Governor Ron DeSantis won reelection to a second term Tuesday against former Governor Charlie Crist shortly after polls closed in Florida.

DeSantis opened an early lead in the race in polling. Spectrum News published two polls in the race. In one poll released in the beginning of October, he had an 8 point lead over the former governor. That lead expanded to 12 points in the same poll released Nov. 4. 

Both President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump visited the sunshine state in the days leading up to the election. Biden attended an event with Crist and Congresswoman Val Demings in Miami Gardens, where he made the case to voters to show up and vote Democratic. Trump also appeared with Senator Marco Rubio but didn’t appear with DeSantis, despite the fact that the former president endorsed the governor in his first election bid. 

As of November 2, there were 3,304,040 recorded early and mail-in votes in the state. Nearly 38% of those votes were from registered Democrats, compared to 43% from registered Republicans. 

DeSantis has long dominated when it came to fundraising. In the week before election day, his campaign reported $180,591.51 in total contributions in the 2022 election season, and only $72,222,334, leaving nearly half of his funds legally available for future elections or disbursement to other campaigns. 

Crist’s numbers are still large, but far smaller than those of the DeSantis campaign. He raised $26,052,415 and is reported to have spent $21,094,464. Those numbers don’t reflect a fundraising push in the final days of the election. His campaign reported they raised over $1 million in the hours after the rally with Biden in Miami. 

DeSantis and Crist appeared in a single debate, where DeSantis worked to paint Crist as someone who supports Biden’s agenda. Meanwhile, Crist went on the offensive over abortion and education, asserting that DeSantis would ultimately abandon hist post to run for president in 2024.

Crist conceded the race shortly after it was called Tuesday. 

“Throughout my career in public service, I have always worked for you. I have always tried to treat everyone with respect and dignity – to follow the Golden Rule and treat everyone the way we would want to be treated. It’s an old rule and it can seem a little out of date in today’s politics - but to me, that’s why it’s more important than ever to hold fast to it. I have been blessed by your support, and it has been an honor to serve Floridians in elected office in four different decades. I will always love Florida, and I will always love you for joining me on this journey," he said in his speech.

DeSantis will preside over a state legislature that will be largely Republican. The new governor will work with the legislative branch to address the property insurance crisis among other hot topics in next year’s congressional session.