Florida

Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers. DeSantis is term-limited and leaves office in January 2027. His final sessions produced a law letting the governor remove local officials who fund diversity programs and proof-of-citizenship requirements to register to vote.

Three statewide offices are open in November 2026: governor, U.S. Senate, and attorney general. The primary is August 18. Registration closes July 20.

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The state built a detention camp in a swamp

Florida spent over $600 million to build a tent facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades. It went up in eight days. Officials said detainees who tried to escape would face alligators and pythons. They called it “Alligator Alcatraz.”

$608.4 million in federal grant money awarded to Florida for immigration detention — the entire national fund

Amnesty International investigated the facility in December 2025. Their findings: overflowing toilets with fecal matter seeping into sleeping areas. Lights on 24 hours a day. Mosquitoes so thick detainees could not eat or sleep. A cage-like structure called “the box” where people were shackled to the ground, unable to sit, sometimes for more than 24 hours.

The facility operated outside federal oversight. Amnesty classified this as “enforced disappearances,” noting that detainees’ whereabouts were denied to their families and they were barred from contacting lawyers. The ACLU filed a class action lawsuit. A federal judge briefly halted operations in August 2025, but the Eleventh Circuit stayed the injunction.

The camp is expected to close by summer 2026. But the enforcement infrastructure remains. All 67 Florida counties now have 287(g) agreements with ICE. Operation Tidal Wave has produced roughly 20,000 arrests since April 2025. The state allocated $298 million for immigration enforcement hiring and bonuses.

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HB 1001 lets the governor remove officials who fund diversity programs

HB 1001 bans any local government programming, policy, or activity that provides “preferential treatment or special benefits” based on race, color, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Elected officials found in violation face removal from office by the governor.

The law passed the House 77-37 and the Senate 25-11. Five Republicans crossed party lines to vote against it in the House.

The bill bars cities and counties from funding contractors or organizations that conduct training referencing race, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Pride festivals and Black History Month events that depend on public funding could face elimination.

January 1, 2027 when HB 1001 takes effect — does not impact 2026 Pride events

Cities are already assessing what survives. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis: “It’s clear [it’s] to denigrate the gay community, the African-American community, any persons of color.” Fernandina Beach Commissioner Genece Minshew warned that “unclear standards” with “severe penalties” create “instability in local governance.”

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Dead last in teacher pay, first in book bans

Florida ranks 50th nationally in average teacher pay for the third consecutive year. Average pay: $56,663. The state ranks 19th in starting salary ($49,435), which means teachers who stay see almost no growth.

Metric	Florida	National context
Average teacher pay	$56,663	50th out of 50 states + D.C.
Starting salary	$49,435	19th nationally
Vacancies mid-year	3,197	Down from 7,000+ in 2023
Teachers with < 4 years experience	31%	Retention crisis signal
Out-of-field teaching increase	+16%	Over three years

Meanwhile, Florida leads the nation in school book removals for the third consecutive year. PEN America documented over 2,300 titles pulled from campus shelves. The most-targeted book: “A Clockwork Orange,” removed at least 14 times.

At the university level, SB 266 banned public universities from spending state or federal dollars on DEI programs. The Stop WOKE Act banned mandatory training referencing critical race theory, and tenure protections were weakened. Professors at UF, FSU, and FIU filed a federal lawsuit in January 2025 alleging First Amendment violations.

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New barriers to registration take effect in 2027

HB 991, signed April 1, 2026, requires proof of U.S. citizenship (a passport or birth certificate) to register to vote. Student IDs and retirement home IDs, accepted since the early 2000s, are no longer valid. The law takes effect January 1, 2027. A coalition of voting rights groups filed a federal lawsuit within minutes of signing.

HB 1205 made it harder to get ballot initiatives on the ballot. Petition gatherers must now be Florida residents and submit signatures within 10 days instead of 30. The Medicaid expansion ballot initiative abandoned its 2026 target after collecting only 73,000 of 880,000 needed signatures, pushing to 2028.

73,000 of 880,000 signatures collected for Medicaid expansion before new restrictions forced the campaign to delay two years

Inactive voters who skip two consecutive federal general elections without updating their registration are purged from the rolls.

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Three open statewide races in November

DeSantis is term-limited. Rubio left the Senate to become Secretary of State. AG Ashley Moody was appointed to Rubio’s Senate seat. That leaves three open races: governor, U.S. Senate, and attorney general.

Race	Republican	Democrat	Polling
Governor	Byron Donalds	David Jolly / Jerry Demings	Donalds 47%, Jolly 40%
U.S. Senate	Ashley Moody (appointed)	Alex Vindman	Moody 49%, Vindman 42%
Attorney General	James Uthmeier (appointed)	Jose Javier Rodriguez	Uthmeier 38%, Rodriguez 35%

Donalds has raised $67 million, including $22 million in Q1 2026. Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties in April 2025, has raised $5 million. Vindman has $6 million cash on hand.

Uthmeier used his office to file a class action lawsuit against Target with America First Legal, alleging Target “knowingly misled and defrauded investors by concealing the financial risks of its radical LGBTQ activism.” Trump endorsed him for the 2026 race.

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1.5 million Floridians projected to lose health coverage

Florida has never expanded Medicaid. Roughly 260,000 adults fall in the coverage gap. The federal reconciliation bill cut nearly $800 billion from Medicaid and eliminated Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. KFF projects 1.5 million Floridians will lose health coverage.

1.5 million Floridians projected to lose health insurance — 93% from ACA Marketplace changes taking effect in 2026

Health plans on the federal exchange have been approved for double-digit premium increases effective January 1, 2026. The Florida Policy Institute projects the state’s uninsured rate will double from 10% to 19%, with 1.9 million people uninsured by 2027.

The ballot initiative to force Medicaid expansion was killed by HB 1205’s petition-gathering restrictions. After collecting only 73,000 of 880,000 needed signatures, the campaign pushed its target to 2028.

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Protect yourself right now

1. Check your voter registration. The primary registration deadline is July 20, 2026. Verify your status at registertovoteflorida.gov.

2. Request a new mail ballot. All vote-by-mail requests expired at the end of 2024. If you plan to vote by mail in August or November, you must submit a new request through your county supervisor of elections.

3. Gather your citizenship documents now. HB 991 takes effect January 2027. If you need a birth certificate or passport, start the process before registration deadlines. Birth certificate requests take 4-6 weeks. Passport renewals take 6-8 weeks.

4. Know your rights during an ICE encounter. You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to open your door without a judicial warrant signed by a judge. You can say “I am exercising my right to remain silent” and “I do not consent to a search.”

5. Contact your county commission about HB 1001. Ask which programs will be affected when the law takes effect January 2027. Attend a commission meeting before they make those decisions.

6. Show up at school board meetings. Book removal decisions happen at the district level. Your local board needs to hear from parents before more titles are pulled.