The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
The incumbent Republican, Rick Scott, ran for reelection. The Democratic nominee was former Governor Charlie Crist. Crist was elected Governor as a Republican in 2006 but did not run for re-election in 2010, instead running for the U.S. Senate. In April 2010 and while still in office, he left the Republican Party to run as an Independent instead. He was defeated in the general election by Republican nominee Marco Rubio. In December 2012, Crist joined the Democratic Party. With the loss, Crist became the first person in Florida history to lose statewide elections as a Democrat, Republican, and Independent. Libertarian nominee Adrian Wyllie and several candidates with no party affiliation also ran.
The consensus among The Cook Political Report, Governing, The Rothenberg Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, Daily Kos Elections, and others was that the contest was a tossup.
Republican primary
Florida Governor's race in 30 seconds - Charlie Crist, who was once a republican turned independent, is now running as a democrat against Rick Scott.
Candidates
Declared
- Yinka Adeshina, pharmacist
- Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, conservative activist and candidate for Governor in 1998
- Rick Scott, incumbent Governor
Withdrew
- Timothy Devine
Declined
- Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer of Florida (running for re-election)
- Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General (running for re-election)
- Bill McCollum, former Florida Attorney General and candidate for Governor in 2010
- Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (running for re-election)
- John E. Thrasher, State Senator
- Will Weatherford, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
- Allen West, former U.S. Representative
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Charlie Crist, former Republican turned Independent Governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
- Nan Rich, former Minority Leader of the Florida Senate
Withdrew
- Farid Khavari, economist, author and Independent candidate for Governor in 2010 (running as an Independent)
Declined
- Bob Buckhorn, Mayor of Tampa and former Tampa city councilman
- Manny Diaz, former Mayor of Miami
- Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando, former Minority Leader of the Florida Senate and nominee for Florida Attorney General in 2002
- Dan Gelber, former Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives, former State Senator and nominee for Florida Attorney General in 2010
- Pam Iorio, former Mayor of Tampa, former Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections and former Hillsborough County Commissioner
- Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator
- Jeremy Ring, State Senator
- Alex Sink, former Chief Financial Officer of Florida, nominee for Governor in 2010 and nominee for Florida's 13th congressional district in 2014
- Rod Smith, former Chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, former State Senator and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2010
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. Representative and Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Libertarian Party
Candidates
Declared
- Adrian Wyllie, activist, radio host and former Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida
Withdrew
- John Wayne Smith, activist and perennial candidate
Declined
- Alexander George, former committeeman of the Libertarian Party of Florida and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 (ran as an Independent, then withdrew)
- Steve LaBianca, activist and businessman
- Roger Stone, political consultant, lobbyist and strategist
Independents
Candidates
Declared
- Glenn Burkett, businessman and perennial candidate
- Farid Khavari, economist, author and Independent candidate for Governor in 2010
Withdrew
- Alexander George, former committeeman of the Libertarian Party of Florida and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
Disqualified
- Joe Allen, writer
Write-in candidates
- Piotr Blass
-
- Running mate: Bob Wirengard
- Timothy Michael Devine
-
- Running mate: Diane Smith
- Emelia Sandra Harris
-
- Running mate: Georgianna G. Harris
- Monroe Lee
-
- Running mate: Juanita Lockett
- Caleb Pringle
-
- Running mate: Jeffery Lunsford
- Charles Frederick Tolbert
-
- Running mate: Christine Timmon
General election
Candidates
The following candidates will appear on the ballot for the general election:
- Rick Scott (Republican), incumbent Governor
-
- Running mate: Carlos Lopez-Cantera, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
- Charlie Crist (Democratic), former Republican turned Independent Governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
-
- Running mate: Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, former Chair of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party and nominee for Florida's 18th congressional district in 2008
- Adrian Wyllie (Libertarian), activist, radio host and former Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida
-
- Running mate: Greg Roe, insurance executive
- Glenn Burkett (Independent), businessman and perennial candidate
-
- Running mate: Jose Augusto Matos
- Farid Khavari (Independent), economist, author and Independent candidate for Governor in 2010
-
- Running mate: Lateresa A. Jones
Endorsements
Predictions
Campaigning
As of early June 2014, Scott had spent almost $13m since March on television adverts attacking Charlie Crist, who then appeared the likely Democratic nominee. Although the ads resulted in a tightening of the race, this came about by decreasing Crist's favorability ratings. By contrast, Scott's favorability ratings did not increase. By late September, Scott's television ad spending had exceeded $35m and in mid-October it reached $56.5 million, compared to $26.5 million by Crist. On October 22 it was reported that Scott's total spending had exceeded $83 million and he announced that, having previously said he would not do so, he would be investing his own money into the campaign, speculated to be as much as $22 million.
Crist hoped to draw strong support from Florida's more than 1.6 million registered black voters, an effort that was challenging with regards to his previous political career as a Republican. A poll conducted in September 2014 by Quinnipiac University revealed his support among black voters was at 72 percent against Scott, which was below the 90 percent analysts believed he needed to win.
Scott and Crist met in a debate on October 15, held by the Florida Press Association at Broward College. The debate required candidates to receive at least 15% support in major polls to be included. This was allegedly increased from 10% after Wyllie met the initial criteria, but the Miami Herald reported that the threshold had been 15% since 2013. The decision has been criticised as "suppressing choice" and the Wyllie campaign has filed a lawsuit to be included in the debate. U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn dismissed the lawsuit. At this debate, Scott refused to take the stage for seven minutes because Crist had a small electric fan under his lectern. The incident was dubbed "fangate" by media sources such as Politico.
- Complete video of debate, October 15, 2014
Polling
Results
See also
- List of Governors of Florida
- United States gubernatorial elections, 2014
References
External links
- Florida gubernatorial election, 2014 at Ballotpedia
- Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
- Charlie Crist for Governor
- Rick Scott for Governor
- Adrian Wyllie for Governor
- Khavari for Governor
