All but a day remains before a general election will decide who will be Florida’s next governor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ time as governor is just about up, and hoping to lead the Sunshine State come January 2027 are Republican Byron Donalds, a current congressman, and David Jolly, a Democrat who also spent time in Washington, D.C.
Donalds served in the Florida House from 2016 to 2020. During his time in Tallahassee, he chaired the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.
“Florida cannot become too expensive for working families and seniors on fixed incomes. The status quo has a cost. Progress doesn’t pay the bill sitting on your kitchen counter today — it’s time to bring down costs,” Donalds said.
Jolly served in Congress for Florida’s 13th district as a Republican from 2014-17. He is an attorney and has spent nearly a decade as a political analyst on NBC and MSNBC.
“Believing in better isn’t just a campaign slogan. I really mean that,” Jolly said. “I believe that we can do better for so many people here in the state of Florida. I believe that we can have better housing, better healthcare, better education, but more importantly, I believe that we can be better to one another.”
The two governor hopefuls never took the stage to debate one another in person. But they’ve traded plenty of jabs over their records and plans. High costs facing residents in the Sunshine State and data centers have been two of the major issues heard throughout the governor’s race.
Other key races include the U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Ashley Moody and Democrat Angie Nixon. The winner will fill the remaining two years of Marco Rubio’s term. Rubio was tapped by the president for U.S. Secretary of State, and Moody was appointed by DeSantis in 2025. Moody is a former attorney general for Florida. Nixon has been a state representative for the Jacksonville area since 2020.
In the House, voters in South Florida and the Keys will decide between Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, Democrat Phil Ehr and non-party affiliate Eddy Rojas for District 28. Gimenez was first elected to the U.S. House in 2020. He’s a former mayor of Miami-Dade County. Ehr is a retired U.S. Navy commander.
Voters will also decide Florida attorney general between Republican James Uthmeier and Democrat José Javier Rodríguez; chief financial officer between Republican Blaise Ingoglia and Democrat Annette Taddeo; and agriculture commissioner between Republican Wilton Simpson and Democrat Joey Mendoza Atkins.
Voters in South Florida and the Florida Keys will also decide the next state senator for District 40. Republican incumbent Ana Maria Rodriguez is seeking another term to serve constituents in Tallahassee. She’s being challenged by Democrat Jose Antonio Stoute and non-party affiliate Ramiro Orta.
In the Florida Keys, only a few local races are taking place this election cycle. Key Largo voters will decide which three of the five candidates will serve on the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment board. The candidates include John Brooke, Matthew Hardee, Robby Majeska, Anna Moon and Jose Peixoto.
In Key West, the city commission’s district 4 seat is up for grabs. Sarah Compton and Wayne Garcia were in the District 4 race along with Juan Llera until the Aug. 18 primary. When none of the three secured more than 50% of the votes, that race headed to a November runoff between the top two vote getters — Compton and Garcia. For details about the city race, visit cityofkeywest-fl.gov.
In Islamorada, four seats are up for grabs as eight candidates seek to serve the council. For the past several weeks, the candidates have answered questions posed by the Keys Weekly on a range of topics from their plans for village properties to the budget and their priorities.
Village voters will also see several charter amendments which include increasing the length of office from two to three years in order to stagger terms. Currently, the five seats are up for election every two years. There’s also questions on the ballot related to filling vacancies when a council member leaves less than 6 months in and the need for a supermajority vote on matters related to village-owned property.
Voters will also be asked whether they support sending a justice back to the Supreme Court and several judges back to the Third District Court of Appeals. And there are three constitutional amendments on the ballot. The most notable one is Amendment 3, which would increase the homestead property exemption to $150,000 in 2027, $250,000 in 2028 and require the legislature to implement a schedule to completely phase out property taxes on homestead properties. It would also cap the annual assessment increases on nonhomesteaded property from 10% to 5%. The proposed constitutional amendments need 60% voter approval in the state.
Early voting concluded Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. In total, there were 20,639 votes cast between early voting and vote by mail. There are 54,683 registered voters in Monroe County.
Voting on Election Day runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters can find their precinct by visiting https://www.votemonroeflkeys.gov/Where-to-Vote/Search.
Election Night results as they come in can be found at votemonroeflkeys.gov.
