LobbyComply Blog

Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special election in state Senate District 14 to replace Sen. Jay Collins and House District 87 to replace Rep. Mike Caruso. The special primary date has been set for January 13, 2026, with the special general election date set on March 24, 2026.

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Gov. Ron Desantis called for a special election in state House District 90 following the death of the Rep. Joe Casello. The special primary election will be held on September 30, and the special general election will be held December 9.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special election in Florida Senate District 11 to replace Sen. Blaise Ingoglia. Ingoglia vacated his seat after accepting the position as the state’s chief financial officer. The primary election will take place on September 30, with the general election set for December 9.

Hillsborough County is to hold a special election for the District 5 seat on the Tampa city council. The election was called to replace former city councilor Gwendolyn Henderson who passed away. The election will be held on September 9.

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Florida adjourned sine die June 16 making it one of the longest sessions in the state’s history. The bills that were passed included budget bills, the General Appropriations Act, and an annual tax package. The budget bills were the most difficult to pass and were the reason for the prolonged session.

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The Miami City Commission announced the date for a special election following the death of Commissioner Manolo Reyes. The date of the District 4 election has been set for June 3. The winner of the election will serve the rest of Reyes’ term ending in 2027.

FLORIDA: Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the date for the special election to replace Sen. Geraldine Thompson who died seven months ago. The primary will be on June 24, and the general election will be held on September 2.  One of the candidates vying for the position is State Rep. LaVon Bracy-Davis, who announced her resignation from the House, effective September 1.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11^th Circuit heard arguments on whether to strike down a Florida state constitutional amendment prohibiting elected officials from being paid to lobby while in office. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rene Garcia and South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez argued the lobbying ban should be more narrowly tailored as it currently prohibits any form of paid lobbying by elected officials, even in other states. The state, which lost in district court, argued the government’s interest in preventing corruption overrides free speech concerns. The three-judge panel did not indicate when a decision will be announced.

Gov. DeSantis has called for a special session on February 11 to try again to enact sweeping immigration reform. Following the abrupt ending to the last special session, DeSantis again called on lawmakers to pass an aggressive bill that will address illegal immigration in the state.

A special primary election will be held January 28 for Florida’s congressional House district 1 and House district 6.

This will be followed by a special general election on April 1.

These elections are the result of Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Mike Waltz being tapped for positions in the new administration.

Both seats have candidates that have been endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump and those endorsed are favored to win.

Republican Rick Scott defeated his opponent Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in the race for U.S. Senate 55% to 42%.

Scott, who served two terms as governor of Florida before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018, will now serve a second term.

Voters in Florida rejected a ballot measure to the repeal the public campaign financing requirement for campaigns for statewide office.

The current law makes funds available to individuals who wish to run for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agricultural commission.

The original purpose of this law was to make funds available for anyone to run for office but also allowed those fully capable to fund raise for themselves to get additional funds from the state. .

Voters in Florida rejected a ballot measure to require candidates for school boards to pick a party if they want to run.

The measure was slightly controversial as some voters believed it would make the process of electing members of the school board more transparent while other voters believed it could disenfranchise them.

The civil penalty for violating revolving door restrictions has increased.

Senate Bill 7014 doubled the maximum fine to $20,000 for former officials who violate the state’s six-year ban on lobbying on matters of policy and procurement.

The bill also makes changes to ethics investigation procedures and to public disclosures allowing public officials who are lawyers to claim clients as a source of income without divulging their names.