The Florida Chamber political team continuously analyzes new voter registration trends, changes to House and Senate districts, and voter behavior as we work to recruit and elect pro-jobs candidates to secure Florida's future. Please share this report with your management team and send us a note if you have questions, perspectives, or recommendations. Florida is at a crossroads and we invite you to help us continue on the right path forward. | | |
In This Issue:
Florida Political Update • Florida's Political Insights, Analysis and Highlights • Tools for Your Company's Political Strategy • Constitutional Corner • Florida Voter Registration Analysis • Upcoming Events
| | Legislature Adopts New Congressional Maps for Florida; US Senate Qualifying; FL Chamber-Backed Petition Reform Upheld in Court | | |
In this month's political edition of Florida By the Numbers, the Florida Chamber's Director of Data and Analytics Alex Coelho looks at some of the key political developments across the state of Florida over the month of April. Click HERE for the full analysis of these election results from the Florida Chamber's Political Operations.
This month's video highlighted the latest political news from across Florida, including:
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Florida Legislature passes new Congressional district maps for 2026. This week the Florida Legislature convened for Special Session D, centered around Congressional redistricting, AI regulation, and changes to vaccine requirements. While the latter two did not result in legislation passing, the Legislature did approve a new map for Florida's 28 Congressional districts. These maps make notable changes in central and southeastern Florida, and would create a map where 24 of the 28 Congressional districts voted for President Trump in 2024.
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Moody, Vindman Qualify for 2026 US Senate Ballot. Last week qualifying closed for candidates seeking to run in Florida's 2026 US Senate special election in November. Current Senator Ashley Moody qualified last week to run in the Republican primary for Senate, facing three nominal opponents in August. On the Democratic side Lt. Colonel Alex Vindman, notable for his role in the first impeachment effort against President Trump during Trump's first term, was one of two candidates to qualify for the Democratic primary along with State Rep. Angie Nixon.
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Republican registration nears 1.5 million voter advantage. As of March 31st the steadily increasing Republican advantage among active registered voters stood just under the 1.5 million mark, having reached 1,498,949 according to the Florida Division of Elections.
For more information on any subject covered in this video, or to find out more about the latest developments of Florida's political landscape, contact Alex Coelho.
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Florida's Political Insights, Analysis
and Highlights
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The latest edition of the Florida Chamber Political Operations' By the Numbers was released. This month's video recaps recent political developments across Florida, including the redistricting map for US Congress passed this week and last week's candidate filing for US Senate. To find out more about these latest developments of the Florida political landscape, click HERE to watch this month's analysis from Florida Chamber Director of Data & Analytics Alex Coelho.
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Republicans continue to increase their lead over Democrats among all active registered voters. As of March 31, 2026, Florida had 1,498,949 more Republicans than Democrats amongst the 13,379,856 active registered voters in Florida. While the rate at which Republicans' advantage in registration has slowed from the rate of increase seen in recent years, the GOP advantage is still growing at a rate of roughly 10,000 voters per month.
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Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson officially launched his re-election campaign this week. Simpson's formal entry into his re-election bid solidifies the Republican Cabinet ticket outside of Governor as all three current Cabinet office holders are now seeking a new four year term.
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Florida Chamber Political Institute Begins 2026 Candidate Interviews: The Florida Chamber Political Institute (FCPI), the Florida Chamber's nonpartisan research arm of political operations is once again traveling the state to interview candidates for the Florida legislature in May and June. These interviews provide FCPI members the chance to get to know more about the next generation of future Florida leaders well before they officially take office. For more information on these events or the Political Institute in general contact Executive Director Marian Johnson.
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Interested in a Corporate Political Briefing?: Contact Frank Walker to schedule your customized corporate political briefing so your management team can better understand Florida's political landscape - an exclusive benefit for Florida Chamber Board of Governor members.
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Exclusive Member Benefit: Be the first to know of changes to districts and counties through the Florida Partisan Performance Index. Discuss with Alex Coelho today.
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Florida Free Enterprise Fund, a Florida Chamber initiative aimed at recruiting and electing pro-jobs candidates and advancing pro-Florida issues, invites your company to join to help Secure Florida's Future. E-mail Frank Walker to get involved today.
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The Florida Institute for Political Leadership (FIPL) is partnering with local chambers of commerce and hosting virtual candidate schools on how to run a winning local political campaign. With over 6,200 local elections in the coming years, we're working with local chambers of commerce to help educate local business leaders about local opportunities to serve. Click here to register and learn more.
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Learn about legislative candidates and make decisions on how your company can strategically make political contributions by joining the Florida Chamber Political Institute (FCPI). Learn more here.
Chamber Members can access exclusive political intel here:
| | Tools for Your Company's Political Strategy | |
Florida's preeminent non-partisan local campaign training school to recruit better candidates.
Host a Candidate Training School in your community by contacting Andrew Wiggins.
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ChamberHub is the Florida Chamber's exclusive, interactive, and customizable voter file.
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The Free Enterprise Fund is Florida's leading political committee helping job creators secure Florida's future. To join, please contact
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Learn about legislative candidates and make decisions on how your company can strategically make political contributions by joining the FCPI. Learn more by contacting Marian Johnson.
| | | Constitutional Corner: US District Court Upholds Reforms Aimed at Protecting Florida's Constitutional Amendment Process | | |
Late Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker issued a ruling on the reforms to the 'citizens initiative' process for amending Florida's Constitution made by the Florida Chamber-backed HB 1205 in the 2025 legislative session. In his ruling, Judge Walker sided with the state of Florida and rejected the claim by litigants that these measures aimed at protecting Florida's foundational document from out-of-state and special interests constituted violations on free speech.
Among HB 1205's main impacts on the petitioning process required for a party outside of the Florida Legislature to place a constitutional amendment onto the Florida ballot are requirements that those circulating petitions be Florida residents, increased fines for violations of the petition gathering and submission process and timelines, and to obtain additional information from petition signers to ensure their validity to sign a petition.
For more than two decades, ever since the passage of the infamous 'pregnant pigs' amendment in 2002, the Florida Chamber has led the effort to ensure that Florida's Constitution provides certainly and stability in governing state action rather than being for sale to the latest special interest seeking to circumvent the legislative process. These common sense reforms to the petitioning process in Florida represent a step in the right direction to continue protecting Florida's Constitution.
| | Florida Voter Registration Analysis | | VOTER DATA BY CHAMBERHUB | The Florida Chamber's Exclusive Voter File | | Republicans Reach Precipice of 1.5 Million Voter Lead in Registration, New Registrants Fuel GOP Growth | | The latest voter registration update from the Florida Division of Elections shows Republican registration in Florida surpassing a notable milestone as the GOPs lead over Democrats continues to expand. As of March 31, 2026, Republicans lead Democrats among active registered voters by 1,498,949, an advantage of 11.2 percent among all active registered voters. | Over the first three months of 2026, the GOP registration surge seen over the past few years has slowed somewhat. Part of this can be attributed to counties completing their process of re-designating voters from active to inactive status due to their lack of a voting history, a process which impacted Democrats more-so than Republicans. Additionally the nearly 2-to-1 advantages among new registrants each month that Republicans enjoyed has narrowed slightly. Despite these changes in the rate of Republican registration gains, Republicans will have almost certainly built upon this lead when April's full figures are released and will surpass the 1.5 million voter lead mark with the next update from the Division of Elections. | |
What's Next:
Upcoming Calls, Webinars, and Events
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To learn more, run for office, or help the Florida Chamber, please contact:
Frank Walker, Executive Vice President of Government & Political Relations
O: 850-521-1211 | E: fwalker@flchamber.com
Marian Johnson, Executive Director, Florida Chamber Political Institute
C: 850-212-7073 | E: marianjohnson@flchamber.com
Andrew Wiggins, Senior Director of Political Affairs and Coalition Advocacy
O: 850-521-1240 | E: awiggins@flchamber.com
Alex Coelho, Director of Data & Analytics
O: 850-521-1250 | E: acoelho@flchamber.com
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