More than 1.3 million Florida voters went to the polls on August 18 to decide which candidates would run in the November 2026 midterm elections, bringing the primary turnout to just over 25 percent, according to figures released by the Florida Division of Elections.
In total, nearly 3.36 million votes were cast out of 13.5 million registered voters.
Candidates for Governor of Florida
Democratic candidate David Jolly won the nomination for the gubernatorial race. Formerly a Republican who became an independent and then registered as a Democrat in April 2025, Jolly will face Republican candidate Byron Donalds, who is backed by Trump but not by the current governor, Ron DeSantis.
Donalds, a U.S. Congressman, won the Republican primary with 47.8% of the vote, and former Representative Jolly won the Democratic primary with 61% of the vote.
Jolly, 53, is an attorney who, after leaving his position as a representative in 2017, became one of Trump’s leading Republican critics and a political commentator. Now a member of the Democratic Party, Jolly plans to run a moderate campaign focused on affordability, investment in public education, ending “cultural wars,” protecting reproductive rights, the environment, and a pragmatic, worker-friendly economy.
Byron Donalds, 47, is a former financier. He advocates a conservative platform focused on lowering costs, expanding school choice, border security, improving school nutrition, protecting the Everglades, and reducing government bureaucracy. Analysts predict a victory for Donalds..
Progressive Angie Nixon defeats moderate Alex Vindman
In the race for the Senate seat, progressive Representative Angie Nixon surprised the Florida Democratic establishment by winning the U.S. Senate primary with 56.1% of the vote, compared to 49.3% for moderate candidate Alex Vindman, a combat-deployed U.S. Army veteran who served as a key witness during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2019. Nixon will face U.S. Senator Ashley Moody, a former Florida attorney general and Republican ally of Trump, in November. Moody is expected to win.
Clear victory for Moskowitz, while Singer struggles to win over voters
Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz won the race with 63.5% of the vote against 36.5% for Oliver Larkin, a progressive challenger in the FL-25 district (from South Beach to Delray Beach, to the east).
Moskowitz will face Republican Scott Singer, the former mayor of Boca Raton, who won his primary with just 31.4% of the vote.
Recently, Moskowitz, a centrist Democrat, has been criticized by his peers for aligning too closely with Republicans. The race between the two candidates will be close.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a longtime representative, won the Democratic primary. Her candidacy was controversial and hotly contested in Florida’s 20th congressional district, which encompasses parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, as many voices spoke out against the fact that her candidacy would hinder Black representation in the U.S. Congress. The white candidate will face the Republican candidate, businessman Brent Andersen, in the November congressional election in a district that leans Democratic.
As for former television host Eliott Rodriguez, he won the Democratic nomination in Florida’s 27th congressional district, located in Miami-Dade County. It covers key areas of Miami such as Little Havana, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, and Westchester. Rodriguez is seeking to unseat another former Miami television host of Cuban-American descent, the incumbent Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar, who is running for a third term.
The midterm elections will take place on November 3.
Translated by DeepL.
