On November 3, Florida voters will elect the state’s next governor. While the Republican nominee, Byron Donalds, quickly received Trump’s endorsement, it wasn’t until September 2 that he received the support of incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis during a speech at the Florida Republican Party Leaders Forum in Tampa. Donalds’ running mate, State Senator Bryan Ávila, is an American of Cuban descent, born in Hialeah in Miami-Dade County.
The Donalds-Ávila ticket will face Democrat David Jolly and his running mate Gwen Graham, a former U.S. Representative from Florida’s 2nd District who served from 2015 to 2017.
A poll conducted by Change Research from September 7 to 9 shows that the Democratic ticket of Jolly and Graham leads the Republican ticket of Donalds and Ávila, 47% to 44%. Furthermore, despite spending $65 million, Donalds’ approval rating stands at only 34%, compared to 46% disapproval.
However, Donalds was leading Jolly by 5 points (45 to 40) according to the average calculated by RealClearPolitics based on two polls dated August 18, which asked voters about a hypothetical head-to-head matchup between the two frontrunners who went on to win their respective primaries.
On his website, Donalds states his commitment to implementing President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda. His platform aims to: combat illegal immigration, make Florida more affordable, expand economic opportunities, protect the state’s conservative values, improve infrastructure, and preserve the environment.
Jolly’s agenda emphasizes pragmatic solutions to the challenges facing Florida families: creating a disaster fund to lower insurance costs and support condominium associations, reinvesting heavily in public schools and regulating “vouchers ,” implementing ambitious ethical and financial reforms to combat the influence of lobbyists, and building a sustainable economy focused on technology, modernized agriculture, and strengthened tourism.
U.S. Senate Race
Republican Senator Ashley Moody’s seat will be challenged by Democrat Angie Nixon. The average of three polls presented by RealClearPolitics, conducted between March 29 and September 10, shows Moody with an 8.7-point lead (49 to 40.3).
Meanwhile, the Change Research poll shows a neck-and-neck race between Nixon (47%) and Moody (47%), while Moody’s approval rating stands at 33%.
According to the same poll, which surveyed 1,107 Florida voters, Democrats hold an 8-point lead in voter motivation, with 92% of Democrats motivated to vote compared to 84% of Republicans.
Moody, a former Florida attorney general appointed to the Senate in 2025, champions a conservative Republican platform aligned with Donald Trump. She aims to roll back regulations, support law enforcement, strengthen border security, and combat what she describes as her rival’s “radical socialist agenda.”
Nixon, an elected official from Jacksonville and former union organizer, is running on a progressive platform inspired by the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America): Medicare for All, universal child care, affordable housing, increased funding for public schools, tax hikes on large corporations and the wealthiest, immigration reform, and reduced military spending.
Trump’s Popularity
According to the results of a recent poll reported by Newsweek, Trump’s approval rating in Florida is declining, with 40% favorable and 54% unfavorable. Among voters surveyed by Change Research, 43% support the president, while 53% oppose him.
Translated with Deepl
