Below the Governor's Race, Florida Decides Its Whole Cabinet on Tuesday
The governor's contest gets the attention, but Fort Myers voters also pick the attorney general, the chief financial officer and the agriculture commissioner on Nov. 3 - three offices that sit with the governor over state lands, clemency and much of Florida's machinery.
Tallahassee - Florida voters will fill all three elected seats on the state Cabinet on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and in each race a Republican officeholder backed by President Donald Trump or Gov. Ron DeSantis faces a Democratic challenger running on costs and accountability. Attorney General James Uthmeier and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, both appointed by DeSantis, are on the ballot for the first time, while Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson seeks a second term.
The attorney general's race pairs Uthmeier, DeSantis's former chief of staff, who was appointed in 2025 after Ashley Moody moved to the U.S. Senate, against Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez, with the Hope Florida program and utility rates among the contest's defining issues. The agriculture race pairs Simpson against Democrat Joey Mendoza Atkins, in a contest fought over data centers and farmland - questions that reach directly into Southwest Florida's groves and growth corridors.
The third seat, chief financial officer, is the Cabinet's closest race on the final weekend: Ingoglia, appointed in July 2025 after Jimmy Patronis resigned to serve in the U.S. House, faces former state Sen. Annette Taddeo in a contest centered on insurance costs. The CFO also serves as State Fire Marshal and stands third in line to the governorship. Fort Myers Watch News reported the race's tied polling in Sunday's file; Election Day settles it.
Together with the governor, the three officers make up the Florida Cabinet, which oversees state lands and several agencies and sits on matters from clemency to the board that manages the Florida Retirement System. Each officer also runs a large department of their own. The winners take office in January - which means Tuesday's down-ballot choices will shape Tallahassee long after the governor's race is called.
