy Patronis (R)
* Commissioner of Agriculture: Wilton Simpson (R)
* State agencies

Legislature

* Senate
* President: Ben Albritton (R)
* President pro Tempore: Jason Brodeur (R)
* Majority Leader: Jim Boyd (R)
* Minority Leader: Jason Pizzo (D)
* House
* Speaker: Daniel Perez (R)
* Speaker pro Tempore: Wyman Duggan (R)
* Majority Leader: Tyler Sirois (R)
* Minority Leader: Fentrice Driskell (D)

Judiciary

* Supreme Court
* Chief Justice: Carlos G. Muñiz
* District courts of appeal
* Circuit courts
* County courts

Elections

* Political parties
* Democratic Party
* Republican Party
* Constitution Party
* Ecology Party
* Green Party
* Independent Party
* Libertarian Party
* Party for Socialism and Liberation
* National minor parties
* Political party strength

Administrative divisions

* Counties
* Municipalities

Congressional delegation

* U.S. Senate
* Marco Rubio (R)
* Rick Scott (R)
* U.S. House of Representatives
* 1: vacant
* 2: Neal Dunn (R)
* 3: Kat Cammack (R)
* 4: Aaron Bean (R)
* 5: John Rutherford (R)
* 6: Mike Waltz (R)
* 7: Cory Mills (R)
* 8: Bill Posey (R)
* 9: Darren Soto (D)
* 10: Maxwell Frost (D)
* 11: Daniel Webster (R)
* 12: Gus Bilirakis (R)
* 13: Anna Paulina Luna (R)
* 14: Kathy Castor (D)
* 15: Laurel Lee (R)
* 16: Vern Buchanan (R)
* 17: Greg Steube (R)
* 18: Scott Franklin (R)
* 19: Byron Donalds (R)
* 20: Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D)
* 21: Brian Mast (R)
* 22: Lois Frankel (D)
* 23: Jared Moskowitz (D)
* 24: Frederica Wilson (D)
* 25: Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)
* 26: Mario Díaz-Balart (R)
* 27: Maria Elvira Salazar (R)
* 28: Carlos A. Giménez (R)

* Politics of the United States
* Politics portal Florida portal

* v
* t
* e

The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Florida and is the commander-in-chief of the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard.[2]

Established in the Constitution of Florida, the governor's responsibilities include ensuring the enforcement of state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida Legislature,[3] overseeing state agencies, issuing executive orders, proposing and overseeing the state budget, and making key appointments to state offices. The governor also has the power to call special sessions of the legislature[4] and grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.[5]

When Florida was first acquired by the United States, future president Andrew Jackson served as its military governor. Florida Territory was established in 1822 and five people served as governor over 6 distinct terms. The first territorial governor, William Pope Duval, served 12 years, the longest of any Florida governor to date.

Since statehood in 1845, there have been 45 people who have served as governor, one of whom served two distinct terms. Four state governors have served two full four-year terms: William D. Bloxham, in two stints, as well as Reubin Askew, Jeb Bush and Rick Scott who each served their terms consecutively. Bob Graham almost served two full terms but resigned with three days left in his term in order to take a seat in the United States Senate.[6] The shortest term in office belongs to Wayne Mixson, who served three days following Graham's resignation.

The current officeholder is Ron DeSantis, a member of the Republican Party who took office on January 8, 2019.

## Eligibility and requirements

[edit]

Article IV, Section 5(b), of the Florida Constitution states that, for a person to serve as governor, they must:[7]

* Be at least thirty years old;
* Be a citizen of the United States;
* 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.

## Election, oath of office and removal

[edit]

Governors of Florida are directly elected by registered voters in Florida and serve terms of four years, renewable once consecutively. Before executing the powers of the office, a governor is required to recite the oath of office as found in Article II, Section 5 of the Constitution of Florida:

> 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 Governor on which I am now about to enter. So help me God.

### Removal of a governor from office

[edit]

The governor can be impeached by the State House of Representatives for committing treason, bribery, or any other high crime or misdemeanor. Once the governor is impeached, the case is forwarded to the State Senate for trial. A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is required to remove the governor from office. Unlike other states, Florida does not have a provision in the state constitution that allows voters to petition for a recall election to remove the governor.[8]

## Official residence and workplace

[edit]

Main article: Florida Governor's Mansion

The Florida Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee, Florida.

The official residence of the governor of Florida is the Florida Governor's Mansion, in Tallahassee. The mansion was built in 1956, was designed to resemble Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, and since July 20, 2006 is part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is also one of the official workplaces for the governor.

The governor's primary official workplace is located within the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee.

## Line of succession

[edit]

See also: Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States § Florida

The governor of Florida line of succession is set by Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution of Florida[9] and Florida Statute 14.055.[10]

No. | Office  | Current officeholder  | Party

|
|
|

1  | Lieutenant Governor | Vacant  |  |
2  | Attorney General | James Uthmeier |  | Republican
3  | Chief Financial Officer | Vacant  |  |
4  | Commissioner of Agriculture | Wilton Simpson |  | Republican

## Timeline

[edit]

Timeline of Florida governors

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Salary charts for statewide elected officials" (PDF). New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial, & Executive Compensation. June 27, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
2. ^ FL Const. art. IV, § 1a
3. ^ FL Const. art. III, § 8
4. ^ FL Const. art. III, § 3c
5. ^ FL Const. art. IV, § 8
6. ^ "Mixson To Be Governor for 3 Days; Graham Will Quit Early so He Can Run for U.S. Senate Seat". Orlando Sentinel. July 10, 1986. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
7. ^ "Article IV, Florida Constitution". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
8. ^ FL Const. art. III, § 17
9. ^ "Constitution of Florida: Article IV, Section 3". Florida Legislature. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
10. ^ "Florida Statutes 14.055". Law Server. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

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State of Florida

Tallahassee (capital)

History|

* Timeline
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Geography|

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Major
hurricanes|

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Society|

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Environment|

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Other|

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Florida portal

* v
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Governors of Florida

Military (1821)|

* Jackson

Territorial (1822–1845)|

* Duval
* Eaton
* Call
* Reid
* Call
* Branch

State (since 1845)|

* Moseley
* Brown
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* Perry
* Milton
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* Marvin
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* Perry
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* Graham
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* Martinez
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* MacKay
* Bush
* Crist
* Scott
* DeSantis

* v
* t
* e

Statewide political officials of Florida

U.S. senators|

* Rick Scott
* Ashley Moody

State government|

* Ron DeSantis, Governor
* Vacant, Lieutenant Governor
* James Uthmeier, Attorney General
* Blaise Ingoglia, Chief Financial Officer
* Wilton Simpson, Agriculture Commissioner
* Cord Byrd, Secretary of State (appointed)

Senate|

* Ben Albritton, President
* Jason Brodeur, President pro tempore
* Jim Boyd, Majority Leader
* Lori Berman, Minority Leader

House|

* Daniel Perez, Speaker
* Wyman Duggan, Speaker pro tempore
* Tyler Sirois, Majority Leader
* Fentrice Driskell, Minority Leader

Supreme Court
(appointed)|

* Carlos G. Muñiz, Chief Justice
* Charles Canady
* Jorge Labarga
* John D. Couriel
* Jamie Grosshans
* Renatha Francis
* Meredith Sasso, Justices

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Chief executives of the United States

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Defunct|

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