Six Races to Watch in Florida’s Upcoming Primaries

BY: NATE COLTON | Political Correspondent | BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — With Florida’s primary election set for August 18, 2026, the political future of the state is up for major changes from high-profile departures and challengers. From Congress to CFO, here are the key races to watch in Florida’s upcoming primaries.

U.S. Senate Special Election

After Senator Marco Rubio was tapped by President Trump to be the next Secretary of State in 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace him. Now, Sen. Moody is facing challengers from both sides of the aisle to fill the remaining two years of the term. Though the Senator is expected to easily win the Republican nomination against three other candidates, two Democrats are competing for their party’s nomination in the primary: Alex Vindman, former Director of European Affairs for the National Security Council; and state Representative Angie Nixon of Jacksonville. Nixon was recently endorsed by U.S. Representatives Maxwell Frost (D-Orlando), Ilhan Omar (D-Minneapolis), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) as well as progressive organizations Our Revolution and the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida, the latter of which is an official caucus of the Florida Democratic Party. She has called for a primary debate, something that she says Vindman has declined in the past.

Though Nixon has faced criticism over her electability due to her progressive policies such as Medicare for All and universal childcare in a majority-Republican state, general election polling shows that she has a slight lead over Vindman against Ashley Moody.

Vindman gained recognition in 2019 when he testified before Congress as part of the first impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Vindman has raised over $14 million while Moody has raised a little under $11 million. Angie Nixon has raised around $625,000.

Florida’s 25th Congressional District

Congressional redistricting from Governor DeSantis and Florida Republicans has made FL-25 one of the most watched races in the country. Originally meant to be a gain for Republicans, the district is now largely categorized as a toss-up.

On the Democratic side, Democratic Socialist Oliver Larkin is challenging incumbent FL-23 Representative Jared Moskowitz, who is widely regarded as one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress and is a self-described “Ron DeSantis Democrat.” Five Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination, most prominently Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer and former State Representative George Moraitis. Oliver Larkin supports progressive platforms such as Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, and ending aid to Israel, the latter of which is a major factor in claims of unelectability from more moderate Democrats. Still, Larkin’s polling shows that 86% of Democratic primary voters and 68% of general election voters favor conditioning or stopping aid to Israel.

Larkin has criticized Moskowitz over his unwillingness to debate him and for not holding any public events in his new district. Moskowitz’s campaign website does not have a page about what policies he supports. Moskowitz has received significant funding from or earmarked through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, and $1,000 from pro-Israel advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel. The Congressman has also taken campaign contributions from Publix, Amazon, Google, CVS, and Walmart. Oliver Larkin says he is opposed to taking any money from corporations.

In total fundraising, Moskowitz leads both the Democratic and Republican field with more than $2.6 million raised, followed by Republicans Singer, Dan Franzese, Moraitis, Raven Harrison, and Joe Kaufman. Larkin ranks second-to-last in fundraising of any major party candidate with nearly $542,000, besting only Republican Claudia Villatoro who has raised slightly under $5,000.

Florida’s 20th Congressional District

In Democratic stronghold FL-20, incumbent Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (who currently represents FL-25) is the only white Democrat running in the plurality-Black district. She is facing four other candidates in the primary election: Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (the district’s former Representative who resigned this April after a campaign finance fraud investigation), former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, and progressive Elijah Manley. Of these candidates, Manley is perceived as having the best shot at unseating Wasserman Schultz. As BocaNewsNow.com previously reported, Rep. Wasserman Schultz was caught lying about the endorsements she had received, notably one from the Broward County Democratic Black Caucus. Cory Shearer, president of the group, said that Wasserman Schultz came to them in person to apologize.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2004 and was a national co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Elijah Manley, who has campaigned alongside Oliver Larkin, is endorsed by the Florida Young Democrats, College Democrats of America, and Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), among others. Similarly to Larkin, Manley supports Medicare for All and does not take money from corporations.

Chief Financial Officer of Florida

After Republican CFO Jimmy Patronis resigned to run for Congress in Florida’s 1st Congressional District in 2025 following the resignation of Matt Gaetz — a race Patronis won by nearly 15% — Governor DeSantis appointed State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia to take his place. Now, Ingoglia is running for a full term against one Republican, Dr. Frank W. Collige, who has raised 118 times less money than him. Ingoglia, endorsed by DeSantis and seven Florida members of Congress, is expected to easily win the Republican nomination. The race is more interesting, however, on the Democratic side, where former State Senator Annette Taddeo is running against attorney Earle Ford, who pivoted to a CFO run after dropping out of the race for Congress in FL-13.

Taddeo has raised $42,256, nearly double Ford’s $21,744, though Democrats may prove reluctant to vote for her due to previous losses in elections for Miami-Dade County Clerk, Florida Democratic Party chair, and Congress. Still, polling shows that she has a chance to beat Ingoglia in the general election as Ruth’s List Florida, an abortion rights group backing Taddeo, finds Taddeo with a 1.6% lead against him. Coincidentally, Ruth’s List Florida was founded by former state CFO Alex Sink, the last (and only) Democrat to hold the position. Taddeo is endorsed by Sink, nine current and former state legislators, and the SEIU Florida, among others. Ford is endorsed by the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida and the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida.

State House District 109

Florida’s 109th State House district has been represented by Ashley Gantt since 2022, but the seat is now up for grabs after Gantt opted to run for State Senate District 34 to succeed Shevrin Jones, who is running for Congress. Four Democrats are looking to replace Gantt: the district’s former Rep. James Bush II, who Gantt defeated by 3.5% in the 2022 primary; Opa-locka Mayor John H. Taylor, who is endorsed by Gantt; Broadway Harewood, founder of Liberty City’s Broadway Art District; and union leader Satin Fye. No Republicans are running in this district, meaning the winner of the primary will automatically win the district and the race will not appear on the general election ballot.

Taylor is the best-funded candidate, having raised $35,982, followed by Harewood’s $14,270, Bush’s $9,300, and Fye’s $1,250. Taylor emerges as an easy frontrunner here, though the district’s small number of Republicans and Independents may throw their support behind the most conservative Democratic candidate, splitting the progressive vote. As of 2024, there are around 51,000 registered Democrats, 15,000 registered Republicans, 1,000 registered Independents, and nearly 25,000 registered voters with no party affiliation.

State House District 113

State House District 113 (which includes parts of Miami-Dade County) has gone unrepresented since Republican Vicki Lopez, who had served since 2022, was appointed to Miami-Dade’s Board of Commissioners last November. Now, the district, which was represented by Democrats from 2012 to 2022, has two candidates running for the Democratic nomination and three for the Republican nomination. In the Democratic primary, Gloria Romero Roses, who is endorsed by Miami Mayor Daniela Levine Cava and former state CFO Alex Sink, faces Justin Mendoza-Routt, endorsed by State Rep. Ashley Gantt, former State Sen. Annette Taddeo, and the Florida Young Democrats. In this toss-up district, Democrats will make a choice between Romero Roses, a more moderate candidate, and Mendoza-Routt, a grassroots progressive.

Republicans will pick between former state Representative and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, real estate agent Frank Lago, and businessman Tony Diaz. Lago leads the Republican field in fundraising with $184,841, though $25,000 of that is a self-loan. He is followed by Barreiro, who reports raising $119,600, $100,000 of which comes from a self-loan. Diaz trails both other Republicans in fundraising with $61,596, with around $14,476 reported as a self-loan. Vicki Lopez has endorsed Lago to succeed her. The Democratic and Republican nominees will also face write-in candidate Paola Vazquez Del Mercado in the general election, who has reported no campaign contributions and does not have a campaign website.

DEADLINES

The deadline to register as a Democrat or Republican to vote in the primary elections was July 20th. If you are not registered with a major party but are registered with a third party or are unaffiliated, you will still be given a primary ballot with nonpartisan races. Mail-in ballots are already being sent out, and the deadline to request one for the primary is August 6th. Early voting begins on August 3rd in Miami-Dade and August 8th in Palm Beach and Broward. It continues until August 16th in all three counties, with Election Day set for August 18th.

All eligible Floridians can register to vote here. Palm Beach County voters can view their sample ballot, polling location, and request a mail-in ballot here. Voters in Broward County can do the same here, as can voters in Miami-Dade County here.

Note: BocaNewsNow is a nonpartisan news organization and does not endorse political candidates or parties. All fundraising numbers are published from FEC reported data as of July 28, 2026.