Skip to main content
Cloudy icon
83º

President Trump eyes governor race as Florida heads to the polls

Trump endorses Ron DeSantis over Adam Putnam

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida voters are going to the polls to select nominees to replace Republican Gov. Rick Scott in an election that's caught the attention of President Donald Trump.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. local time across the state.

Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis in the Republican primary for governor over Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

In the Democratic primary, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham is seeking to win the nomination in hopes of following her father, Bob Graham, into the governor's office.

Graham is being challenged by former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, billionaire Jeff Greene and Orlando-area businessman Chris King.

Florida is also picking its nominees for agriculture commissioner and attorney general. And while Scott has a primary in the U.S. Senate race, it's a foregone conclusion that he'll cruise to victory in the effort to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

Voter info for Florida's Primary Election Day

Orange County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

UPDATE: For the 2018 elections, Orange County has changed 20 polling places. The voters in those precincts will receive new voter information cards at the end of July with the new polling place listed. Those voters will also receive their sample ballot, in August, highlighting the change.

Seminole County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Volusia County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Brevard County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Lake County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Osceola County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Flagler County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Marion County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Sumter County
Sample Ballots
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Polk County
Sample Ballots -- Democratic | Republican | Nonpartisan
Find Your Precinct
Early-Voting Locations

Important Dates

Aug. 28: Primary election.
Oct. 2-9: Mandatory period for vote-by-mail ballots to be sent to domestic voters for general election.
Oct. 9: Last day to register for general election
Oct. 27-Nov. 3: Mandatory early voting period for general election *additional days vary by county
Nov. 6: General election.

Check here for special dates specific to individual counties. 

Important Races

Governor

Republicans

Democrats

U.S. Senate

Republicans

  • Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente
  • Rick Scott, current Florida Governor

Democrats

  • Bill Nelson *

U.S. Rep. District 2 -- Marion (Levy and Several Counties in the Panhandle) 

Republicans

  • Neal Dunn*

Democrats

  • Brandon Peters
  • Bob Rackleff

U.S. Rep. District 3 -- Marion (Clay, Putnam, Alachua, Bradford, Union)

Republicans

  • Judson Sapp 
  • Ted Yoho *

Democrats

  • Dushyant Jethagir Gosai
  • Yvonne Hayes Hinson
  • Tom Wells

U.S. Rep. District 6 -- Flagler, Volusia, Lake (St. Johns)

Republicans

  • Fred Costello
  • Michael Waltz 
  • John Ward

Democrats

  • Stephen Sevigny
  • Nancy Soderberg
  • John Upchurch 

U.S. Rep. District 7 -- Seminole, Orange

Republicans

  • Vennia Francois
  • Mike Miller
  • Scott Sturgill

Democrats

  • Stephanie Murphy *
  • Chardo Richardson

U.S. Rep. District 8 Brevard, Orange (Indian River)

Republicans

  • Bill Posey * 

Democrats

  • Sanjay Patel

U.S. Rep. District 9 Osceola, Orange (Polk) 

Republicans

  • Wayne Liebnitzky 

Democrats

  • Alan Grayson
  • Darren Soto * 

U.S. Rep. District 10 Orange

No qualified Republican candidates

Democrats

  • Wade Darius 
  • Val Demings *

U.S. Rep. District 11 Marion, Sumter, Lake (Hernando, Citrus) 

Republicans

  • Daniel Webster * 

Democrats

  • Dana Cottrell 

U.S. Rep. District 15 Lake (Polk and Hillsborough) 

Republicans

  • Neil Combee
  • Sean Harper
  • Danny Kushmer
  • Curt Rogers
  • Ed Shoemaker
  • Ross Spano 

Democrats

  • Kristen Carlson
  • Andrew P. Learned
  • Raymond “Ray” Pena 

Orange County Mayor

  • Pete Clarke 
  • Jerry L. Demings
  • Rob Panepinto

Orange County School Board Chair 

  • Matthew J. Fitzpatrick 
  • Teresa Jacobs
  • Robert Allen Prater
  • Nancy Robbinson 

Attorney General

Republicans

  • Ashley Moody, Republican
  • Frank White, Republican

Democrats

  • Sean Shaw, Democrat
  • Ryan Torrens, Democrat

Chief Financial Officer

Republicans

  • Jimmy Patronis, Republican *

Democrats

  • Jeremy Ring, Democrat 

Agriculture Commissioner

Republicans

  • Matt Caldwell
  • Denise Grimsley
  • Mike McCalister
  • Baxter Troutman

Democrats

  • Roy David Walker
  • Nicole "Nikki" Fried
  • Jeffrey Duane Porter

* denotes all incumbent candidates

Click here for complete candidate listings for the 2018 primary and general elections.


Loading...

Recommended Videos