Former circuit court judge Ashley Moody (R) defeated state Rep. Sean Shaw (D) and independent Jeffrey Siskind in the November 6, 2018, general election for Florida's open attorney general seat. The incumbent attorney general, Pam Bondi (R), was term-limited.
Governing identified this as one of six Toss-up attorney general races in 2018.
Florida maintained its Republican triplex status in the 2018 elections. A triplex is a state where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state belong to the same political party. That status was at stake in 2018. The attorney general election occurred alongside a competitive gubernatorial election to replace term-limited Gov. Rick Scott (R).
Florida elected its first Republican attorney general in 2002 and elected Republicans every four years between then and the 2018 election. Bondi won the 2010 and 2014 elections by 13 percentage points each.
Other statewide races were closer. Rick Scott won the 2010 and 2014 gubernatorial elections by 1 point each. Pres. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Florida by 1 point in 2016; Barack Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012 by under 3 points each time. In 2018, Florida had one Democratic and one Republican senator.
In 2018, Moody beat Shaw in the attorney general race by 6 points. Ron DeSantis (R) won the gubernatorial race and Rick Scott won the U.S. Senate election in Florida, each with a margin of victory under 1 percent.
Florida Attorney General Election, 2018, Moody (R) v. Shaw (D)
Poll | Poll sponsor | Ashley Moody (R) | Sean Shaw (D) | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of North Florida October 23-26, 2018 | N/A | 47% | 40% | 13% | +/-3 | 1,048 |
SEA Polling & Strategic Design October 17-20, 2018 | N/A | 43% | 37% | 20% | +/-4 | 600 |
St. Pete Polls Released September 13, 2018 | N/A | 46% | 44% | 9% | +/-2.4 | 1,657 |
Public Policy Polling August 29-30, 2018 | EDGE Communications | 44% | 41% | 15% | +/-3.6 | 743 |
Attorney General of Florida, 2014
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Pam Bondi Incumbent | 55.1% | 3,222,524 | |
Democratic | George Sheldon | 42% | 2,457,317 | |
Libertarian | Bill Wohlsifer | 2.9% | 169,394 | |
Total Votes | 5,849,235 | |||
Election results via Florida Division of Elections |
Attorney General of Florida, 2010
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Pam Bondi | 54.8% | 2,882,868 | |
Democratic | Dan Gelber | 41.4% | 2,181,377 | |
Nonpartisan | Jim Lewis | 3.8% | 199,147 | |
Total Votes | 5,263,392 | |||
Election results via Florida Department of State |
Attorney General of Florida, 2006
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Bill McCollum | 52.7% | 2,448,008 | |
Democratic | Walter "Skip" Campbell | 47.3% | 2,197,959 | |
Total Votes | 4,645,967 | |||
Election results via Florida Department of State |
Attorney General of Florida, 2002
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Charlie Crist | 53.4% | 2,636,616 | |
Democratic | Buddy Dyer | 46.6% | 2,299,149 | |
Total Votes | 4,935,765 | |||
Election results via Florida Department of State |
Demographic data for Florida
Florida | U.S. | |
---|---|---|
Total population: | 20,244,914 | 316,515,021 |
Land area (sq mi): | 53,625 | 3,531,905 |
Gender | ||
Female: | 51.1% | 50.8% |
Race and ethnicity** | ||
White: | 76% | 73.6% |
Black/African American: | 16.1% | 12.6% |
Asian: | 2.6% | 5.1% |
Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
Hispanic/Latino: | 23.7% | 17.1% |
Education | ||
High school graduation rate: | 86.9% | 86.7% |
College graduation rate: | 27.3% | 29.8% |
Income | ||
Median household income: | $47,507 | $53,889 |
Persons below poverty level: | 19.8% | 11.3% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. |
As of July 2017, Florida's three largest cities were Jacksonville (pop. est. 860,000), Miami (pop. est. 430,000), and Tampa (pop. est. 360,000).