2018 Florida Chief Financial Officer election

2018 Chief Financial Officer of Florida General Election

November 6, 2018

Nominee Jimmy Patronis Jeremy Ring Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 4,152,221 3,872,540 Percentage 51.7% 48.3%

County results Precinct results Patronis:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Ring:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No votes

CFO before election Jimmy Patronis Republican Elected CFO Jimmy Patronis Republican

The 2018 Florida Chief Financial Officer election took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Republican Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who was appointed in 2017, successfully ran for a full term,^[1] defeating Democratic nominee Jeremy Ring, a former state senator, in the general election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jimmy Patronis, incumbent Chief Financial Officer of Florida^[1]

Declined

• Aaron Bean, state senator^[2]
• Jeff Brandes, state senator^[3]
• Lenny Curry, Mayor of Jacksonville^[4]
• Don Gaetz, former state senator^[3][5]
• Tom Grady, Florida Board of Education member and former state representative^[6][7]
• Teresa Jacobs, Mayor of Orange County^[8]
• Jack Latvala, state senator (running for governor)^[9][10]
• Tom Lee, state senator and nominee in 2006^{[3][11][12][13]}
• Carlos López-Cantera, lieutenant governor and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016^[3][11][14]
• Seth McKeel, former state representative^[3]
• Pat Neal, real estate developer and former state senator^[15][3]
• Will Weatherford, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives^[3]

Endorsements

Jimmy Patronis

U.S. Senators

• Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator (R-FL)^[16]

Statewide officials

• Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida^[17]
• Rick Scott, Governor of Florida^[18]

Organizations

• Associated Industries of Florida^[19]
• Florida Chamber of Commerce^[20]
• National Federation of Independent Business^[21]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jeremy Ring, former state senator^[22]

Declined

• Kevin Beckner, former Hillsborough County Commissioner^[23][24]
• Bob Buckhorn, Mayor of Tampa^[25][26]
• Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Representative and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2016^[27][28][29]
• Jack Seiler, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale^[30][11][31]

Endorsements

Jeremy Ring

U.S. Representatives

• Ted Deutch, U.S. Representative (FL-22)^[32]
• Lois Frankel, U.S. Representative (FL-21)^[33]
• Alcee Hastings, U.S. Representative (FL-20)^[32]
• Al Lawson, U.S. Representative (FL-05)^[32]
• Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Representative (FL-18), Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2016^[34]
• Darren Soto, U.S. Representative (FL-09)^[32]
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. Representative (FL-23)^[33]
• Frederica Wilson, U.S. Representative (FL-24)^[33]

Statewide officials

• Alex Sink, former Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Democratic nominee for Governor in 2010^[35]

State legislators

• Joseph Abruzzo, State Representative (D-Boynton Beach)^[36]
• Lori Berman, State Representative (D-Lantana)^[36]
• Randolph Bracy, State Senator (D-Orlando)^[36]
• Oscar Braynon, State Senator (D-Miami Gardens)^[36]
• Ben Diamond, State Representative (D-St. Petersburg)^[36]
• Bobby DuBose, State Representative (D-Fort Lauderdale)^[36]
• Katie Edwards, State Representative (D-Plantation)^[36]
• Gary Farmer, State Senator (D-Fort Lauderdale)^[36]
• Joe Geller, State Representative (D-Aventura)^[36]
• Audrey Gibson, State Senator (D-Jacksonville)^[36]
• Evan Jenne, State Representative (D-Hollywood)^[36]
• Shevrin D. Jones, State Representative (D-West Park)^[36]
• Kionne McGhee, State Representative (D-Miami)^[36]
• Bill Montford, State Senator (D-Tallahassee)^[36]
• Kevin Rader, State Representative (D-Delray Beach)^[36]
• Darryl Rouson, State Senator (D-St. Petersburg)^[36]
• Sean Shaw, State Representative (D-Tampa)^[36]
• Richard Stark, State Representative (D-Weston)^[36]
• Perry Thurston, State Senator (D-Fort Lauderdale)^[36]

Mayors and other municipal officials

• Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando^[37]
• Jack Seiler, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale^[37]

Other individuals

• John Morgan, lawyer and Democratic fundraiser^[38]

Organizations

• Florida Professional Firefighters^[39]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jimmy Patronis (R)	Jeremy Ring (D)	Undecided
Gravis Marketing[40]	October 22–23, 2018	773	± 3.5%	41%	44%	15%
Public Policy Polling[41]	September 27–28, 2018	538	—	34%	40%	26%
Cherry Communications[42]	September 19–24, 2018	622	± 4.4%	38%	38%	20%
Gravis Marketing[43]	August 29–30, 2018	1,225	± 2.8%	41%	40%	19%
Gravis Marketing[44]	July 13–14, 2018	1,840	± 2.3%	34%	33%	32%
Public Policy Polling[45]	June 18–19, 2018	1,308	—	34%	39%	27%
Cherry Communications[46]	May 25 – June 4, 2018	605	± 4%	40%	31%	29%
EMC Research[47]	November 12–16, 2017	705	± 3.7%	35%	37%	28%

Results

Florida Chief Financial Officer election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jimmy Patronis (incumbent)	4,152,221	51.74%	−7.19%
	Democratic	Jeremy Ring	3,872,540	48.26%	+7.19%
Total votes			8,025,058	100.0%	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. Turner, Jim (November 1, 2017). "Patronis to run for full term as Florida's CFO". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
2. Justice, Kent (April 18, 2017). "Nassau County's Aaron Bean may be considered for CFO position". WJXT. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
3. Schorsch, Peter (June 29, 2016). "Pat Neal will not be a candidate for Chief Financial Officer in 2018". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
4. Gancarski, A.G. (May 7, 2017). ""NO to CFO," says Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry". Florida Politics. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
5. Klas, Mary Ellen (June 26, 2017). "Don Gaetz likes Jimmy Patronis as CFO -- but really likes Tom Lee". Miami Herald. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
6. Glorioso, Alexandra (February 22, 2017). "Tom Grady eyes AG, CFO now that FGCU presidency is out". Naples Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
7. Glorioso, Alexandra (June 23, 2017). "Tom Grady asked Gov. Scott to take him off shortlist for Florida CFO". Naples Daily News. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
8. Powers, Scott (June 23, 2017). "Teresa Jacobs not talking tabout possible CD 7 run, but expresses a glimmer of interest in CFO run". Florida Politics. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
9. Schorsch, Peter (July 6, 2016). "Jack Latvala for Chief Financial Officer?". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
10. Schorsch, Peter (June 13, 2017). "Jack Latvala doesn't want to be appointed CFO, isn't running for CFO; thinks Joe Gruters is right for the job". Florida Politics. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
11. Smith, Adam C. (November 17, 2016). "Jeremy Ring likely to run for CFO". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
12. Bousquet, Steve (June 28, 2017). "Tom Lee for CFO against Jimmy Patronis? Some pros and cons". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
13. Henderson, Joe (August 17, 2017). "Tom Lee gets closer to formally entering CFO race". SaintPetersBlog. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
14. Mazzei, Patricia (August 20, 2017). "Lopez-Cantera says no to Miami run for Congress". Miami Herald. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
15. Anderson, Zac (April 23, 2016). "Pat Neal could make CFO bid". Sarasota Herald Tribune. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
16. "Marco Rubio Wants Jimmy Patronis to Stay as Florida CFO". Sunshine State News. September 4, 2018.
17. Ceballos, Ana (January 4, 2018). "Jeb Bush endorses CFO Jimmy Patronis for another term". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
18. Dixon, Matt (August 18, 2017). "In rare move, Scott putting political muscle behind Cabinet member". Politico. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
19. "Jimmy Patronis Endorsed by AIF for Full Term as Florida CFO". Sunshine State News. July 24, 2018.
20. "Florida Chamber of Commerce Endorses Jimmy Patronis for Florida's Chief Financial Officer". Florida Chamber of Commerce. May 9, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
21. "Small Business Endorses Jimmy Patronis for CFO". NFIB. August 23, 2018.
22. Smith, Adam C. (May 31, 2017). "Jeremy Ring jumps in race for CFO". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
23. Perry, Mitch (January 13, 2017). "Kevin Beckner is open to running for local (and maybe state) office in 2018". SaintPetersBlog. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
24. March, William (April 21, 2017). "Kevin Beckner leaves politics, named Hillsborough civil service chief". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
25. March, William (December 23, 2016). "Buckhorn calls running for state CFO 'an option'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
26. Danielson, Richard (March 9, 2017). "Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn won't seek Democratic nomination for governor in 2018". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
27. Rangel, Isadora (December 9, 2016). "Patrick Murphy mulls 2018 run after Marco Rubio defeat; but for what?". TCPalm. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
28. Dixon, Matt (May 19, 2017). "Former Congressman Murphy raising cash, but undecided about political future". Politico. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
29. Bennett, George (August 18, 2017). "Former Democratic Rep. @PatrickMurphyFL tells @CNN no run in 2018 but doesn't rule out future. He's only 34". Twitter. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
30. Smith, Adam C. (August 31, 2015). "Meet the Dems eyeing Fla Attorney General office". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
31. Man, Anthony (March 5, 2017). "Florida Democrats strategize for 2018 in a world dominated by Donald Trump". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
32. Schorsch, Peter (November 9, 2017). "CFO hopeful Jeremy Ring nabs four endorsements from Florida congressional delegation". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
33. Schorsch, Peter (November 30, 2017). "Jeremy Ring announces 'hat trick' of congressional endorsements for CFO bid". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
34. Schorsch, Peter (March 5, 2018). "Jeremy Ring picks up endorsement of Patrick Murphy, once mentioned as possible CFO candidate". Florida Politics. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
35. Powers, Scott (October 24, 2017). "Former CFO Alex Sink endorses Jeremy Ring for the job". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
36. Wilson, Drew (January 4, 2018). "Jeremy Ring snags a pile of endorsements from state lawmakers". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
37. Powers, Scott (December 14, 2017). "Jeremy Ring gets nods from Mayors Buddy Dyer, Jack Seiler in CFO race". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
38. Wilson, Drew (January 9, 2018). "It looks like John Morgan is backing Jeremy Ring for Chief Financial Officer". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
39. "Big, early get: State's firefighters endorse Jeremy Ring in Democratic primary of CFO race". Florida Politics. June 9, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
40. Gravis Marketing
41. Public Policy Polling
42. Cherry Communications
43. Gravis Marketing
44. Gravis Marketing
45. Public Policy Polling
46. Cherry Communications
47. EMC Research

External links

Official campaign websites

• Jimmy Patronis (R) for CFO
• Jeremy Ring (D) for CFO