Only Two Florida Governor Candidates Have Named a Running Mate
Florida voters head to the polls Tuesday to pick nominees for governor, and most of the people on the ballot still have not said who would serve alongside them.
Only two candidates in the field have named a running mate for lieutenant governor. Both did so in June, in Tallahassee.
Democrat David Jolly named his running mate first. The former U.S. representative former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham as his pick at a press conference outside the Florida Capitol on June 10, making him the first major candidate in the race to fill the slot. Graham represented Florida’s 2nd Congressional District from 2015 to 2017, later served as an assistant secretary of education, and ran for governor herself in 2018. She is the daughter of the late Bob Graham, who served Florida as both governor and U.S. senator. Jolly and Graham filed their qualifying paperwork the same day.
Republican James Fishback followed on June 25, naming Sean Lozano, a Lauderhill police officer, during an announcement inside the Division of Elections lobby in Tallahassee. Fishback said he wanted a trained law enforcement officer on the ticket.
That pick has since drawn scrutiny. The Broward County State Attorney’s Office confirmed that its Public Corruption Unit is investigating Lozano’s conduct as an officer, an inquiry opened after a request from the Lauderhill Police Department. Separately, a Tampa television station reported finding social media posts on an account bearing Lozano’s name that contained racist and sexist language. Lozano has said his brother created the account and that the posts were wrongly attributed to him.
No one else in the race has named their second at the time of publishing.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who leads public polling and carries President Donald Trump’s endorsement, has not named anyone. Neither has Lt. Gov. Jay Collins or former House Speaker Paul Renner.
There is nothing unusual about that, at least legally. Under Florida Statute 99.063, a candidate who wins a party’s nomination has until 5 p.m. on the ninth day after the primary to designate a running mate in writing to the Department of State. This year that deadline lands on Aug. 27.
The designated candidate has to file qualifying paperwork by the same deadline, and a nominee who misses it forfeits the ballot spot for the general election.
The deadline applies only to the winners. Candidates who lose Tuesday are done with their campaigns, and the picks already announced by Jolly and Fishback matter only if those two advance.
The statute also explains why the office does not appear next to most names on Tuesday’s ballot. A candidate who wants a running mate printed on the primary ballot has to designate that person before the qualifying period closes, which happened in June. Candidates who wait get the phrase “Not Yet Designated” in that spot instead.
Polk County voters will decide on Tuesday, and the county has drawn steady attention through the primary with roughly 44,000 mail-in ballots and early votes cast. Collins’ campaign said this month that he won Republican straw polls hosted by the Lakeland and Bartow chambers of commerce and tied Donalds in a third hosted by the Northeast Polk Chamber of Commerce, results the campaign released itself and that The Citrus Tea has not independently confirmed. Winter Haven Republican Bobby Williams also appears in the gubernatorial field.
Polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Nobody becomes governor that night. Voters pick each party’s nominee, the winners fill out their tickets by Aug. 27, and the general election is Nov. 3.
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The Citrus Tea News does not endorse candidates and reports on all races without partisan preference. We accept paid political advertising, which is clearly labeled and offered to every candidate in a race at the same rates. Advertising has no influence on our coverage. School Board District 5 candidate Sam Neelam is a current advertiser with The Citrus Tea News.
Sources: Florida Statutes 99.063, “Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor,” The Florida Senate, flsenate.gov; “Democrat David Jolly names Gwen Graham as running mate in Florida governor’s race,” WUSF, wusf.org, June 10, 2026; “James Fishback announces running mate in Florida gubernatorial race,” WCTV, wctv.tv, June 25, 2026; “Governor’s race: James Fishback’s pro-law enforcement running mate under criminal investigation,” WLRN, wlrn.org, August 5, 2026; “James Fishback running mate blames brother for controversial social media posts,” Bay News 9, baynews9.com, June 30, 2026; “Florida voters to decide governor’s race nominees in Tuesday primary,” WCTV, wctv.tv, August 13, 2026; Candidate Listing for 2026 General Election, Florida Division of Elections, dos.elections.myflorida.com
