Florida Attorney General Race: Who Will Win in 2026

Florida's two marquee 2026 statewide races present unusual racial pairings, and candidates are handling the dynamic very differently. In the Senate race, Democrat Angie Nixon, a progressive from Jacksonville, faces Republican Ashley Moody, the former state attorney general appointed to the seat Marco Rubio vacated. In the governor's race, Republican Byron Donalds, who could become Florida's first Black governor, is running against David Jolly, a former Republican turned Democrat with strong Black voter support.

Analysts say Donalds has mostly avoided Black-specific outreach and race-focused messaging, emphasizing the economy and school choice instead, reflecting a common strategy for Black conservative candidates wary of alienating their base. Despite recent efforts to court Black voters, polling shows Jolly holding a commanding lead among Black voters. Nixon, by contrast, has leaned into discussing race directly while also courting white working-class voters with economic messaging, trailing Moody in current polling but with strategists calling her a credible underdog capable of winning with strong turnout.

Donalds has continued to draw national attention on other issues, recently criticizing far-left Florida Democrats who have called to abolish ICE amid the broader immigration debate.

Florida's primaries produced a mixed picture for both parties ahead of November's general election. Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican gubernatorial nomination with Trump's endorsement and a large financial edge, beating Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, former House Speaker Paul Renner and newcomer James Fishback despite Gov. Ron DeSantis's public misgivings; Donalds would become Florida's first Black governor if elected. Former Republican congressman David Jolly, running with Gwen Graham as his lieutenant governor pick, won the Democratic nomination over state Rep. Dotie Joseph and others, pitching himself as a centrist who wants to end the culture wars. The two will meet in November to succeed the term-limited DeSantis, in a state where Democrats haven't won the governorship in over 30 years.

Progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon defeated establishment-backed Alex Vindman for the Senate Democratic nomination despite being outspent; she faces Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who won her primary with Trump's backing, in the special election for Marco Rubio's former seat. Incumbents Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz turned back challengers, including Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, in redrawn districts under Florida's new Republican-favored congressional map. Trump-endorsed Cory Mills lost his House primary amid domestic violence allegations, while far-right figures Dan Bilzerian and Madison Cawthorn were also defeated, alongside Rep. Randy Fine's contentious win.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has asked a state court to issue an injunction halting OpenAI from further developing its artificial intelligence models while a legal dispute between the two plays out. The request targets both the company and its CEO Sam Altman, and seeks to bar OpenAI from advancing new AI systems without third-party-approved safety protections, as well as to cut off minors' access to ChatGPT.

Uthmeier framed the move as an effort to force accountability on a company he argues has downplayed the risks of its technology, invoking recent public concern in Washington and elsewhere over AI's rapid, unchecked expansion. He challenged Altman to support the court action if his past comments about slowing AI development were sincere. The case adds Florida to a growing list of state-level legal and regulatory pressures facing OpenAI, with implications for how quickly the company can roll out new models and features amid mounting scrutiny of AI safety, particularly around minors.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed two lawsuits in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against operators of prominent online "sweepstakes" casinos, including Stake and VGW's Chumba Casino, Luckyland, and Global Parker, along with the payment processors that support them. The suits allege the platforms run illegal online gambling operations in violation of Florida's gambling laws and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The complaints target a dual-currency model — combining "gold coins" with "sweep coins" or "stake cash" — that allegedly disguises real-money wagering as free social entertainment while offering slots, blackjack, roulette, and poker. Uthmeier argues these platforms exploit Floridians, including minors and seniors, through deceptive marketing while evading licensing, taxation, and consumer-protection rules. The state is seeking permanent injunctions barring operations in Florida, forfeiture of consumer losses, disgorgement of profits, civil penalties, restitution, and attorneys' fees. The case adds to mounting legal and regulatory scrutiny of sweepstakes casinos across multiple U.S. states, a sector prediction markets have increasingly tracked amid questions over its long-term legality.

Republican Keith Faber and Democrat John Kulewicz, the two nominees for Ohio attorney general, have agreed to debate on Oct. 19 at Youngstown State University, becoming the first candidates in any of Ohio's nine statewide races to commit to facing off before the Nov. 3 election. The event, moderated by Tony Paglia of the Youngstown Press Club, follows a joint statement from both campaigns pledging a "free, fair, and informative" discussion for voters.

Faber, the current state auditor, has emphasized support for law enforcement, consumer protection, combating trafficking, and resisting federal overreach. Kulewicz has focused on consumer protection and price-fixing enforcement, arguing the office should prioritize state issues over national political lawsuits. Both candidates have outlined anti-corruption plans, and differ on continuing the prosecution of former FirstEnergy executives and on regulating license-plate camera technology. No debates have yet been scheduled in Ohio's higher-profile Senate or governor's races, where candidates have so far resisted or failed to arrange face-offs.

Arizona's attorney general race is heating up as Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes and Republican challenger Warren Petersen, the state Senate president, faced off in their first televised debate. Mayes, who narrowly defeated Abe Hamadeh by 280 votes in 2022 in a recount-triggering finish, is seeking a second term against Petersen, who won the GOP nomination in July over Rodney Glassman.

The debate turned combative over law enforcement, with Petersen citing Mayes' past comments about masked immigration agents, which drew criticism from police groups and Gov. Katie Hobbs, while Mayes countered by pointing to Petersen's legislative voting record on police-related bills. The candidates also clashed over immigration detention facilities, including a $1.2 billion federally funded expansion in Florence, ICE's role in Arizona, and how to handle young migrants brought to the country as children. They split over data centers, with Petersen favoring expansion under local control and Mayes urging caution. Their sharpest divide remains relations with Washington: Mayes has filed more than 50 lawsuits against the Trump administration over mail-in ballot restrictions, tariffs, and vaccine rules, while Petersen, a strong Trump supporter, has pledged to drop those challenges if elected. Polling from AARP and Noble Predictive Insights shows Mayes with a modest lead, with about one in five voters still undecided.