Florida held its general election on November 6, 2018, deciding 142 legislative seats and 5 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans kept the governor's office and both legislative chambers in an election that sent the governor's and agriculture commissioner's races to recounts, while Democrats came away with a single statewide win and modest legislative gains.
- Ron DeSantis (R) defeated Andrew Gillum (D) by about 32,000 votes, less than half a point, to succeed fellow Republican Rick Scott. Gillum, who was seeking to become the first African-American governor of Florida, conceded on election night, withdrew the concession when the margin fell inside the recount threshold, and conceded again after a machine recount barely moved the result. His running mate, Jeanette Nuñez (R), became lieutenant governor.
- Nikki Fried (D) beat state Rep. Matt Caldwell (R) for agriculture commissioner, a seat Republican Adam Putnam was leaving, by about 6,750 votes after a recount in the closest statewide race. She was the only Democrat to win statewide: Ashley Moody (R) won the open attorney general's seat by about 6 points over Sean Shaw (D), and incumbent Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R) won by about 3 points over Jeremy Ring (D).
- Republicans came out 23-17 in the Senate and 73-47 in the House. Democrats' only Senate pickup came in Tampa's District 18, where Janet Cruz (D) unseated Sen. Dana Young (R) by about 400 votes after a manual recount. In the House, Democrats flipped seven Republican-held seats and lost two of their own:
- The narrowest legislative result was in the open House District 89, where Mike Caruso (R) held the seat over Jim Bonfiglio (D) by 32 votes. In the Senate, Sen. Keith Perry (R) held District 8 by about 2,000 votes. Beyond the flips, 8 contests finished inside two points, including the governor's and agriculture commissioner's races, and 38 legislative seats went uncontested.
- Voters approved 11 of 12 constitutional amendments. Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to most people with felony convictions once they finish their sentences, cleared the 60 percent threshold with more than 64 percent. Voters also required a two-thirds legislative vote to raise taxes or fees (Amendment 5), banned wagering on dog racing (Amendment 13), banned offshore oil and gas drilling and indoor workplace vaping in a single measure (Amendment 9), and required voter approval for casino gambling (Amendment 3). The lone defeat was Amendment 1, a larger homestead property-tax exemption.
Legislature
- House (120 seats): 41 D, 75 R, 4 other or vacant before the election, 47 D, 73 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (40 seats): 16 D, 22 R, 2 other or vacant before the election, 17 D, 23 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
| Race | Winner | Others | Notes |
|---|
| House 1 | Mike Hill (R) 60.8% | Vikki Garrett (D) 39.2% | |
| House 2 | Alex Andrade (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 3 | Jayer Williamson (R) 78.6% | Bobbi Osborne (I) 21.4% | |
| House 4 | Mel Ponder (R) 72.1% | Rebecca Koelzer (D) 27.9% | |
| House 5 | Brad Drake (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 6 | Jay Trumbull (R) 99.5% | William Davis (write-in) 0.5% | |
| House 7 | Halsey Beshears (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 8 | Ramon Alexander (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 9 | Loranne Ausley (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 10 | Chuck Brannan (R) 72.8% | Ronald Williams II (D) 23%, Merrillee Malwitz Jipson (Other) 2.8% | |
| House 11 | Cord Byrd (R) 69.8% | Nathcelly Leroy Rohrbaugh (D) 30.2% | |
| House 12 | Clay Yarborough (R) 59.2% | Timothy Norris Yost (D) 40.8% | |
| House 13 | Tracie Davis (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 14 | Kim Daniels (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 15 | Wyman Duggan (R) 50.9% | Tracye Polson (D) 49.1% | |
| House 16 | Jason Fischer (R) 58.5% | Ken Organes (D) 41.5% | |
| House 17 | Cyndi Stevenson (R) 70.5% | Jaime Perkins (I) 29.5% | |
| House 18 | Travis Cummings (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 19 | Bobby Payne (R) 73.4% | Paul Still (D) 26.6% | |
| House 20 | Clovis Watson, Jr. (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 21 | Chuck Clemons (R) 51.4% | Jason Haeseler (D) 48.6% | |
| House 22 | Charlie Stone (R) 63.8% | Bernard Parker (D) 36.2% | |
| House 23 | Stan McClain (R) 66% | Carl Griffin (D) 34% | |
| House 24 | Paul Renner (R) 61% | Adam Morley (D) 39% | |
| House 25 | Tom Leek (R) 59% | Katie Tripp (D) 39.3%, Joe Hannoush (L) 1.7% | |
| House 26 | Elizabeth Fetterhoff (R) 50% | Patrick Henry (D) 50% | Flipped D to R; Incumbent defeated |
| House 27 | David Santiago (R) 55.6% | Carol Lawrence (D) 44.4% | |
| House 28 | David Smith (R) 51.3% | Lee Mangold (D) 48.7% | |
| House 29 | Scott Plakon (R) 51% | Tracey Kagan (D) 49% | |
| House 30 | Joy Goff-Marcil (D) 52.9% | Bob Cortes (R) 47.1% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 31 | Jennifer Sullivan (R) 61.1% | Debra Kaplan (D) 38.9% | |
| House 32 | Anthony Sabatini (R) 56.5% | Cynthia Brown (D) 43.5% | |
| House 33 | Brett Hage (R) 69.5% | Oren Miller (D) 30.5% | |
| House 34 | Ralph Massullo (R) 69.3% | Paul Reinhardt (D) 30.7% | |
| House 35 | Blaise Ingoglia (R) 61.4% | Colleen Kasperek (D) 38.6% | |
| House 36 | Amber Mariano (R) 58.7% | Linda Jack (D) 41.3% | |
| House 37 | Ardian Zika (R) 60.5% | Tammy Garcia (D) 39.5% | |
| House 38 | Danny Burgess (R) 66.3% | David TK Hayes (I) 33.7% | |
| House 39 | Josie Tomkow (R) 58.5% | Ricky Shirah (D) 41.5% | |
| House 40 | Colleen Burton (R) 57.64% | Shandale Terrell (D) 42.36% | |
| House 41 | Sam Killebrew (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 42 | Mike La Rosa (R) 54.4% | Barbara Cady (D) 45.6% | |
| House 43 | John Cortes (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 44 | Geraldine Thompson (D) 51.3% | Bobby Olszewski (R) 48.7% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 45 | Kamia Brown (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 46 | Bruce Antone (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 47 | Anna Eskamani (D) 57.3% | Stockton Reeves (R) 42.7% | Flipped R to D |
| House 48 | Amy Mercado (D) 73.4% | George Chandler (R) 26.6% | |
| House 49 | Carlos Smith (D) 64.2% | Ben Griffin (R) 35.8% | |
| House 50 | Rene Plasencia (R) 55.3% | Pam Dirschka (D) 44.7% | |
| House 51 | Tyler Sirois (R) 57.7% | Mike Blake (D) 42.3% | |
| House 52 | Thad Altman (R) 63.7% | Seeta Durjan Begui (D) 36.3% | |
| House 53 | Randy Fine (R) 55.1% | Phil Moore (D) 44.9% | |
| House 54 | Erin Grall (R) 63.4% | Nicole Haagenson (D) 36.6% | |
| House 55 | Cary Pigman (R) 65.9% | Audrey Asciutto (D) 34.1% | |
| House 56 | Melony Bell (R) 74.5% | Jeff Mann (R) 25.5% | |
| House 57 | Mike Beltran (R) 55.3% | Debbie Katt (D) 44.7% | |
| House 58 | Lawrence McClure (R) 54.5% | Phil Hornback (D) 45.5% | |
| House 59 | Adam Hattersley (D) 51.5% | Joe Wicker (R) 48.5% | Flipped R to D |
| House 60 | Jackie Toledo (R) 52.3% | Debra Bellanti (D) 47.7% | |
| House 61 | Dianne Hart (D) 100% | Valion Joyce (write-in) 0% | |
| House 62 | Susan Valdés (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 63 | Fentrice Driskell (D) 53.4% | Shawn Harrison (R) 46.6% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 64 | Jamie Grant (R) 52% | Jessica Harrington (D) 45%, Andy Warrener (Other) 3% | |
| House 65 | Chris Sprowls (R) 59.3% | Sally Laufer (D) 40.7% | |
| House 66 | Nick DiCeglie (R) 56.8% | Alex Heeren (D) 43.2% | |
| House 67 | Christopher Latvala (R) 54% | Dawn Douglas (D) 46% | |
| House 68 | Ben Diamond (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 69 | Jennifer Webb (D) 52.7% | Ray Blacklidge (R) 47.3% | Flipped R to D |
| House 70 | Wengay Newton (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 71 | Will Robinson (R) 55.6% | Tracy Pratt (D) 44.4% | |
| House 72 | Margaret Good (D) 50.7% | Ray Pilon (R) 49.3% | |
| House 73 | Tommy Gregory (R) 61.9% | Liv Coleman (D) 38.1% | |
| House 74 | James Buchanan (R) 56.9% | Tony Mowry (D) 40.5%, Robert Samuel Kaplan (Other) 2.6% | |
| House 75 | Michael Grant (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 76 | Ray Rodrigues (R) 64.5% | David Bogner (D) 35.5% | |
| House 77 | Dane Eagle (R) 63.4% | Alanis Garcia (D) 36.6% | |
| House 78 | Heather Fitzenhagen (R) 59.3% | Parisima Taeb (D) 40.7% | |
| House 79 | Spencer Roach (R) 58.9% | Mark Lipton (D) 41.1% | |
| House 80 | Byron Donalds (R) 62.1% | Jennifer Boddicker (D) 36.4%, Dustin Lapolla (Other) 1.5% | |
| House 81 | Tina Polsky (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 82 | MaryLynn Magar (R) 62.1% | Edward O'Connor (D) 37.9% | |
| House 83 | Toby Overdorf (R) 52.1% | Matt Theobald (D) 47.9% | |
| House 84 | Delores Hogan Johnson (D) 51.4% | Mark Gotz (R) 48.6% | |
| House 85 | Richard Roth (R) 54.6% | Ellen Baker (D) 45.4% | |
| House 86 | Matt Willhite (D) 59.8% | Laurel S. Bennett (R) 40.2% | |
| House 87 | David Silvers (D) 84.6% | Samson LeBeau Kpadenou (G) 15.4% | |
| House 88 | Al Jacquet (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 89 | Mike Caruso (R) 50% | Jim Bonfiglio (D) 50% | |
| House 90 | Joseph Casello (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 91 | Emily Slosberg (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 92 | Patricia Hawkins-Williams (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 93 | Chip LaMarca (R) 52.8% | Emma Collum (D) 45.7%, Kelly Milam (Other) 1.5% | |
| House 94 | Bobby DuBose (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 95 | Anika Tene Omphroy (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 96 | Kristin Jacobs (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 97 | Jared Moskowitz (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 98 | Mike Gottlieb (D) 64% | Joe de la Cruz (R) 36% | |
| House 99 | Evan Jenne (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 100 | Joseph Geller (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 101 | Shev Jones (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 102 | Sharon Pritchett (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 103 | Cindy Polo (D) 53.3% | Frank Mingo (R) 46.7% | Flipped R to D |
| House 104 | Richard Stark (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 105 | Ana Maria Rodriguez (R) 50.4% | Javier Estevez (D) 49.6% | |
| House 106 | Bob Rommel (R) 66.5% | Sara McFadden (D) 33.5% | |
| House 107 | Barbara Watson (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 108 | Dotie Joseph (D) 91.7% | Riquet Caballero (L) 8.3% | |
| House 109 | James Bush III (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 110 | Jose Oliva (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 111 | Bryan Ávila (R) 62.2% | Rizwan Ahmed (D) 37.8% | |
| House 112 | Nick Duran (D) 57.6% | Rosa Palomino (R) 42.4% | |
| House 113 | Michael Grieco (D) 62.5% | Jonathan Parker (R) 37.5% | |
| House 114 | Javier Fernandez (D) 53% | Javier Enriquez (R) 47% | |
| House 115 | Vance Aloupis (R) 50.5% | Jeffrey Solomon (D) 49.5% | |
| House 116 | Daniel Perez (R) 57.3% | James Harden (D) 42.7% | |
| House 117 | Kionne McGhee (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 118 | Tony Rodriguez (R) 51.2% | Robert Asencio (D) 48.8% | Flipped D to R; Incumbent defeated |
| House 119 | Juan Fernandez-Barquin (R) 53.1% | Heath Rassner (D) 42.5%, Daniel Sotelo (I) 4.4% | |
| House 120 | Holly Merrill Raschein (R) 53.1% | Steve Friedman (D) 46.9% | |
| Senate 2 | George Gainer (R) 75.3% | Martha Flores Gibson (D) 24.7% | |
| Senate 4 | Aaron Bean (R) 63.4% | Billee Bussard (D) 34.2%, Joanna Liberty Tavares (L) 2.3% | |
| Senate 6 | Audrey Gibson (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 8 | Warren Keith Perry (R) 49.4% | Kayser Enneking (D) 48.4%, Charles Goston (Other) 2.1% | |
| Senate 10 | Wilton Simpson (R) 65% | Michael Cottrell (D) 35% | |
| Senate 12 | Dennis Baxley (R) 65.31% | Gary McKechnie (D) 34.69%, Keasha Gray (write-in) 0.01% | |
| Senate 14 | Tommy Wright (R) 56.3% | Melissa Martin (D) 43.7% | |
| Senate 16 | Ed Hooper (R) 52.2% | Amanda Hickman Murphy (D) 47.8% | |
| Senate 18 | Janet Cruz (D) 50.1% | Dana Young (R) 49.9% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| Senate 20 | Tom Lee (R) 53.5% | Kathy Lewis (D) 46.5% | |
| Senate 22 | Kelli Stargel (R) 52.8% | Bob Doyel (D) 47.2% | |
| Senate 23 | Joe Gruters (R) 56.5% | Faith Babis (D) 43.5% | |
| Senate 24 | Jeff Brandes (R) 54.3% | Lindsay Cross (D) 45.7% | |
| Senate 25 | Gayle Harrell (R) 54.3% | Bobby Levy (D) 45.7% | |
| Senate 26 | Ben Albritton (R) 65.1% | Catherine Price (D) 34.9% | |
| Senate 28 | Kathleen Passidomo (R) 65.5% | Annisa Karim (D) 34.5% | |
| Senate 30 | Bobby Powell Jr. (D) 99.71% | Josh Santos (write-in) 0.29% | |
| Senate 32 | Lauren Book (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 34 | Gary Farmer (D) 100% | Richard Sturm (write-in) 0% | |
| Senate 36 | Manny Diaz, Jr. (R) 54.1% | David Perez (D) 45.9% | |
| Senate 38 | Jason Pizzo (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 40 | Annette Taddeo (D) 53.5% | Marili Cancio (R) 46.5% | |
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 1 | Increases the amount of a home's value exempted from property tax | Failed (58.06% yes) |
| Amendment 10 | Prohibits counties from abolishing certain local offices, changes start date of legislative sessions, and adds an executive office and executive department to constitution | Passed (63.15% yes) |
| Amendment 11 | Repeals the following: (a) a prohibition against aliens owning property, (b) a requirement for a high-speed ground transportation system, and (c) a provision saying that changes to a criminal statute are not retroactive | Passed (62.13% yes) |
| Amendment 12 | Prohibits public officials from lobbying for compensation while in office and six years thereafter | Passed (78.92% yes) |
| Amendment 13 | Prohibits pari-mutuel (a type of betting pool) operations from racing greyhounds or any other dogs for wagering, prohibits persons in Florida from wagering on the outcome of live dog races occurring in the state | Passed (69.06% yes) |
| Amendment 2 | Makes the cap on nonhomestead parcel assessment increases permanent | Passed (66.49% yes) |
| Amendment 3 | Requires voter approval of casino gambling | Passed (71.47% yes) |
| Amendment 4 | Restores the right to vote for most people with prior felony convictions upon completion of their sentences | Passed (64.55% yes) |
| Amendment 5 | Requires 2/3 vote of legislature to impose or increase tax or fee | Passed (65.73% yes) |
| Amendment 6 | Adds a Marsy's Law to state constitution, increases judicial retirement age to 75, and prohibits judges from deferring to administrative agencies in interpreting law | Passed (61.61% yes) |
| Amendment 7 | Requires death benefits for first responders and military members, a supermajority vote for college fees, and adds state college system structure to constitution | Passed (65.76% yes) |
| Amendment 9 | Bans offshore oil and gas drilling and vaping in enclosed indoor workplaces | Passed (68.92% yes) |