Florida Governor's Race

Incumbent — Charlie Crist (R); Running for reelection

Most Recent Election
Year	Election	Candidate	Votes	Percent
2006	general	Charlie Crist (R)	2,519,845	52.2%
		Jim Davis (D)	2,178,289	45.1%

Details and state election history

Republicans lost their immediate advantage in this race when Crist announced in May that he would run for the Senate instead of seeking re-election as governor. Crist’s strong job approval ratings and advantages of incumbency kept would-be candidates at bay, but his decision to enter the Senate race left the governor’s race wide open to competitors from both parties.

Democrat Alex Sink, who as Florida’s chief financial officer is the equivalent of state treasurer, quickly entered the contest after Crist announced his 2010 plans. Right on her heels was Republican state Attorney General Bill McCollum, a former 10-term House member who was the GOP’s U.S. Senate nominee in 2000 and a candidate in the 2004 Senate primary. Florida is a partisan battleground where Barack Obama, in his 2008 presidential contest, bested Republican John McCain by 3 percentage points.

Race Information

Incumbent: Charlie Crist, R
First Elected: 2006 (1st term)
Incumbent Status: Running for reelection
CQ Politics Race Rating: Tossup

State Information

U.S. Senate Delegation: 1 Democrat, 1 Republican
U.S. House Delegation: 10 Democrats, 15 Republicans

Senators: Bill Nelson, D; First Elected: 2000 (2nd term); Last Elected: 2006 (60.3%); George LeMieux, R; First Appointed: 2009; Appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist, R, to replace Mel Martinez, R, who resigned

State Offices: State House Control: Republican; State Senate Control: Republican

State Election History
Year	Election	Candidate	Votes	Percent
2006	general	Charlie Crist (R)	2,519,845	52.2%
		Jim Davis (D)	2,178,289	45.1%
		Max Linn (REF)	92,595	1.9%
		John Smith (X)	15,987	0.3%
		Richard Dembinsky (X)	11,921	0.2%
		Karl Behm (X)	10,486	0.2%

2002	general	Jeb Bush (R)	2,856,845	56%
		Bill McBride (D)	2,201,427	43.2%
		Robert Kunst (I)	42,039	0.8%
		John Smith (Write-In)	172
		Nancy Grant (Write-In)	44
		Rachele Fruit (Write-In)	24
		Terry Galloway (Write-In)	23
		C. Reed (Write-In)	7

1998	general	Jeb Bush (R)	2,191,105	55.3%
1998	general	Kenneth H. "Buddy" MacKay (D)	1,773,054	44.7%

Vote For President
Year	Democrat	Republican
2008	Barack Obama: 51.03%	John McCain: 48.22%
2004	John Kerry: 47%	George W. Bush: 52%
2000	Al Gore: 49%	George W. Bush: 49%
1996	Bill Clinton: 48%	Robert Dole: 42%