The state’s Chief Financial Officer position will be on Florida voters’ ballots this year, beginning in the August Primary. Four candidates have qualified for the race, two Democrats and two Republicans. Annette Taddeo and Earle Ford will compete in the Democratic Primary, and incumbent Gubernatorial appointee Blaise Ingoglia will face challenger Frank Collige in the Republican Primary. Ingoglia was appointed as Florida’s CFO by Gov. Ron DeSantis in July 2025.
The Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is an executive constitutional officer who heads the Department of Financial Services and serves as a member of the Florida Cabinet. The role was created in 1998 through a constitutional amendment that combined the offices of the comptroller, insurance commissioner, and state fire marshal.
The CFO's primary responsibilities include managing the state's finances, auditing payments, regulating the insurance industry, overseeing certain banking and financial functions, and serving as Florida's State Fire Marshal, including supervising arson investigations. As a Cabinet member, the CFO also helps shape broader state policy.
Voters will choose between the candidates who advance in their respective August 18 partisan primary elections, with each party's nominee competing against the other in the general election on November 3.
Democrat Annette Taddeo
A former Democratic state senator, Taddeo made history as the first Latina elected to the Florida Senate in 2017. Her victory was also notable for delivering a major upset by flipping a traditionally Republican district within Miami-Dade County.
Born in Colombia to a Colombian mother and an Italian-American father, Taddeo’s family fled to the United States when she was 17 after her father, who is a United States World War II and Korean War fighter pilot, was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas.
According to her campaign website, the family fled with “everything that mattered: resilience, a commitment to public service, and the belief that hard work still meant something in America.”
Taddeo attended the University of North Alabama, a college in the state where her family first settled after moving to the U.S. She graduated with a degree in Commercial Spanish and a minor in business administration. Several years later, she furthered her education with a two-year attendance at the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business.
She eventually relocated to Miami, where she founded LanguageSpeak, a successful multilingual translation and interpretation company that went on to receive recognition as one of the nation’s Top 500 Small Businesses and one of Florida’s Top 100 Small Businesses.
She raised a family in Miami-Dade and received numerous honors recognizing her leadership and entrepreneurial success from business organizations, community groups, and government entities.
According to her campaign website, Taddeo is running on a platform that promises to “stand up for Florida families” against insurance companies.
“Insurance companies are raking in profits while homeowners can’t afford to stay in their homes,” Taddeo says. “Tallahassee insiders are protecting themselves and their donors instead of the people who elected them.”
Taddeo first entered politics in 2008 with an unsuccessful campaign as the Democratic candidate for Florida's 18th Congressional District. In 2014, she was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Florida, running on a ticket with Charlie Crist.
Her time in the state senate (2017–2022) is marked by her advocacy for affordable healthcare, environmental protections, safe drinking water, and funding support for public schools and educators. Taddeo also advocated for stronger gun safety measures, including expanded background checks, raising the minimum age to purchase firearms, and other firearm safety reforms.
As of the most recent campaign finance reporting period, Taddeo’s bid to lead the office of CFO had raised $36,256 in campaign contributions—which includes $6,000 the candidate loaned to her campaign. Her campaign has so far spent just under $10,000, according to the latest reporting.
By comparison, Taddeo’s Democratic primary opponent has raised $13,744 for his campaign, $8,000 of which was derived from self-loans. Earle Ford’s campaign has reportedly already spent nearly $14,000 on his run for the office.
Democrat Earle Ford
A Veteran of the U.S. Army’s Airborne Infantry, Ford grew up in Wyoming and moved to Florida in 2015. He has called the Tampa Bay area home since 2019.
Ford’s public service didn’t end with his military service; after earning a Juris Doctor from Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, he went on to serve as a prosecutor in Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit and later as a federal investigator with the Internal Revenue Service.
Ford entered politics in 2026 when he announced his Democratic candidacy for Florida’s 13th Congressional District. He later ended that campaign to run for CFO.
In announcing his decision to shift his campaign to the Office of CFO, Ford said in part, “I believe this decision gives me the opportunity to improve the daily lives of Floridians by fighting to lower costs, tackle the insurance crisis, save taxpayer money, and restore accountability in Tallahassee.”
“As a U.S Army Airborne Infantryman, State Prosecutor, and Federal Watchdog at the IRS, I have spent my life holding powerful interests accountable and standing up for people who too often get left behind,” he added.
Ford’s campaign platform to serve as Florida’s next CFO aligns with statements he made while announcing his candidacy. According to his campaign website, should voters elect him, Ford will prioritize spending oversight, consumer protection, government accountability, and fighting for property insurance reform.
Republican (incumbent) Blaise Ingoglia
Ingoglia is seeking election as Florida’s CFO after having been appointed to the office by Gov. DeSantis in July 2025. The position became vacant when former CFO Jimmy Patronis resigned to run for Congress.
Ingoglia was serving as a state senator when he received the Governor’s appointment, having served as the representative of Florida Senate District 11 from 2022-2025. Prior to his election to the Senate, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2014-2022.
A close political ally of Governor Ron DeSantis, Ingoglia served as chair of the Republican Party of Florida from 2015 to 2019. According to his campaign website, in that role he helped lead Republican campaign efforts in Florida, including those supporting Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
Born in New York City in 1970, Ingoglia moved to Florida in 1996 and established his America One Mortgage company and, later, his homebuilding business, Hartland Homes.
Before entering elected office, Ingoglia built a public profile through his "Government Gone Wild" YouTube channel. He launched the self-described watchdog series during the Great Recession with a stated intent to expose what he characterized as reckless government spending, high taxation, and political overreach. While supporters viewed the channel as promoting transparency and fiscal accountability, critics argued it functioned as a partisan platform that sometimes relied on sensational presentations of complex fiscal issues.
Ingoglia brought a similar emphasis on reducing government spending to his role as CFO. He partnered with the Governor’s Office to launch the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative that targeted local municipalities and county government for fast-tracked audits and claimed to have identified billions in what the administration labeled "excessive" local spending.
Proponents of Florida’s DOGE have argued the program provides necessary oversight to protect taxpayers, while critics—including some Republican and Democratic local officials—have pushed back on some of the claims made by DOGE and Ingoglia. Some skeptics have suggested that the state’s DOGE audits are part of DeSantis’ broader effort to gain public support for a state property tax amendment that could reduce local autonomy and force local governments across the state to cut essential public services.
On his campaign website, the issues and priorities highlighted by Ingoglia’s platform include, lowering property taxes, tackling waste, fraud, and abuse, housing and property insurance affordability, “Don’t New York Our Florida,” “DEI: Deport every illegal,” longtime MAGA supporter, “One Person, One Vote, No Exceptions,” “Protecting Your Right to Protect Yourself,” “Standing with Our Heroes,” and “Protecting Natural Florida.”
Ingoglia has reported raising substantially more campaign contributions than any other candidate in the race, including his Republican primary opponent. As of the most recent reporting period, his campaign had reported nearly $1.8 million in monetary contributions plus another $612,540 in in-kind contributions.
According to Florida Department of State Division of Elections records, two political committees—The Friends of Blaise Ingoglia and the Government Gone Wild PAC—have collectively raised more than $8.5 million in monetary contributions. These figures include all-time monetary contributions to the PACs since their formation.
By contrast, Ingoglia’s Republican challenger, Frank Collige, has reported less than $16,000 in collected campaign contributions as of the latest reporting period.
Republican Frank Collige
Dr. Frank W. Collige was born in Michigan, but is a graduate of Zephyrhills High School in Pasco County. Following graduation, he enlisted with the United States Air Force, where he served from 1999 to 2010.
His career has included working as a chief executive officer, small business owner, and investigator. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the American Military University in 2008, a graduate degree from North Central University in 2014, and his Ph.D. from Walden University in 2024.
According to his campaign website, Collige founded and owns Property Pros Consulting, a public adjusting firm that has grown to operate in eight states and manages more than 1,000 insurance claims annually.
His campaign platform, as presented on his website, includes a focus on three “critical priorities” should he be elected to serve as CFO: financial transparency and accountability, insurance market stability and consumer protection, and disaster preparedness and financial resilience.
“Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed how financial mismanagement, unchecked fraud, and a lack of accountability can damage lives, businesses, and entire communities,” said Collige in a statement on his campaign website. “That’s why I’m running—to ensure that every taxpayer dollar is respected, every insurance claim is handled fairly, and every business in Florida has the opportunity to grow and succeed.”
With the 2026 Primary Election less than six weeks away, Florida voters who wish to cast a ballot in any Republican or Democratic primary have until July 20 to update their voter registration or party affiliation.
Early voting begins August 7, and the deadline for voters to request Vote-by-Mail ballots is August 6.
For more information on candidates, visit our Election 2026 page. For election dates, deadlines, or to register to vote, check your registration or submit registration updates, visit votemanatee.gov.
Along with electing Florida’s next Chief Financial Officer, Floridians will also elect a State Attorney General and Commissioner of Agriculture this year.
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