SARASOTA, Fla. (August 18, 2026). Independent gubernatorial candidate Dean Abrams issued the following statement on tonight's primary results. As a No Party Affiliation candidate, Abrams was not on the primary ballot and advances directly to the November 3 general election.
The results, by the numbers:
- Statewide turnout was roughly one in four registered voters.
- Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination with about 48% of the vote in an 11-candidate field. A majority of Republican primary voters chose someone else.
- David Jolly won the Democratic nomination with about 61%.
- More than 3.3 million NPA voters had no gubernatorial primary to vote in at all.
"Tonight went about the way we expected," said Abrams. "Three out of four Florida voters stayed home or were locked out, and the Republican nominee could not win a majority of his own party. Neither party picked its nominee with anything close to a mandate."
"Starting tomorrow, every voter in Florida gets a say, whatever their registration. I am the candidate on the November ballot who answers only to them."
Media contact: Dean Abrams · dean@deanabrams.com · 941-233-4951
About Dean Abrams: Dean Abrams is a No Party Affiliation candidate for Governor of Florida. He spent 30 years in enterprise technology and management consulting, including Microsoft, HP, KPMG, and Avanade. His campaign is self-funded and accepts no PAC or corporate money.