In May, the Tampa Bay Times published an (admittedly) early look at the 2026 governor’s race.
Included in that story were the names of 13 potential candidates: five Democrats and eight Republicans.
Some eight months later, the governor’s race has still yet to begin in earnest. No major candidates have filed to run to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis. The 2026 primary is still nearly 600 days away.
But some of the potential candidates have lived what feels like a political lifetime since we last checked in on the governor’s race. For example, U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz was rumored to be considering a run, but he has since been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as his national security adviser. Sen. Marco Rubio, thought to be a potential wild card in the race, will almost certainly be Trump’s secretary of state.
Still, election season is creeping toward us. Politicians are hinting at possible runs and amassing cash for what’s sure to be an expensive election.
Here’s an update on the candidates to watch.
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz
What a decade the past few months have been for the Panhandle-area former U.S. representative. He coasted to reelection in his deep-red district in November, then almost immediately found himself at the center of the political world when Trump nominated him for U.S. attorney general.
It was a surprising move, given that Gaetz is one of the Department of Justice’s harshest critics and was once investigated by that department for sex trafficking. (The department ultimately opted against charges.)
Amid the nomination fight, a congressional committee weighed the release of a damaging report into Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct.
Gaetz, who resigned from Congress after getting Trump’s nomination, ultimately withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general, saying he didn’t want to distract from the Trump transition.
The House released its report on Gaetz anyway. The bipartisan committee found evidence Gaetz “engaged in sexual activity” with a 17-year-old girl in 2017, among other salacious charges.
But Trump’s confidence in Gaetz could be a huge feather in the Republican’s cap come the 2026 gubernatorial primary.
In an interview Tuesday with the Tampa Bay Times, Gaetz said he’s considering a run for Florida’s top job.
Insurance would be a top policy priority, Gaetz said.
“We’ve given these insurance companies the ability to run roughshod over policyholders,” Gaetz said. “We’ve eliminated their bad-faith obligations when they screw people over, and that wouldn’t happen with me.”
No longer an elected official, Gaetz hosts a cable show on the archconservative One America News Network. On Wednesday, he addressed the gubernatorial speculation.
“Isn’t it silly that the ink isn’t even dry on Trump’s electoral college certification — he hasn’t even been sworn in yet — and I’ve already got reporters bugging me about the next election?” Gaetz said.
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
The Gaetz saga had ripple effects. Patronis had been rumored to be weighing a run for the Governor’s Mansion. Then Gaetz resigned his House seat, and Trump urged Patronis to run for it. He’s signed up to do so, meaning Patronis is likely off the 2026 governor board for now.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody
Moody has all the makings of a strong gubernatorial candidate. She’s a twice-statewide elected Republican. In both of her attorney general races, she shared the ballot with DeSantis and won more votes than him. She’s got about $4 million in an associated campaign account. She’s term-limited out of her office in early 2027, when the next governor would be sworn in.
But Moody doesn’t seem likely to seek the office for a simple reason: DeSantis could soon pick her to replace Rubio in the U.S. Senate. Moody was arguably the highest-profile Florida Republican to endorse DeSantis for president in 2024. The two are close, and their visions for Florida are aligned.
A political spokesperson for Moody did not respond to requests for comment.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds
The U.S. representative from southwest Florida has been rumored to be eying a statewide run for some time. Trump teased the possibility at a Manhattan fundraiser in May.
In the months since, Donalds has lost none of his conservative shine. He got a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention. He coasted to reelection in November. When a few Republicans earlier this month seemed to be defecting from Mike Johnson in the vote for speaker of the U.S. House, a protest vote seemed to be headed to Donalds. (Johnson ultimately claimed the position on the first ballot.)
If Donalds runs for governor, the 2026 Republican primary could feature two of Trump’s favorite Florida U.S. representatives.
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson
Compared to Moody and Gaetz, the state’s agriculture commissioner has had a relatively uneventful few months. But he’s raised gobs of money ahead of a potential governor run. Various political committees run by Simpson are sitting on a combined $30 million.
A spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment, but Simpson has the money and the political experience to mount a serious charge for the nomination.
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz
Last year, Moskowitz said he was looking into a run for governor in 2026. Among the reasons he said he’d be a fit: He’s shown he can work with Republicans. From 2019 until 2021, Moskowitz was the head of DeSantis’ Division of Emergency Management.
In December, CNN reported that Moskowitz was a strong contender to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency. His office tamped down the speculation following that report, with a spokesperson telling the Times that the link to FEMA was just a “rumor” and that Moskowitz is not leaving Congress. But Moskowitz could still seek Florida’s top job in 2026 if things line up right.
Florida Democratic Party Chairperson Nikki Fried
Fried oversaw the state Democratic Party as it struggled in 2024. Trump romped to victory, and Democrats won few of their targeted legislative races.
The former agriculture commissioner is the only Democrat in the rumored potential field who can claim to have won statewide. But she also lost a Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2022.
Fried declined to comment. Before 2026, she’s got another race to run — for another term as the chairperson of the Florida Democratic Party.
State Rep. Fentrice Driskell
The Harvard-educated Tampa-area state representative has led Democrats in the state House since 2022. Had Democrats in 2024 picked up enough seats to break the Republican supermajority in Tallahassee, she would have had a compelling story to tell voters in 2026.
But Democrats instead lost ground. After the elections, two of their reelected members switched to the Republican Party.
In an interview, Driskell said those defections had more to do with those lawmakers’ personal ambitions than any flaw in her team’s election planning.
“In terms of what we could control, I thought we ran an extraordinary program,” Driskell said, saying that Democrats largely held ground in a tough national environment.
Driskell is still considering a 2026 run, she said. But like many Democrats, she’s keeping an eye on the political environment before making any plans.
State Sen. Shevrin Jones
Jones, of Miami Gardens, has Tallahassee experience and is from a part of the state crucial to Democrats’ future electoral hopes.
The state senator was the chairperson of the party in Miami-Dade as Republicans romped to victory there. Trump carried the county by 12 points — a historic low for Democrats. In an interview, Jones said his party is in need of major recalibration ahead of 2026.
“I won’t take anything off the table,” Jones said of a 2026 run. “Whoever is considering running for governor specifically on the Democratic ticket, it cannot be done traditionally. It cannot be a traditional run, it cannot be traditional messaging.”
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava
The mayor of Miami-Dade County won reelection over a large field with 58% of the vote in August. She’s proven she knows how to get votes in South Florida, which any Democrat will have to demonstrate in 2026.
But it’s not clear she’s interested in running for governor. A political spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about Levine-Cava’s future.
State Sen. Jason Pizzo
The state senator who represents part of Broward and Miami-Dade also leads the Democrats in his chamber. Don’t be surprised if he mounts a run for governor. He’s already talking smack to a potential Republican candidate.
On Tuesday, after the Times published a story about Gaetz exploring a run, Pizzo posted it to X with a line of commentary.
“I will kick his ass,” Pizzo wrote.
Casey DeSantis
There’s still no indication that Florida’s first lady wants the job held by her husband. But the DeSantis family is a potent political force. If she decided to run, the voters would probably respond.
Attorney John Morgan
The high-powered lawyer has floated a run for governor before. He’s doing it again.
In an interview with the Times on Thursday, Morgan said that if he were to run, he’d do so under a new party, the “People’s Party.”
“When you take the ‘D’ and ‘R’ away from the issue, most of us agree on most things,” Morgan said.
Morgan said he’s not sure he’s got the stomach or the energy for elections. But now that he’s largely stepped back from his law firm, Morgan & Morgan, he wants to do something to give back to Florida. That could mean a foray into politics.
He’s got a lot of money, and people know his name. Morgan is one to watch.
But for now, he’s on his way to Maui to mull his future.
“I’m going to go there and smoke dope and drink tequila and think,” Morgan said.
Kirby Wilson is a politics reporter, covering the leaders of Florida and explaining the political landscape. Reach him at kwilson@tampabay.com.
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