2022 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election

The 2022 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. Incumbent Democratic Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried was eligible to run for a second term, but she instead ran for governor of Florida in 2022.^[1] Republican Wilton Simpson won the election with over 59% of the vote. Simpson's victory gave Republicans complete control of statewide offices and government for the first time since Reconstruction.

2022 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →

Nominee Wilton Simpson Naomi Blemur Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 4,510,644 3,095,786 Percentage 59.30% 40.70%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Simpson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Blemur:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No votes

Agriculture Commissioner before election Nikki Fried Democratic Elected Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson Republican

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Naomi Esther Blemur, accountant^[2]
• J.R. Gaillot, policy consultant, candidate for Florida's 3rd congressional district in 2012 and state representative in 2016
• Ryan Morales, marketing consultant^[3]

Results by county:

  Blemur

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

  Morales

•   30–40%
•   40–50%

Withdrawn

• Adam Christensen, nominee for Florida's 3rd congressional district in 2020^[4]

Declined

• Gary Farmer, state senator and former Florida Senate minority leader^[5]
• Nikki Fried, incumbent commissioner of agriculture^[5] (running for governor)^[1]
• Melissa McKinlay, Palm Beach County commissioner and former mayor of Palm Beach County^[6]

Endorsements

Naomi Esther Blemur

State legislators

• Shevrin Jones, state senator^[7]
• Annette Taddeo, state senator^[8][7]

Local officials

• Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County^[7]

Newspapers

• Tampa Bay Times^[9]

J.R. Gaillot

County officials

• Nan Rich, Broward County commissioner^[10]

Ryan Morales

State legislators

• Jason Pizzo, state senator^[7]
• Victor M. Torres Jr., state senator^[10]

Newspapers

• Miami Herald^[11]

Declined to endorse

Newspapers

• Sun-Sentinel^[12]

Results

Democratic primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Naomi Esther Blemur	699,275	50.35%
	Democratic	Ryan Morales	420,609	30.29%
	Democratic	J.R. Gaillot	268,863	19.36%
Total votes			1,338,747	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• James Shaw, businessman^[14]
• Wilton Simpson, president of the Florida Senate^[15]

Results by county:

  Simpson

•   Simpson—50–60%
•   Simpson—60–70%
•   Simpson—70–80%

Did not qualify

• Bob White^[16]

Withdrawn

• Chuck Nadd, Afghanistan veteran^[17][18]
• Richard Olle, agriculture inspector^[14]

Declined

• Matt Caldwell, Lee County property appraiser, former state representative, and nominee for commissioner of agriculture in 2018^[19]
• Matt Gaetz, U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district^[20] (running for reelection)^[21]
• Tom Rooney, former U.S. representative for Florida's 17th congressional district^[22]

Endorsements

Wilton Simpson

Former U.S. Executive Branch officials

• Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)^[23]

U.S. representatives

• John Rutherford, U.S. representative for Florida's 4th congressional district^[24]
• Michael Waltz, U.S. representative for Florida's 6th congressional district^[25]

Statewide officials

• Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General^[26]
• Richard Corcoran, former Education Commissioner of Florida^[27]
• Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida^[28]
• Ashley Moody, Florida Attorney General^[29]
• Jimmy Patronis, Chief Financial Officer of Florida^[29]
• Chris Sprowls, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives^[30]

Sheriffs

• 59 sheriffs^[31]

Individuals

• Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform^[32]

Organizations

• Associated Builders and Contractors^[33]
• Associated Industries of Florida^[33]
• Florida Chamber of Commerce^[34]
• Florida Farm Bureau FarmPAC^[35]
• Florida Forestry Association^[35]
• Florida Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge^[36]
• Florida Police Benevolent Association^[37]
• Florida Professional Firefighters^[38]
• National Federation of Independent Business^[39]
• NRA Political Victory Fund^[40][41]

Newspapers

• Tampa Bay Times^[9]

Declined to endorse

Newspapers

• Miami Herald^[11]
• Sun-Sentinel^[12]

Results

Republican primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wilton Simpson	1,048,774	64.71%
	Republican	James Shaw	571,957	35.29%
Total votes			1,620,731	100.0%

General election

Post-primary endorsements

Wilton Simpson

Local officials

• James Walters, Dade City chief of police^[42]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Naomi Esther Blemur (D)	Wilton Simpson (R)	Other	Undecided
University of North Florida[43]	October 17–24, 2022	622 (LV)	± 4.7%	39%	44%	1%[b]	17%
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy[44]	September 26–28, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	34%	47%	–	19%

Results

State Senate district results

State House district results

2022 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Wilton Simpson	4,510,644	59.30%	+9.34%
	Democratic	Naomi Esther Blemur	3,095,786	40.70%	−9.34%
Total votes			7,606,430	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. "Refused" with 1%; "Someone else" with <1%

See also

• Florida Commissioner of Agriculture