Republican Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly in the Florida governor's race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, winning by about 108,000 votes out of more than 8.2 million cast, the Associated Press reported.

The AP declared Donalds the winner at 9:09 p.m. EST. He will be the state's first Black governor and will succeed fellow Republican Ron DeSantis, who was term-limited after two consecutive terms.

Unofficial results

Unofficial totals from Florida Election Watch, the Florida Department of State's results site, showed the following as of early Wednesday, Nov. 4, with all precincts reporting statewide. These totals are unofficial and remain subject to canvassing and certification.

Candidate

Party

Votes

Pct.

Byron Donalds / Bryan Avila

REP

4,132,112

50.02%

David Jolly / Gwen Graham

DEM

4,024,180

48.71%

Scott Jewett / Nicole Skelly

LPF

37,884

0.46%

Frank J. Russo / Rachel Rodriguez

NPA

23,199

0.28%

Charles Burkett / Ruben A. Coto

NPA

15,235

0.18%

Dean Ocean Abrams / Joe Van Vactor

NPA

12,532

0.15%

Jeffrey Peter Datto / Juan Santana

NPA

8,309

0.10%

Moliere Dimanche / Benjiman Rojas

NPA

7,590

0.09%

Statewide, 8,334,790 ballots were recorded, a 60.82% turnout, according to BocaNewsNow, which cited Florida Election Watch data. Vote-by-mail counts in some counties remain partially reported until after signature-cure and overseas-ballot deadlines, so totals can still shift.

With 99% of votes counted, WUSF reported the margin at 108,481 ballots. In 2022, DeSantis won reelection by more than 19 points.

Victory and concession

Donalds thanked President Donald Trump during his victory speech at a gathering in Broward County. He said he also received a concession call from Jolly, whom Donalds congratulated for running a "hard-fought race," WUSF reported.

Jolly delivered his concession speech at the Tampa Convention Center. "To come up with 48 or 49 percent in a state where our own party only has 29 percent of the voters means that we have a coalition," Jolly said, according to WUSF.

Donalds has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021. He ran with lieutenant governor candidate Bryan Avila, a former Florida state senator. Jolly, a former Republican congressman who registered as a Democrat in April 2025, ran with Gwen Graham, a former U.S. House member and daughter of former Gov. Bob Graham.

St. Johns County turnout

More than 98,000 St. Johns County voters had already cast ballots as of 1 p.m. Nov. 2, according to the St. Augustine Record. That was 40.19% of the county's 243,889 registered voters. Republicans made up 54% of those early ballots, Democrats 27% and no-party voters about 17%.

Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 42 locations across St. Johns County, including the Ponte Vedra Branch Library at 101 Library Blvd., Ponte Vedra Concert Hall at 1050 A1A N. and Crosswater Hall at Nocatee at 245 Nocatee Center Way.

What the race was about

Property insurance dominated the campaign. Donalds campaigned on preserving the 2022 and 2023 insurance reforms, increasing private-market competition and expanding home-hardening grants. He told the Sun Sentinel his goal was to bring costs down another 20% to 25%.

Jolly proposed creating a state-backed catastrophe fund to carry hurricane and wind risk, with private insurers handling other coverage. His campaign claimed the plan could cut premiums 60% to 70%, but that estimate was not established through an independent actuarial analysis, according to a Lower Mortgage policy comparison published Oct. 30.

Donalds will be sworn in as the state's 47th governor on Jan. 5, 2027, according to WUSF. DeSantis leaves the governor's mansion the same day.