FLORIDA 29 Electoral Votes 
link to clickable map
Population 
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Florida Secretary of State)
Total Resident Population, July 1, 2016 est.
20,612,439
Total Registration, Nov. 2016
12,863,773 >

Rep. 4,550,311 (35.37%)   Dem. 4,877,749 (37.92%)  No Pty Aff. 3,089,929 (24.02%)   Minor 345,784 (2.69%)
Florida has 67 counties.

Five counties over 1 million: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange.
Six cities over 200,000: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hileah.  (Miami-Ft. Lauderdale is the largest metropolitan area). 

Government
Governor: Rick Scott (R) elected in 2010, re-elected in 2014.. 
State Legislature: Florida Legislature   House: 120 seats  Senate: 40 seats
Local: Counties, Cities   NACO
U.S. House: 17R, 10D - 1. J.Miller (R)2. G.Graham (D) | 3. T.Yoho (R)4. A.Crenshaw (R) | 5. C.Brown (D) | 6. R.DeSantis (R) | 7. J.Mica (R) | 8. B.Posey (R) | 9. A.Grayson (D) | 10. D.Webster (R) | 11. R.Nugent (R) | 12. G.Bilirakis (R) | 13. D.Jolly (R) | 14. K.Castor (D) | 15. D.Ross (R) | 16. V.Buchanan (R) | 17. T.Rooney (R) | 18. P.Murphy (D). | 19. C.Clawson (R) | 20. A.Hastings (D) | 21. T.Deutch (D) | 22. L.Frankel (D) | 23. D.Wasserman-Schultz (D) | 24. F.Wilson (D) | 25. M.Diaz-Balart (R) | 26. C.Curbelo (R) | 27. I.Ros-Lehtinen (R).   >
U.S. Senate: Bill Nelson (D) re-elected in 2012, Marco Rubio (R) seeking re-election in 2016. 
2016
U.S. Senate: After an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. Marco Rubio (R) reversed course and decided to seek re-election (+)[Reps. David Jolly (R-13) and Ron DeSantis (R-6) had been vying for the Senate seat, but abandoned their bids when Rubio entered].  Democrats' hopes for a pick-up fell short as Rubio defeated Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) by 4,835,191 (51.98%) to 4,122,088 (44.31%), 196,956 (2.12%) for Paul Stanton (L) and four others rounding out the field.
U.S. House:
Seven members retired and one shifted districts:
-In CD-1 (Panhandle from Pensacola east to Destin), Rep. Jeff Miller (R) first elected in an Oct. 2001 special election:  Matt Gaetz (R) defeated Steven Specht (D) by 69.1% to 30.9%.
-In CD-2 (eastern Panhandle inc. Tallahassee and Panama City), freshman Rep. Gwen Graham (D)Neal Dunn (R) trounced Walter Dartland (D) by 67.32% to 29.94%.
-In CD-4 (most of Jacksonville) Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R) is retiring after eight terms:  John Rutherford (R) defeated David Bruderly (D) by 70.18% to 27.61%.
-In CD-9 (eastern Orlando and south, southeast), Rep. Alan Grayson (D) ran for Senate:  Darren Soto (D) defeated Wayne Liebnitzky (R) by 57.48% to 42.52%.
-In CD-10 (Central Florida along the I-4 Corridor), Rep. Daniel Webster (R) moved over to run in the open CD-11 seat:  Val Demings (D) defeated Thuy Lowe (R) by 64.87% to 35.13%.
-In CD-11 (Hernando Co.), Rep. Rich Nugent (R) first elected in Nov. 2010:  Rep. Daniel Webster (R) defeated Dave Koller (D) by 65.37% to 31.16%
-In CD-18 (northern Palm Beach), Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) is running for Senate:  Brian Mast (R) defeated Randy Perkins (D) by 53.6% to 43.07%.
-In CD-19 (southwest coast from Fort Myers to Marco Island), Rep. Curt Clawson (R) first elected in a 2014 special election:  Francis Rooney (R) defeated Robert M. Neeld (D) by 65.87% to 34.09%
One incumbent was defeated in the primary:
-In CD-5 (a very gerrymandered district that runs from Jacksonville to Orlando), former state Sen. Al Lawton (D) defeated indicted 12-term incumbent Rep. Corrinne Brown (D) in the primary and won in the general election over Glo Smith by 64.23% to 35.77%.
Two incumbents lost in the general election:
-In CD-7 (north and east of Orlando), Rep. John Mica (R), first elected in Nov. 1992, lost to Stephanie Murphy (D), an executive at Sungate Capital and former national security specialist, by 51.47% to 48.52%.
-In CD-13 (Pinellas County), Rep. David Jolly (R) lost to former Gov. Charlie Crist (D) by 51.9% to 48.1%.
State Legislature:  All seats were up and Republicans maintained control of both chambers.  The balance in the Senate went from 26R, 14D to 25R, 15D and in the House from 81R, 38D and 1v to 79R, 41D. 
Ballot Measures: Florida voters decided four constitutional amendments, approving Amendment 2 on medical marijuana as well as a couple of tax exemption measures. (>)

 State of Florida
Secretary of State

FL Democratic Party
Green Party of FL
Libertarian Party of FL
Republican Party of FL
[Constitution Party of FL]

Miami Herald
St. Petersburg Times
Media (Newsp.), 2
TV, Radio

SPT-The Buzz
Sayfie Review
FLA Politics

Politics1-FL
Ballotpedia-FL



The Sunshine State
General Election -- Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Voting Eligible Population*: 14,601,373.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 64.5%.



Voter Registration Deadline
: initially Oct. 11, 2016; following Hurricane Matthew deadline extended to Oct. 18.*
Early Voting:
Oct. 29 - Nov. 5, 2016 (tenth day before Election Day to the third day before Election Day)."
*
Each county Supervisor of Elections may at his or her own discretion offer additional days of early voting from Oct. 24.
Official Results >


+Trump/Pence (Rep.)
4,617,886
(49.02)
Clinton/Kaine (Dem.)
4,504,975
(47.82)
Johnson/Weld (Lib.)
207,043
(2.20)
Castle/Bradley (CPF)
16,475
(0.17)
Stein/Baraka (Grn.)
64,399
(0.68)
De La Fuente/Steinberg (Ref.)
9,108
(0.097)
write-ins (6)
153
-
Total........9,420,039












Overview: Florida, the last state to be called by news organizations in 2012, was again a closely fought battleground state in 2016.  Indeed in the final week of the campaign, the four principals together made more visits to Florida than to any other state (+).  Trump carried 58 counties to nine for Clinton, winning with a plurality of 112,911 votes (1.20 percentage points).
General Election Details 
Clinton  |  Trump
BALLOT [PDF]
[State Primary: August 30, 2016]

Note: The 2016 Libertarian National Convention took place in Orlando on May 27-30, 2016.
Presidential Preference Primary Election -- Tuesday, March 15, 2016
USEP: Voting Age Pop.: 16,383,763.  Voter Eligible Pop.: 14,445,578.  Total Ballots Cast: 4,070,988.  VEP Turnout Rate: 28.2%.

Active Registered Voters By Party as of Feb. 16, 2016 (Book Closing):  Rep. 4,276,104 (35.45%), Dem. 4,569,788 (37.89%), No Party Affil. 2,878,468 (23.87%), Independent 258,914 (2.15%), Independence 45,942 (0.38%), Lib. 23,513 (0.19%), Grn. 5,193 (0.04%), Ref. 1,542, Const. 1,084, America's 681, Ecology 264, PSL 155.   ...Total: 12,060,748
Democrats
246 Delegates: 140 District, 46 At-Large, 28 PLEO, 32 Unpledged.

details

Republicans
99 Delegates: 3 RNC; 15 at-large; 81 by CD (3 x 27).

details




General Election Winners in Florida, 1992-2012
1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
Bush
40.89%
Clinton
48.02%
Bush*
48.85%
Bush
52.10%
Obama
51.03%
Obama
50.01%
  and the details...
 
General Election -- Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Voting Eligible Population*: 13,495,057.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 62.8%.


-More than 2.4 million early votes were cast.
-Nearly 2.4 million absentee votes were cast.


Registration:
Dem. 4,781,978 (40.07%)   Rep. 4,245,991 (35.58%)   No Pty Aff. 2,572,901 (21.56%)   Minor 333,576 (2.80%)  Total 11,934,446.

Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 9, 2012.
Early Voting: Oct. 27-Nov. 3, 2012 (tenth day before Election Day to the Saturday before Election Day).

Official Results >


Romney/Ryan (Rep.)
4,163,447
(49.13)
+Obama/Biden (Dem.)
4,237,756
(50.01)
Stevens/Link (Obj.)
3,856
(0.05)
Johnson/Gray (Lib.)
44,726
(0.53)
Goode/Clymer (Const.)
2,607
(0.03)
Stein/Honkala (Grn.)
8,947
(0.11)
Barr/Sheehan (PFP)
8,154
(0.10)
Anderson/Rodriguez (JPF)
1,754
(0.02)
4 others with <1000 votes each*
2,887
(0.03)
Write Ins (6)
45

Total........8,474,179


*Barnett/Cross (Ref.) 820.  Alexander/Mendoza (Soc.) 799.  Lindsay/Osorio (PSL) 322.  Hoefling/Ellis (AIP) 946

Turnout: 8,538,264.
2012 Overview
Florida was again a hotly contested battleground state, and indeed was the last state to be called by news organizations.  Out of 8.47 million votes tallied in the presidential race, the Obama-Biden ticket won by a plurality of just 74,309 votes (0.88 percentage points).  Obama-Biden carried 13 counties to 54 for McCain-Palin.
General Election Details
Obama  |  Romney
BALLOT [PDF]


General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Voting Eligible Population*: 12,426,633.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 67.5%.

According to county early voting reports compiled by the Secretary of State, 2,610,308 Floridians voted early (30.88% of turnout).

Registration:  Dem. 4,722,076 (41.98%)   Rep. 4,064,301 (36.13%)   No Pty Aff. 2,103,119 (18.70%)  Other Parties 358,138 (3.18%)  Total 11,247,634. 



Official Results >


McCain/Palin (Rep.)
4,045,624
(48.22)
+Obama/Biden (Dem.)
4,282,074
(51.03)
La Riva/Puryear (S&L)
1,516
(0.02)
Baldwin/Castle (Const.)
7,915 (0.09)
Barr/Root (Lib.)
17,218
(0.21)
McKinney/Clemente (Grn.)
2,887
(0.03)
Keyes/Rohrbough (AIP)
2,550
(0.03)
Nader/Gonzalez (Eco.)
28,124
(0.34)
6 others with <1000 votes each*
2,836
(0.03)
Total........8,390,744


*Amondson/Pletten (Pro.) 293, Stevens/Link (Obj.) 419, Harris/Kennedy (SWP) 533, Moore/Alexander (Soc.) 405, Jay/Smith (BTP) 795, Nettles/Krones (w/in) 391

Total ballots: 8,453,743.
2008 Overview
From a plurality of 380,978 votes (5.01 percentage points) for Bush-Cheney in 2004, Florida switched to the Democrats, giving the Obama-Biden ticket a plurality of 236,450 votes (3.19 percentage points).  Obama-Biden carried 15 counties to 52 for McCain-Palin.
General Election Details
Obama/Allies  |  McCain/Allies Nader

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Voting Eligible Population*: 11,811,921.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 64.4%.

Of 7,646,092 total votes cast:

Ballots on Election Day
4,865,283
(63.6%)
Absentee Ballots
1,352,447
(17.7%)
At Early Voting Sites
1,428,362
(18.7%)

In addition:
27,742 people cast provisional ballots
10,007 provisional ballots were counted
 
Registration:
Dem. 4,261,249 (41.37%)   Rep. 3,892,492 (37.79%)   No Pty Aff. 1,886,013 (18.31%)  Other Parties 261,536 (2.54%)  Total 10,301,290.

Registration Deadline: Oct. 4, 2004.

Early voting: Started Oct. 18, 2004.

(SoS: "The 2004 Legislature passed legislation which standardizes early voting throughout the state...all supervisors will begin conducting early voting in their main and branch offices 15 days before the election.")
Official Results

+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
3,964,522
(52.10)
Kerry/Edwards (Dem.)
3,583,544
(47.09)
Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.) 6,626 (0.09)
Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.) 11,996
(0.16)
Cobb/LaMarche (Grn.)
3,917
(0.05)
Harris/Trowe (SWP)
2,732
(0.04)
Brown/Hebert (Soc.)
3,502
(0.05)
Nader/Camejo (Ref.)
32,971
(0.43)
Total........7,609,810
 




2004 Overview
There were no post-election dramatics this time, as Bush-Cheney won the Sunshine State with a plurality of 380,978 votes (5.01 percentage points), carrying 56 counties to 11 for Kerry.  About 1.5 million more votes were cast than in 2000.
General Election Details  |  Photos
Kerry/Allies  |  Bush/Cheney '04

General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000
Voting Eligible Population*: 10,667,193.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 55.9%.

Total Registration: 8,752,717.

All told about 6.1 million people cast ballots in Florida.  According to the Florida Task Force report there were 179,855 blank or spoiled ballots; this includes uncertified results from 3 counties.  The Miami Herald, in its post-election analysis, examined 176,087 uncounted ballots: 111,261 overvotes and 64,826 undervotes, while.  USA Today examined 171,908 untabulated ballots: 111,261 overvotes and 60,647 undervotes.  The Florida Ballots Project suggests a total of around 172,000.  However, all these numbers depend on what is counted.  For example in some of the larger counties there were "trays and trays" of absentee ballots where, for example, the signatures didn't match, that didn't get counted.
Official Results


+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
2,912,790
 (48.85)
Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
2,912,253
(48.84)
Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
16,415
(0.28)
Nader/LaDuke (Grn.)
97,488
(1.63)
Harris/Trowe (SWP)
562
(0.00)
Hagelin/Goldhaber (NLP)
2,281
(0.04)
Buchanan/Foster (Ref.)
17,484
 (0.29)
McReynolds/Hollis (Soc.)
622
(0.00)
Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
1,371
(0.02)
Moorehead/LaRiva(WWP)
1,804
(0.03)
Chote/Lancaster (w/in)
34
McCarthy/Beifus (w/in)
6
  - 
Total........5,963,110


Overview
It took a 36-day post-election odyssey to finalize the outcome, but Gov. Bush officially won Florida by 537 votes.  The election was decided as much in the courts as at the polls (Battle for Florida), and there will always be doubts in some people's minds about who won.  Bush carried 51 counties and the federal absentee ballots, while Vice President Gore won in 16 counties.  The Democrats' base in Florida is in the southeast (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade), while Republicans fared well in rural counties. Thus in many ways the race came down to the I-4 corridor, which runs across central Florida from Tampa Bay through Orlando to Daytona Beach. 
General Election Activity

1992 and 1996 General Elections

1992
Bush (Rep.)........2,173,310
(40.89)
Clinton (Dem.).....2,072,798
(39.00)
Perot (Ind.) .........1,053,067
(19.82)
Others (1+w/ins)......15,317
(0.29)
Total........5,314,492
1996
Clinton (Dem.).....2,546,870
(48.02)
Dole (Rep.)..........2,244,536
(42.32)
Perot (Ref.)............483,870
(9.12)
Others (1+w/ins)......28,518
(0.54)
Total........5,303,794
Archive Pages: 2012 | 2008 | 2004 | 2000