How to Run for Florida Governor

It is not easy becoming governor of the Sunshine State.

At the time of publication, Florida has one of the largest populations in the country with nearly 19 million people. Only California, New York and Texas have more. If you are anticipating a run for the governor’s seat in Florida, you must be a legal citizen of the United States and a legal resident of the state for at least seven years. You must be 30 years old and registered to vote in Florida. If you currently hold another elected office, you must resign to run in accordance with the state’s “Resign to Run” law.

Things You'll Need

• Birth certificate
• Naturalization papers
• Social Security card
• Florida voter registration
• Florida proof of residence
• Florida Form DS-DE 24
• $3,908

Instructions

1. Sign a Florida “loyalty oath” -- Florida Form DS-DE 24 -- before witnesses, stating that you will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Florida. Furthermore, you will state that you are qualified to run for office and that you have resigned, if applicable, in accordance with the resign-to-run statute. Write-in candidates must also sign this oath.

2. Submit your qualifying papers to the State Division of Elections at least 67 days prior to the primary election. Declaration of candidacy, If you are running as a representative of a political party, must include a written declaration of your party affiliation. Include your candidate qualifying fee. Qualifying fees to file for candidacy in Florida are 3 percent of the annual salary of the desired office. The governor’s salary at the time of publication was $130,273; so the qualifying fee is $3,908.

3. Submit a financial disclosure statement to the Florida Commission on Ethics. If you have appointed a campaign treasurer, record the identity of that treasurer with the Division of Elections and submit all treasurers’ reports to the state in accordance with the Division of Elections reporting schedule for that election cycle. Every campaign contribution and expenditure must be recorded, and failure to do so can result in criminal prosecution.

4. Collect petition signatures, if necessary. In lieu of qualifying fees, a potential candidate can collect petition signatures in support of her candidacy. The approved petition form is the Florida Form DS-DE 104. Collect a minimum of 112,174 signatures from registered voters in the state. That is the minimum for qualification of a statewide candidate.

5. Run as a write-in candidate, if you want to bypass most filing requirements. Write-in candidates require no qualifying fees and have no requirement for petitions signatures. List your name as a write-in exactly as it appears on Florida Form DS-DE 24, the Candidate’s Loyalty oath.

6. Find a lot of money. A candidate for Governor in Florida is running in a state that equals Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, the District of Columbia and Wyoming combined. The cost of the winning campaign in the 2010 gubernatorial election was more than $78 million. While a lot of money may not be a formal requirement to run for Governor, the reality is that without a very large campaign treasury, any run for Governor is likely to be merely symbolic.

References

• Florida Department of State – Elections: Frequently Asked Questions
• Florida Department of State – Elections: Candidate Petition Handbook
• Online Sunshine: 2011 Florida Statutes – Candidates
• Laws: Florida Qualifying Fees
• Bloomberg; Florida Republican Elected Governor; Simone Baribeau; November 2010
• PhysOrg; Florida Population Soars; June 2011

Resources

• Enchanted Learning: States By Population