This book places the 2014 elections in Florida in historical perspective and provides an analysis of the outcomes of each of the state and federal races held in that year: Governor, State Constitutional Offices, the US Congress and the Florida State House of Representatives and the State Senate. It draws on information from exit polls and data from state voter registration rolls and county and district election outcomes. It also utilizes campaign expenditure data from the files of the Florida Department of State and from the US Elections Commission. The book provides a discussion of the context within which the elections took place and of the strategies and tactics employed by the candidates. An explanation for the outcome of the gubernatorial race is provided through an analysis of voting coalitions that supported the leading candidates. It closes with an analysis of the competitiveness of elections in Florida.

By Robert E. Crew Jr. and Mary Ruggiero Anderson

List of Illustrations … List of Tables … Preface ... Acknowledgments ... OneThe Race for Governor … The Candidates and the Primaries The General Election for Governor: Strategic Context Positioning, Targeting and Message How the Republicans Campaigned How the Democrats Campaigned Summary TwoThe Gubernatorial Election Results … Vote by Mail and Early Voting Voter Turnout County by County Results ThreeExplaining the Outcome: Group Voting in the 2014 Gubernatorial Election … Gender, Age, and Race Education and Income Religion Party Identification and Ideology Voting in Coalitions Elections: 1998-2014 FourIssue Opinions and Candidate Choice: Gubernatorial Election 2014 … The Economy Healthcare Social Issues The Obama Effect Medical Marijuana Amendment FiveThe Campaigns for the Constitutional Offices … The Race for Attorney General The Race for Chief Financial Officer The Race for Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services SixThe Congressional Campaign … The Pattern of Outcomes in the 2012 Congressional Elections SevenThe Campaigns for the Florida State Legislature … The State Senate Campaigns House of Representatives Campaigns Patterns in the Outcomes of the Florida Legislative Races EightThe 2014 Elections and the Future of Florida Politics … Legislative Competition in Florida and the Nation, 1968-2014 Competitiveness in the 2014 State Legislative Elections: Five Percent Marginality Competitiveness in the 2014 State Legislative Elections: Incumbency Success Competitiveness in the 2014 State Legislative Elections: Uncontested Seats Monetary Factors in Electoral Competition References … About the Authors … Index …