Who would win the Florida nominations for governor in 2018?

[JMT]

I think it would be Rubio vs Graham, if they both ran.

However, I don't think Rubio will run for governor. He more likely than not will lose the GOP nomination for president to Trump this year, and Trump will go on to lose the general election to Hillary. This will leave many Republican voters wishing they had voted for Rubio instead of Trump, and I think Rubio would be the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2020. So, if this is true, why would he want to risk running for Governor in 2018, a race he could potentially lose in the general election? He wouldn't have to be governor to win the GOP nomination in 2020, I think he'd be the frontrunner even if he isn't Florida's governor. If he were to run in for Gov in 2018 and lose, he wouldn't exactly be considered the best candidate to run for president just two years later. So I think Rubio opts out of the governor race. If he doesn't run for governor, it could be a close race between Putnam and Atwater in the primary. Putnam has been preparing for a run for governor for quite some time, so perhaps Atwater would instead run for Bill Nelson's senate seat to avoid a nasty primary. Atwater would most likely win the nomination for senate if he chose to do that.

Graham is a different story. I think she will opt out of running for reelection this year because under the new map she'll likely lose. She will then run for governor in 2018, and most likely win the nomination. She'd have a pretty good shot at winning the general election too. She may get challenged by someone on the left because she's fairly moderate, but I think she wins the nomination anyways. I don't think Charlie Crist will run for Governor in 2018, especially if Graham runs. Crist will most likely be elected to Congress this year, I don't think he'll run for Governor after just one term. He clearly wants to be governor, but will hold on to his house seat for a few terms and run for Governor in 2020 or 2024.

Those are my predictions at least!