The 2018 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election occurred on November 6, 2018, to elect the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. Democrat Nikki Fried narrowly defeated Republican Matt Caldwell. Fried became the only statewide elected Democrat in Florida, as U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who had held Florida's Class I U.S. Senate seat since 2000, lost reelection. As of 2023, this remains the last time that a Democrat has won a statewide election in Florida, and the only time since 2012.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
Matt Caldwell, state representative
Denise Grimsley, state senator
Mike McCalister, retired United States Army colonel, Republican candidate for governor in 2010, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2012 Baxter Troutman, former state representative
Withdrawn
Paul Paulson, businessman, 2015 candidate for Mayor of Orlando
Declined
Ben Albritton, state representative
Halsey Beshears, state representative
Lisa Carlton, former state senator
Steve Crisafulli, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Greg Steube, state senator
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
Jeff Porter, mayor of Homestead
R. David Walker, president of the South Florida Audubon Society
Nikki Fried, lobbyist attorney
Withdrawn
Michael Christine, University of Miami School of Law student
Daniel Sohn, Palm Beach County Soil and Water Conservation District aide
Thomas Clayton White Jr., Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University chemistry professor
Declined
Katie Edwards-Walpole, state representative
Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Congressman, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2016