| Country: | Florida |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Florida Senate election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2022 |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
| Seats For Election: | 20 of the 40 seats in the Florida Senate |
| Majority Seats: | 21 |
| Leader1: | Wilton Simpson |
| Party1: | Republican Party of Florida |
| Leaders Seat1: | 10th-Trilby |
| Leader Since1: | November 26, 2018 |
| Last Election1: | 23 seats, 53.99% |
| Seats1: | 24 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Popular Vote1: | 2,663,076 |
| Percentage1: | 49.03% |
| Swing1: | 4.96% |
| Leader2: | Audrey Gibson |
| Party2: | Florida Democratic Party |
| Leaders Seat2: | 6th-Jacksonville |
| Leader Since2: | November 19, 2018 |
| Last Election2: | 17 seats, 45.74% |
| Seats2: | 16 |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| Popular Vote2: | 2,642,318 |
| Percentage2: | 48.65% |
| Swing2: | 2.91% |
| Map Size: | 350px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Bill Galvano |
| Before Party: | Republican Party of Florida |
| After Election: | Wilton Simpson |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Turnout: | 38.62% |
The 2020 elections for the Florida Senate took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, to elect state senators from 20 of 40 districts. The Republican Party has held a Senate majority since 1995. The result was a one-seat gain for the Republicans, thus maintaining their majority.[1]
The elections for U.S. President, U.S. House of Representatives, and the Florida House of Representatives were also held on this date.[2]
Republican operatives, supported by Florida Power & Light,[3] ran sham ghost candidates in three races. In District 37, former senator Frank Artiles had Alex Rodriguez placed on the ballot to successfully siphon votes from Senator José Javier Rodríguez.[4] Both Artiles and Alex Rodriguez were charged and fined for electoral fraud.[5]
The most competitive races are expected to be the Democratic-held open Senate District 3 in North Florida, the Republican-held open District 9 to the northeast of Orlando, the special election in the Tampa area's open Republican-held District 20, the Democratic-held Senate District 37 in South Florida, and the Republican-held open District 39 in South Florida.[6] [7]
2016 Presidential Results[8] and 2020 Candidates in Competitive Races:
| Senate district | Clinton 2016 vote share | Trump 2016 vote share | 2020 Democratic nominee | 2020 Republican nominee | |
| District 3 | 52.60% Clinton | 43.95% Trump | Marva Harris Preston | ||
| District 9 | 45.98% Clinton | 49.87% Trump | Patricia Sigman | Jason Brodeur | |
| District 20 | 43.99% Clinton | 52.28% Trump | Kathy Lewis | Danny Burgess | |
| District 37 | 59.55% Clinton | 37.89% Trump | José Javier Rodríguez | Ileana Garcia | |
| District 39 | 53.74% Clinton | 43.49% Trump | Javier Fernandez | Ana Maria Rodriguez |
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total before | Up | Won | Total after | +/− | |||||
| Republican Party of Florida | 2,663,076 | 49.03 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 24 | +1 | ||
| Florida Democratic Party | 2,642,318 | 48.65 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 16 | -1 | ||
| Independent | 125,497 | 2.31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | ||
| Write-in | 603 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | ||
| Total | 5,431,494 | 100.00 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 40 | ±0 | ||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections[9] [10] | |||||||||
Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Heather Fitzhagen | Ray Rodriguez | Undecided | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Pete Polls/Florida Politics[12] | July 28, 2020 | 463 (LV) | ± 4.6% | 18% | 59% | 23% | |||
| Remington Research Group/Heather Fitzhagen[13] | July 20, 2020 | 1,229 (LV) | ± 3% | 22% | 44% | 34% | |||
| Remington Research Group/Heather Fitzhagen[14] | June 18–19, 2020 | 460 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 34% | 24% | 42% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Loranne Ausley (D) | Marva Preston (R) | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Pete Polls/Florida Politics[17] | October 17–18, 2020 | 948 (LV) | – | 51% | 44% | 5% | ||
| ALG Research/Florida Senate Victory Fund/FDLCC[18] | October 15, 2020 | 503 (V) | – | 48% | 40% | – |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jason Brodeur (R) | Patricia Sigman (D) | Jestine Ianotti (I) | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Pete Polls/Florida Politics[19] | October 31 – November 1, 2020 | 522 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 42% | 49% | 2% | 7% | |
| St. Pete Polls/Florida Politics[20] | October 17–18, 2020 | 490 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 43% | 52% | – | 5% | |
| GQR Research/Florida Senate Victory Fund/FDLCC[21] | October 16, 2020 | 400 (V) | – | 42% | 42% | – | – |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ana Maria Rodriguez (R) | Javier Fernandez (D) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GQR Research/Florida Senate Victory Fund/FDLCC[24] | October 9, 2020 | 503 (V) | – | 43% | 43% | ||
| Tyson Group/Let's Preserve the American Dream PAC[25] | September 8–11, 2020 | – (V) | – | 37% | 31% | ||
| Tyson Group/Let's Preserve the American Dream PAC[26] | July, 2020 | – (V) | – | 31% | 28% |
| align=center | District 1 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 17 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 23 • District 25 • District 27 • District 29 • District 31 • District 35 • District 37 • District 39 |
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