The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
The incumbent Republican, Rick Scott, ran for reelection. The Democratic nominee was former Governor Charlie Crist, who was Scott's direct predecessor. Crist was elected governor as a Republican in 2006 but did not run for re-election in 2010, instead opting to run for Senate as an independent. Libertarian nominee Adrian Wyllie and several candidates with no party affiliation also ran. Political pundits considered the race a toss-up. This was one of nine Republican-held governorships up for election in a state that Barack Obama won in the 2012 presidential election.
On Election Day, Scott defeated Crist, earning 48% of the vote. With a margin of 1%, this election was the closest race of the 2014 gubernatorial election cycle.
In April 2010 and while still in office as Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist left the Republican Party to run for U.S. Senate as an Independent. He was defeated in the general election by Republican nominee Marco Rubio. In December 2012, Crist joined the Democratic Party.
The following candidates appeared on the ballot for the general election:
As of early June 2014, Scott had spent almost $13m since March on television advertisements attacking Charlie Crist, who then appeared the likely Democratic nominee. Although the ads resulted in a tightening of the race, this came about by decreasing Crist's favorability ratings. By contrast, Scott's favorability ratings did not increase. By late September, Scott's television ad spending had exceeded $35m and in mid-October it reached $56.5 million, compared to $26.5 million by Crist. On October 22 it was reported that Scott's total spending had exceeded $83 million and he announced that, having previously said he would not do so, he would be investing his own money into the campaign, speculated to be as much as $22 million.
Crist hoped to draw strong support from Florida's more than 1.6 million registered black voters, an effort that was challenging with regards to his previous political career as a Republican. A poll conducted in September 2014 by Quinnipiac University revealed his support among black voters was at 72 percent against Scott, which was below the 90 percent analysts believed he needed to win.
Scott and Crist met in a debate on October 15, held by the Florida Press Association at Broward College. The debate required candidates to receive at least 15% support in major polls to be included. This was allegedly increased from 10% after Wyllie met the initial criteria, but the Miami Herald reported that the threshold had been 15% since 2013. The decision has been criticized as "suppressing choice" and the Wyllie campaign has filed a lawsuit to be included in the debate. U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn dismissed the lawsuit. At this debate, Scott refused to take the stage for seven minutes because Crist had a small electric fan under his lectern. The incident was dubbed "fangate" by media sources such as Politico.
With Scott<br />
With Putnam<br />
Scott defeated Crist by a slim margin garnering 48% percent of the vote to the former's 47%. With the loss, Crist became the first candidate in Florida history to lose statewide elections as a Democrat, as a Republican, and as an Independent.
Scott won 16 of 27 congressional districts, including two held by Democrats, with the remaining 11 going to Crist, including three held by Republicans.