How to interpret this record

2026 Florida Governor Election: Candidates, Polls & Voting

A ballot brings together several decisions that share an election date but may follow different rules. The office, jurisdiction and stage of the election tell you what each choice means.

Start with the office and the place

An election record describes a particular office or question in a particular jurisdiction. A statewide contest is different from a congressional district, a city council seat or a school district. An address can help connect those boundaries, but a ZIP code alone is not a guarantee of one exact ballot. Use the election authority’s own ballot lookup to confirm the final choices for a voter.

Separate a filing from a ballot appearance

A campaign-finance filing tells you that a financial record exists. It does not, by itself, establish that the person qualified for the November ballot. A primary participant, withdrawn candidate and certified general-election candidate can all leave public records. Read the election stage and the source label before treating a directory as a current candidate list. Registered write-in candidates are a separate category whose rules depend on the jurisdiction.

Read the full elections & ballots guide →

2026 · Governor

Florida governor election

Election Day: November 3, 2026. Meet the published candidates, compare reported surveys and make your voting plan.

Make your voting plan

Florida

Voter registration guideOfficial registration options ↗Open my election officeOfficial voter services ↗Deadlines and rulesCheck your state’s sources →

Who is on the November ballot?

November 3, 2026 · 8 printed ballot names · alphabetical

Republican Party
Byron Donalds
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗
No Party Affiliation
Charles Burkett
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗
Democratic Party
David Jolly
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗
No Party Affiliation
Dean Ocean Abrams
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗
No Party Affiliation
Frank J. Russo
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗
No Party Affiliation
Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗
No Party Affiliation
Moliere "Moe" Dimanche
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗
LPF
Scott Eckhard Jewett
On the November ballot
Official ballot list ↗

Official November list checked 2026-10-16.

November write-in information

Write-in rules and filing deadlines vary by office and state. Check the current official list; the printed roster alone does not establish whether write-ins are eligible. Official write-in information ↗

Dates for November 3

Download calendar ↓

Partial coverage: only the dated entries below have been checked. Confirm other deadlines and exceptions with your election office.

Florida · Sourced election dates
Action	Date	Details and source
Register online	Oct 5, 2026 Passed	Registration deadline for the general election. Official source ↗
Register by mail	Oct 5, 2026 Passed	Registration deadline; confirm method-specific receipt/postmark rules. Official source ↗
Register in person	Oct 5, 2026 Passed	Registration deadline for the general election. Official source ↗
Early voting begins	Oct 24, 2026 3 days left	Mandatory statewide early-voting period begins; counties may offer October 19–23. Official source ↗
Early voting ends	Oct 31, 2026 10 days left	Mandatory period ends; counties may also offer November 1. Official source ↗
Request mail ballot	Oct 22, 2026 1 day left	Request for a mailed ballot must reach the county supervisor by 5 p.m. Official source ↗
Return ballot	Nov 3, 2026 13 days left	Domestic voted ballots must reach the supervisor by 7 p.m. local time; overseas rules differ. Official source ↗

Checked 2026-10-16. Confirm local details and exceptions with your election office.

POLLING · SURVEYS, NOT PREDICTIONS

What do the polls say?

29 survey records

Individual surveys of 2026 contests, including earlier cycle history from 2025. Matchups and populations stay separate; older or hypothetical matchups do not establish who is on the current ballot.

Simple average, not a forecast

Each pollster’s latest general-election survey ending within the last 30 days, with equal weight. Reviewed candidate identities join spelling variants; different matchups and voter populations stay separate. Percentages describe reported support, not a chance of winning.

Newest fieldwork appears first. When dates tie, the default favors more pollsters not marked internal or partisan in this 30-day window. Source labels remain visible; this is not a pollster-quality rating.

Likely voters · 5 polls · 1 of 5 internal or partisan surveys

Sep 14, 2026–Oct 10, 2026 · Lead between the two highest answers: 4.8 percentage points

Reported answer	Average support
Byron Donalds	48.2%
David Jolly	43.4%

Included surveys & calculation

Add each answer’s reported support across these 5 surveys and divide by 5. No house effects, sample weights, undecided allocation or error band is applied. Incomplete numeric matchups are excluded from this calculation but remain in the survey history. Full methodology →

Registered voters · 1 poll

Sep 28, 2026–Oct 4, 2026 · Lead between the two highest answers: 9.0 percentage points

Reported answer	Average support
Byron Donalds	48.0%
David Jolly	39.0%

Included surveys & calculation

Targoz Market Research · fieldwork ended Oct 4, 2026 ↗

Add each answer’s reported support across these 1 surveys and divide by 1. No house effects, sample weights, undecided allocation or error band is applied. Incomplete numeric matchups are excluded from this calculation but remain in the survey history. Full methodology →

Choose a surveyed matchup and population

Hover or tap a date to see the survey and source.

Byron DonaldsDavid Jolly

Survey source

Change Research

Oct 8, 2026 – Oct 10, 2026

920 people surveyed
Likely voters

Byron DonaldsRepublican47%
David JollyDemocratic47%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Read original survey

Party colors: Republican red, Democratic blue, Independent purple. Other or unmatched affiliations are gray. Dash patterns distinguish candidates sharing a color.

Dots show reported support. Lines connect surveys over time—not an average or forecast. Pollsters can differ. Missing values and multiple surveys ending on the same date break the lines.

How to read this chart

No average, trend estimate, or win probability. Different matchups and populations are not combined. Dates mark the last day people were surveyed. The vertical scale always starts at zero; use “Full 0–100% scale” to compare charts on the same scale. The number of people surveyed is the survey sample size, not the number supporting a candidate. Select “Survey source” to inspect every report, including overlapping dots.

Individual survey reports (18)

Latest surveys · selected matchup

Individual reports. Original sources and methodology below.

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican47%
David JollyDemocratic47%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 920 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: Freedom Project USA
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: DEM
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Oct 13, 2026
Provider ID: gov202chaea67d341
Party color sources: Byron Donalds: Republican; David Jolly: Democratic

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican46%
David JollyDemocratic44%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 2,351 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: EDGE Communications
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: Not supplied
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Oct 15, 2026
Provider ID: gov202mdwc8b1a4b5
Party color sources: Byron Donalds: Republican; David Jolly: Democratic

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican45%
David JollyDemocratic45%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 836 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: Florida Politics
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: Not supplied
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Oct 9, 2026
Provider ID: gov202st.5da962b0
Party color sources: Byron Donalds: Republican; David Jolly: Democratic

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican52%
David JollyDemocratic42%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 857 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: The James Madison Institute
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: Not supplied
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Oct 9, 2026
Provider ID: gov202tar4f4b4cfb
Party color sources: David Jolly: Democratic; Byron Donalds: Republican

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican46%
David JollyDemocratic48%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 1,063 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: Freedom Project USA
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: Not supplied
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Sep 29, 2026
Provider ID: gov202cha9102cf63
Party color sources: Byron Donalds: Republican; David Jolly: Democratic

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican51%
David JollyDemocratic39%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 830 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: Not supplied in this feed
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: Not supplied
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Sep 25, 2026
Provider ID: gov202steb5a21bdb
Party color sources: Byron Donalds: Republican; David Jolly: Democratic

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican43.5%
David JollyDemocratic43.4%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 913 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: Florida Politics
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: Not supplied
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Sep 18, 2026
Provider ID: gov202st.6ddeb57c
Party color sources: Byron Donalds: Republican; David Jolly: Democratic

Reported support

Byron DonaldsRepublican46%
David JollyDemocratic41%

0–100% scale · Listed alphabetically

Sample: 848 people surveyed
Population: Likely voters

Survey details & methodology

Reported margin of error: Not supplied in this feed
Method: Not supplied in this feed
Sponsors: Not supplied in this feed
Pollster/sponsor partisan label: Not supplied
Internal poll: Not marked internal by provider
Added by provider: Jul 20, 2026
Provider ID: gov202uni4c4d3f80
Party color sources: Byron Donalds: Republican; David Jolly: Democratic

Labels and figures are supplied by VoteHub. A listed matchup does not establish ballot qualification or primary/general-election status unless the source explicitly says so. Unlisted responses may include undecided voters or other choices; the displayed figures are not rescaled to total 100%.

Polling compilation: VoteHub · CC BY 4.0. Electionpedia normalizes dates, matches races, and visualizes reported results; it does not estimate outcomes. Original survey links are attached to each report.

Saved polling snapshot in use (captured 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC). Automatic refresh has not completed for every feed; check each survey’s field dates.

Last successful feed updates

Senate: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 474 survey records
House: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 133 survey records
Governor: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 349 survey records
National preference: 10/16/2026, 9:21:35 PM UTC · 546 survey records

An update time is when we checked the feed, not when a survey was conducted. Coverage is not exhaustive.

Follow campaign money

Governor campaigns file with their state’s campaign-finance authorities. Federal candidate totals do not describe this race.

SECRETARY OF STATE ↗

FLORIDA ELECTIONS COMMISSION ↗

State campaign-finance sources →

No verified prediction-market match is connected for this race yet. See national House and Senate market prices →

Election inventory: National Governors Association ↗ · checked 2026-10-11. Ballot status comes from the separate state certification when present.

Start with the office and the place

Separate a filing from a ballot appearance

Florida governor election

Make your voting plan

Who is on the November ballot?

Byron Donalds

Charles Burkett

David Jolly

Dean Ocean Abrams

Frank J. Russo

Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto

Moliere "Moe" Dimanche

Scott Eckhard Jewett

Dates for November 3

What do the polls say?

Simple average, not a forecast

Likely voters · 5 polls · 1 of 5 internal or partisan surveys

Registered voters · 1 poll

Latest surveys · selected matchup

Change Research

MDW Communications

St. Pete Polls

Targoz Market Research

Change Research

Stetson University Center for Public Opinion Research

St. Pete Polls

University of North Florida

Follow campaign money