Tallahassee Mayoral Election

Tallahassee voters will choose a new mayor in the Nov. 3 general election, a nonpartisan race for City Commission Seat 4 that pays $99,167 annually. The winner is sworn in Nov. 16.

Two candidates are competing: Loranne Ausley, 62, an attorney and small business owner who spent more than 20 years as a Florida state senator and representative and founded Whole Child Leon and the South City Foundation; and Jeremy Matlow, 41, the lone sitting City Commissioner in the race, a co-owner of Gaines Street Pies with eight years of local government experience.

Both candidates say restoring public trust in City Hall is a top priority, though they frame the city's challenges differently. Ausley emphasizes unifying a divided commission and addressing housing costs and growth while protecting neighborhoods. Matlow casts himself as a break from entrenched political and developer interests, pledging affordable housing units, permitting reform and neighborhood reinvestment. The race will test voter appetite for continuity versus change in city leadership.

With under two weeks until Election Day, Florida has drawn heavy national attention, with surrogates from both parties campaigning across the state. President Trump is set to rally with Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, whose campaign faced scrutiny after briefly removing Trump references from its website, which Donalds called routine updates. Vice President JD Vance has framed the election as a choice between continuing current GOP policies or returning to Biden-era priorities. Democrats, hoping to flip seats, deployed Bernie Sanders for Senate candidate Angie Nixon against incumbent Ashley Moody, while Bill Clinton campaigned with gubernatorial candidate David Jolly. Competitive U.S. House races in Florida's 13th and 14th districts are also drawing close attention.

Florida voters will decide three Cabinet races this November alongside the governorship, contests that could determine how much of Governor Ron DeSantis' influence persists after he leaves office.

Attorney General James Uthmeier, appointed in February 2025 after Ashley Moody's move to the U.S. Senate, faces Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez, who has tied him to the "Hope Florida" scandal and accused him of misusing public funds for political purposes. Uthmeier denies involvement in the related settlement negotiations and points to his enforcement record on tech companies and fentanyl.

In the CFO race, appointed incumbent Blaise Ingoglia, who emphasizes government transparency, faces former state Senator Annette Taddeo, who argues the office needs more independence from the governor's administration.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, the only incumbent who won election in 2022, seeks reelection against Democrat Joey Atkins in a lower-profile race. DeSantis has urged Republicans to stay energized as Florida approaches a leadership transition.

With early voting underway and the election a week out, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly have both campaigned across north Florida, including a joint appearance in Tallahassee and stops in GOP-heavy Panhandle cities like Pensacola and Panama City. The moves reflect a closer-than-usual race for Florida governor: Democrats are working to energize their base while Republicans hope to cut into traditionally Democratic areas. Donalds retains structural advantages, including stronger national party backing, a fundraising edge, and the benefit of running in a conservative-leaning state, but polling shows a tighter contest than Florida has seen in recent statewide elections.

With one week until Election Day, Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly are campaigning across Florida to close out the governor's race. Donalds, touring by bus, cast Jolly as inconsistent and pledged cost-cutting measures and government transparency. Jolly, framing his campaign around change, argued a Democratic win would defy Florida's deep-red lean. A new University of North Florida poll shows a tightening race, with Donalds and Jolly close and a small share of voters undecided. Transgender athletes in women's sports has also emerged as a flashpoint, with Donalds' campaign highlighting past remarks by Jolly on the issue and attacking his position, while Jolly has called for leaving related decisions to courts and sports leagues.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly traveled to northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley" this week, using the region's dense cluster of hyperscale data centers to argue against unchecked data center expansion in Florida. The former Republican congressman has made the issue central to his bid to become Florida's first Democratic governor in more than three decades, with the race remaining tightly contested roughly seven weeks before the midterms.

Jolly described visiting a family living near the facilities as a "sensory experience," citing noise and visual obstruction caused by the massive structures. His trip is meant to show Florida voters a preview of what could come if hyperscale data center development continues unchecked, tying the issue to broader national anxieties over artificial intelligence's infrastructure demands.

The visit underscores how data centers, once a niche zoning issue, have become a wedge topic in state political campaigns, reflecting growing public concern over the environmental and community impacts of AI-driven infrastructure buildouts nationwide.

With about four weeks until Election Day, Florida's 13th congressional district remains one of the cycle's most closely watched races. Recent polling from Fox News and Inside Elections shows the seat shifting from "likely Republican" to "leaning Republican," signaling a tighter contest than previously expected.

Republican incumbent Anna Paulina Luna, who has held the seat since 2022, is campaigning on an anti-corruption record, citing her push to release Epstein-related files and efforts to ban congressional insider trading. Democratic challenger Leela Gray, a retired brigadier general, argues Luna's trading-ban proposal is incomplete and is calling for a broader ban on stock trading, prediction-market betting, and donor-linked investments across all three branches of government. Gray has accused Luna of conflicts of interest tied to a donor's oil company, while Luna has countered that Gray has downplayed her own financial ties to pharmaceutical and banking interests. Both campaigns deny the other's claims as voters prepare to decide the race.

St. Petersburg, Florida voters cast ballots Tuesday to decide whether incumbent Mayor Ken Welch earns a second term or a challenger takes over city hall. Welch, in office since January 2022, is campaigning on housing and public safety successes but faces criticism over hurricane recovery, water billing errors, and a collapsed ballpark deal.

His challengers include former Governor and Congressman Charlie Crist, Councilwoman Brandi Gabbard, former NAACP St. Pete president Maria Scruggs, former fire chief Jim Large, and neighborhood leader Kevin Batdorf. Crist, an early polling frontrunner, is emphasizing affordability, education, and dissatisfaction with the city's response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Batdorf has built momentum criticizing the administration's storm response, while Gabbard focuses on infrastructure and utility costs. Large points to his tenure as fire chief despite past controversy over workplace conduct complaints, and Scruggs emphasizes community partnerships for economic growth.

If no candidate wins a majority Tuesday, the race advances to a runoff decided in November's general election.