Florida Election Results 2026: Who Won, Who Lost and What Changes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Republican Byron Donalds won Florida's governor's race Tuesday, Nov. 3, becoming the state's first Black governor, while voters approved a major property tax amendment and rejected two other proposed constitutional changes. Republican Ashley Moody won a full term in the U.S. Senate, and Republican incumbents retained Florida's three elected Cabinet offices. In Jacksonville, Duval County voters renewed a school property tax, elected three new School Board members and decided several local contests.

The results mark changes in Florida's leadership and property tax system while keeping the governor's office and Cabinet under Republican control. Amendment 3 will increase homestead exemptions for certain property taxes beginning in 2027, while Duval County schools will retain funding from a 1-mill property tax. All election results remain unofficial until certified.

Byron Donalds Wins Florida Governor's Race

The Associated Press called Florida's governor's race for Donalds at 9:06 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. Donalds, a former U.S. representative, defeated Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman, in the contest to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. WKMG News 6 reported Donalds receiving approximately 50 percent of the vote compared with Jolly's 49 percent, a difference of about 100,000 votes.

NBC's late tally showed Donalds with 50 percent and Jolly with 48.7 percent, with 99 percent of the expected vote counted. Donalds spoke to supporters as governor-elect at his election-night watch party in Hollywood, Florida. His running mate was Bryan Avila, while Jolly ran with Gwen Graham.

Donalds campaigned on affordability issues, including inflation, housing and insurance, according to NPR. He also promised to continue the conservative policies associated with DeSantis, who joined Donalds on the campaign trail. President Donald Trump backed Donalds and appeared with him at a rally days before the election.

Donalds will become Florida's first Black governor when he takes office. His victory continues Republican control of the governor's office rather than producing a change in party leadership. Jolly's defeat ended his attempt to become Florida's first Democratic governor since 1999.

Ashley Moody Wins U.S. Senate Race

Republican Ashley Moody won Florida's special U.S. Senate election, defeating Democrat Angie Nixon by approximately 51 percent to 48 percent, according to WKMG News 6. The race was called at approximately 8:35 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. Moody, the incumbent, won election to a full term after initially being appointed to the Senate when Marco Rubio became secretary of state.

The victory keeps the Florida Senate seat in Republican hands. Moody entered the election as an appointed incumbent rather than a newly nominated challenger. Her victory was part of a series of Republican wins in Florida's statewide elections.

Republican Incumbents Retain Florida Cabinet Offices

Republican incumbents won all three elected Florida Cabinet races, according to unofficial results reported by WKMG News 6. Attorney General James Uthmeier defeated Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez by 51 percent to 49 percent. Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia defeated Democrat Annette Taddeo by the same 51 percent to 49 percent margin.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson also won another term, defeating Democrat Joey Mendoza Atkins by 51 percent to 49 percent. The results leave all three Cabinet offices under Republican control. Combined with Donalds' victory, Republicans retained control of Florida's governor's office and Cabinet.

Florida Amendment 3 Passes, Two Other Measures Fail

Florida voters approved Amendment 3, a constitutional change affecting homestead exemptions, property assessments and local government spending. According to unofficial Ballotpedia results, the measure received 4,907,124 yes votes, or approximately 62 percent, compared with 3,007,547 no votes, or 38 percent. Florida constitutional amendments required at least 60 percent approval to pass.

Amendment 3 increases the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. The exemption will be adjusted for inflation after that, while school property taxes will retain the existing $25,000 exemption. The amendment takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

The amendment also lowers the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10 percent to 5 percent. It limits the purposes for which cities and counties may spend property tax revenue. State economists estimated that local governments could lose approximately $12 billion in revenue once the changes are fully phased in.

The measure includes a provision affecting people who were not Florida residents on Dec. 31, 2026. Those individuals will initially receive the existing exemption rather than the increased exemption. The Florida Sheriffs Association, firefighters and the Florida League of Cities were among opponents of the amendment.

The amendment's ballot language had also been the subject of legal proceedings before Election Day. A judge ordered the language rewritten in August, and the attorney general released new wording Aug. 13. The measure subsequently appeared on the November ballot and received more than the required 60 percent approval.

Amendment 1, which would have increased Florida's Budget Stabilization Fund cap from 10 percent to 25 percent of net general revenue, failed. Ballotpedia's unofficial results showed 3,163,085 yes votes, or 41 percent, and 4,568,773 no votes, or 59 percent. DeSantis had criticized the proposal, while supporters included House Speaker Daniel Perez and the Republican Party of Florida.

Amendment 2 also failed, receiving 3,251,579 yes votes, or 42 percent, compared with 4,533,166 no votes, or 58 percent. The measure would have exempted agricultural tangible personal property, including farm equipment and similar property, from property taxes. Its defeat means the proposed exemption will not take effect, while Amendment 1's defeat leaves the Budget Stabilization Fund cap at 10 percent.

Duval County Voters Renew School Property Tax

Duval County voters overwhelmingly approved the renewal of a 1-mill property tax supporting public schools. According to News4JAX results with 100 percent of precincts reporting, the measure received 255,449 yes votes, or 76 percent, compared with 81,107 no votes, or 24 percent. The renewal continues a funding source that generates approximately $125 million annually.

The tax costs the average Jacksonville homeowner approximately $300 per year, according to Jacksonville Today. The revenue supports an annual salary supplement of nearly $9,000 for the average teacher, along with arts and athletics programs. A portion of the funding also goes to charter schools as required by state law.

The latest approval represents an increase in support compared with the previous vote four years earlier. At that time, a little more than half of voters supported the tax. The 2026 results showed roughly three-quarters approving its renewal.

Three New Members Elected to Duval School Board

Duval County voters elected Donovan Bradley, Rhodesia "Rho" Butler and Lindsey Denmark to the School Board. No incumbents were running in the three contested districts. According to Jacksonville Today, each winning candidate had the endorsement of the current representative for that district.

In District 2, Bradley, a 26-year-old political strategist, defeated Donna Mae Westrich with 53 percent of the vote. Bradley received 28,443 votes compared with Westrich's 24,875 votes. He will replace April Carney, who did not seek another term.

In District 4, Butler received 22,316 votes, or approximately 51 percent, defeating James "Coach" Jacobs, who received 21,564 votes. Butler will replace Darryl Willie, who was term-limited. The race was decided by 752 votes, based on the reported unofficial totals.

In District 6, Denmark defeated Clarence "CJ" James with 53 percent of the vote. Denmark received 24,582 votes compared with James' 21,720 votes. She will replace Charlotte Joyce, who was also term-limited.

Jacksonville Today reported that the School Board has shifted more conservative in recent years. Because all three winners were endorsed by their districts' current representatives, the publication reported that the board's political lean is unlikely to change. The election will nevertheless bring three new members to the board.

Duval Judicial and Atlantic Beach Results

In the Duval County Court judge Group 13 election, Melina Buncome defeated Octavius Holliday Jr. with 52 percent of the vote. Buncome received 161,658 votes, while Holliday received 147,051 votes, or approximately 48 percent. The results were part of the unofficial local election returns reported after Tuesday's voting.

In Atlantic Beach, incumbent Mayor-Commissioner Curtis Ford won another term, defeating Nancy Staats. Ford received 3,814 votes, or approximately 55 percent, compared with Staats' 3,072 votes. The city's Commission Seat 4 election was considerably closer.

Jennifer Lagner received 3,130 votes in the Seat 4 race, compared with Lisa Herrold's 3,129 votes. The one-vote difference made the contest exceptionally close in the unofficial election-night count. Recount rules may apply, but no recount had been confirmed.

Votes in the Beach Community Development District elections for seats 2, 4 and 5 were not tabulated because of a court order following boundary changes. A special election is planned for spring. Those contests therefore did not produce reported vote totals in the available election-night results.

News4JAX reported that 232,465 votes were cast during Duval County's early voting period. In neighboring Clay County, Jacksonville Today reported that voters renewed the school tax and kept a commissioner salary cap. Additional details about those Clay County outcomes were not available.

Florida Congressional and Legislative Results

Several incumbent members of Florida's congressional delegation won reelection Tuesday. Republican winners included Randy Fine in District 6, Mike Haridopolos in District 8, Kat Cammack in District 3, Brian Mast in District 21 and Greg Steube. Democratic incumbents reelected included Kathy Castor in the Tampa area, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel.

Republican Joe Strada won the open District 11 seat being vacated by retiring Republican Daniel Webster. Republican Jim Schwartzel won the congressional seat Donalds is leaving. Other congressional contests remained unsettled late Tuesday, according to WKMG News 6.

Republicans had redrawn four congressional districts earlier in 2026 with the aim of defeating Democratic incumbents. Democrats had won three of the four contests so far, while District 9 remained close, with Democratic Rep. Darren Soto leading Republican Dan Green by approximately 1,200 votes late on election night. WKMG reported that the contest could be headed toward a runoff.

District 7 was also too close to call at the time of WKMG's late election-night reporting. Republican Ryan Elijah and Democrat Bale Dalton were separated by approximately 2,000 votes. Those margins and race statuses reflect the late Tuesday reporting rather than certified final outcomes.

In Central Florida legislative elections, Democrats flipped several seats, according to WKMG News 6. Maitland Mayor John Lowndes defeated incumbent Republican Jason Brodeur in Florida Senate District 10 by 56 percent to 44 percent. Democrats also flipped Florida House districts 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39.

Those legislative results represent Central Florida examples rather than a complete accounting of statewide legislative elections. Which party will control either chamber of the Florida Legislature was not yet clear, and Jacksonville-area legislative results were not confirmed.

National Context

Florida's statewide Republican victories occurred as Democrats were projected to win control of both the U.S. House and Senate nationally, according to ABC News reporting cited by WSB-TV. NPR reported that Donalds won against a national backdrop of Republicans growing unhappy with Trump over gas prices and the war with Iran. WKMG News 6 described Florida as a bright spot for Republicans amid the broader national results.

What Changes After the 2026 Florida Election

The most immediate leadership change will come in the governor's office, where Donalds will succeed DeSantis. Although the office will have a new occupant, the Republican Party will retain control. Donalds' election also marks the first time Florida will have a Black governor.

The most significant statewide policy change approved by voters involves property taxes. Amendment 3 begins taking effect Jan. 1, 2027, increasing the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes and lowering the annual assessment increase cap for non-homestead property. The estimated revenue effects on local governments will reach approximately $12 billion once the changes are fully phased in, according to state economists.

Two other proposed constitutional changes will not move forward. Amendment 1's failure leaves the Budget Stabilization Fund cap at 10 percent of net general revenue, while Amendment 2's defeat means the proposed property tax exemption for agricultural equipment will not be implemented. Both proposals fell short of the 60 percent approval threshold.

Locally, Duval County schools will continue receiving revenue from the renewed 1-mill property tax. The School Board will welcome three new members following elections in districts 2, 4 and 6. Atlantic Beach also has a closely contested Commission Seat 4 result that remains unofficial.

Official election results will come from the Duval County Supervisor of Elections at duvalelections.gov and the Florida Division of Elections. The reported totals, percentages and close-race standings remain unofficial until certification. The final certified results will establish the official outcomes of the Nov. 3, 2026, election.