Florida's open governor race joins national wave of Democratic gains

Voters in Redington Beach, Pinellas Park, and Largo completed the 2026 general election on Tuesday, November 3, with polling places open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The state was divided between the Eastern and Central time zones during the voting window. Residents focused on a crowded ballot that included every U.S. House seat in Florida, state legislative offices, and the governorship, which was an open seat with no incumbent running. The election cycle also featured three statewide ballot measures regarding budget stabilization, agricultural tax exemptions, and property tax changes, though final results for these measures were not yet fully tallied in the initial reports.

The national picture of the 2026 midterms was defined by a significant shift in power toward the Democratic Party. As of 4 p.m. ET on November 6, Democrats had secured majorities in both chambers of Congress, picking up at least 43 House seats and seven Senate seats. This resulted in a projected 250-157 majority for Democrats in the House and a 54-44 majority in the Senate. The Republican Party suffered a net loss of at least seven Senate seats, a performance that placed the election in the top 20% of election years in terms of seat swings against a president’s party, a threshold often defined as a wave election.

The governor’s race was a central component of this national trend, with Democrats winning a plurality of state government trifectas and a majority of governorships for the first time since before the 2010 elections. Of the 36 gubernatorial races held across the country, Democrats had won 22 and Republicans 12 as of the 4 p.m. ET cutoff on November 6. Two races remained uncalled, one previously held by Democrats and one by Republicans. This outcome represented a net gain of five governorships for the Democratic Party, with all five changes in party control moving from Republicans to Democrats.

Florida’s own governor’s race was one of 19 open seats in the country where the incumbent did not seek reelection. The state ballot included candidates from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and No Party Affiliation parties. While specific names for the Florida governor’s race were not detailed in the immediate result summaries, the state joined the national pattern of Democratic gains in executive offices. The result in Florida contributed to the broader statistic of Democrats holding a majority of governorships, a milestone not achieved by the party in over a decade.

The election also saw a wave of historic firsts in leadership positions across the nation. Crystalyne Curley was elected the first woman president of the Navajo Nation, narrowly defeating attorney Justin Jones. Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, while Deb Haaland became the first Native American woman to win a state governorship. These victories highlighted a growing trend of Native American women in formal political power, a shift attributed by strategists to decades of community organizing and advocacy.

In the state legislative chambers, Democrats won 46 and Republicans won 39 of the 88 chambers on the ballot, with one chamber going to a bipartisan coalition. This marked a net change of 12 chambers to the Democrats, with no chambers switching to Republican control. The party also swept most attorney general and secretary of state races, winning 21 of 34 attorney general contests and 21 of 33 secretary of state contests. These results solidified Democratic control over the executive and legislative branches in a majority of states where these offices were on the ballot.

President Donald Trump reacted to the midterm losses by reshaping his administration, naming Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff to replace Susie Wiles. In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, Trump suggested that his administration’s deportation policy may have been too aggressive for voters, stating that he could work with the new Democratic Congress on an immigration deal. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer responded to the comments by noting that Miller, the architect of the hardline immigration agenda, was now in charge of the White House, calling the move a promotion rather than a course correction.

The election results also indicated a significant change in the balance of power at the state level, with 20 states now under full Democratic trifectas and 16 under Republican trifectas. Eight states remained with divided governments as of the 4 p.m. ET cutoff. The shift in state legislative control, combined with the governor’s race outcomes, suggests a period of heightened oversight for federal agencies, particularly those involved in immigration enforcement, as Democrats prepare to take control of the majority of state legislatures and governorships.

The final tally of the 2026 midterms reflects a decisive voter preference for change in both federal and state leadership. The 18 to 18 split in the pre-election partisan control of governorships has been altered by the five seats that switched to Democratic control. With 36 governor races decided or nearly so, the political landscape for the next two years is set by a Democratic majority in both the U.S. Senate and House, along with a significant increase in Democratic control over state governments and executive offices nationwide.