Why Should I Care?


Florida's always a big swing state, and never short on drama (helloooo hanging chads). This time around, the current Republican governor is running against a former Republican governor-turned Dem hoping to get his job back. Got that? And the stakes are high: whichever party wins has the home-team advantage in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Who Do I Need to Know?


Rick Scott (R, Incumbent): Been gov. since 2011. Scott used to be CEO of a healthcare company , which got fined more than $1 billion for Medicaid fraud in the early '00s. Floridians have been hearing about it in Crist campaign ads for awhile.

Charlie Crist (D): Big-name politician with heavy-hitting support from names like Bill and Hillz. Used to be the GOP governor of Florida before he left office to run for the Senate in 2010 against then-newbie Marco Rubio. That didn't work out, so now he's trying to get back in the governor's office again, only this time as a Democrat. If that doesn't work out, there's always retirement in Boca.

What Are The Issues?


The Economy: The Sunshine State’s been looking brighter since 2011, when Scott took office. He's touting that record to convince voters to let him keep his job. Meanwhile, Crist is promising things like an increase in the minimum wage and tax cuts for the middle class.

Obamacare: Scott led the charge of Republican governors who tried to block Obamacare on the state level in the early days. Read: he does not own a HealthCare.gov T-shirt. Scott later rejected the part of Obamacare that extends Medicaid to citizens, which Crist says he would reverse on his first day in office.

Hispanic Vote: Bienvenido a Miami. Scott got the job in 2010 thanks to a boost from this voting bloc, which surprise, sorpresa make up a big piece of Florida's population. It’s a toss up in this election, and Crist and Scott are pulling out all the stops. Both picked Hispanic running mates. Both are running campaign ads in Spanish. Hola, votes.

I'm from Florida. What Do I Need to Know About Voting?


October 6th is your deadline to register to vote. Print this, fill it out, and mail it to your election supervisor’s office. Snail-mail. Deal with it.

October 27th is your deadline to request an absentee ballot if you’re going to be out of state on Election Day. Get an absentee ballot by contacting your election supervisor’s office.

November 4th is Election Day. Get it done before Happy Hour—voting closes at 7 p.m. local time.

NEXT STORY

Next Story