Florida Governors Face Policy Battles

Florida voters will choose between Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly on November 3, 2026. The winner will inherit an executive office that has grown in power over the past three decades. However, the legislature has constrained the governor on key issues, forcing both candidates to rely on appointments and legislative allies to achieve their policy goals.

The first major conflict centers on vaccine mandates. The governor appoints the state surgeon general, a role with authority over health departments and emergency declarations. Current Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2021, opposes vaccine mandates. In October 2026, he proposed rules to drop four school-entry vaccine requirements, including chickenpox and hepatitis B. The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics opposes this change on public health grounds.

Donalds supports Ladapo’s proposal and has said he is open to reappointing him. Jolly plans to fire Ladapo immediately in favor of someone who embraces science-based public health. The legislature limits the governor’s reach here; it mandated measles and polio vaccines for K-12 students in 2021 and stripped the surgeon general of emergency mandate powers during that same year.

Education policy presents a second challenge. The universal voucher system, created in 2023, allows parents to use an average of $8,000 in state funds for private or homeschooling education. This program cost an estimated $4.5 billion in fiscal year 2026. State auditors have identified accountability issues in tracking funds, while public schools face declining enrollment and resources.

Donalds strongly supports the vouchers and proposes a universal scorecard to compare student performance across school types. His wife, Erika Donalds, operates a network of for-profit charter schools. Jolly also supports the program but wants private schools accepting vouchers to meet public school standards, including serving students with disabilities. He seeks to limit tuition to the voucher value and reinstate financial need eligibility. Neither candidate can unilaterally change the program, as it was created by the legislature.

The final issue is home rule, or local government authority. The DeSantis administration eroded these powers by limiting local land development controls and removing elected officials. By August 2023, DeSantis had removed 23 officials, including state attorneys Andrew Warren and Monique Worrell. Donalds plans to continue these actions, including more audits and removals. Jolly views these removals as an affront to democracy and wants local authorities to control their own budgets.

The candidates diverge on large-scale data centers. Donalds favors local community decisions on construction. Jolly proposes a one-year statewide moratorium on new data centers and is open to a permanent ban. Voters will also decide on Amendment 3, which would lower homestead property taxes. Donalds supports the amendment, while Jolly opposes it, citing concerns that local governments will lose funding and face new state strings attached to make up the difference.