FLORIDA – November 7, 2018 – With nearly all votes counted in Florida, most races have been decided, although there remains a potential for recounts in several contests including the US Senate race, state cabinet races, and legislative seats.
- As of this morning, Republican candidate Rick Scott has prevailed over incumbent US Senator Bill Nelson by a margin of 34,700 votes, or .42 percent. A recount will occur in that race.
- Congressman Ron DeSantis will become Florida’s next Governor, winning a highly competitive race against Democrat Mayor Andrew Gillum by a margin of 55,538 votes, or .68 percent. In addition to setting Executive branch policy, Governor-elect DeSantis will appoint three new justices to the Florida Supreme Court (unless any justices retire before their terms end,) and shape the composition of the Court for many years to come.
- Republicans also prevailed in the Florida Cabinet, where Jimmy Patronis won the race for Chief Financial Officer, Ashley Moody will be our next Attorney General, and Matt Caldwell will serve as Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, although the latter seat is also heading for a recount.
- The Republican caucuses of the House and Senate held onto most of their respective seats. The party maintains a 23 to 16 majority in the Senate with one seat too close to call and a potential recount. Republicans held their majority in the House with more than 70 of the 120 seats, also with a few races too close to call. Regardless of recounts, Senator Bill Galvano (R), Bradenton, and Representative Jose Oliva (R), Hialeah, will lead their respective chambers as Senate President and Speaker of the House.
As Governor-elect DeSantis and incoming cabinet members assemble their transition teams, members of your GrayRobinson team who served as advisors and supporters of their campaigns are continuing to provide information and resources to assist in the formation of their administrations. Among them is GrayRobinson’s own George Levesque, who served as legal counsel to the DeSantis campaign and his affiliated political committee. In addition, as President-designate Galvano and Speaker-designate Oliva prepare to begin their respective terms and convene in organizational session on November 20, 2018, we have been providing support and counsel to members of both chambers since before the election, and will continue to do so into the transition and beyond.
One of the benefits of GrayRobinson having more than 300 professionals across our 14 offices throughout Florida, is a great diversity of experience as lawyers, former public officials, former policymakers, former chiefs-of-staff, and advisers and counselors to and from all branches and agencies of government in Florida. We have represented and served alongside numerous governors, senate presidents, speakers of the house, and agency leaders. Our team includes former elected officials and staff from both Republican and Democrat administrations, and former judges from a multitude of courts, including the Florida Supreme Court. The depth of our relationships and experiences across all branches, and with both parties, will prove critical as we work with the new DeSantis administration and the incoming leadership in the House and Senate, and make us uniquely well-suited to deliver full-service advocacy on behalf of our clients.
As all the newly elected officials roll up their sleeves and begin to prepare for the hard work of governing, your GrayRobinson team will continue to be at the forefront of the process. We will be in contact in the weeks ahead to discuss the best strategy to advance your Legislative and Executive branch priorities for 2019 and beyond. In the meantime, as always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.