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Republican incumbent Blaise Ingoglia and Democratic challenger Annette Taddeo are competing for Florida Chief Financial Officer in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Ingoglia CFO to fill a vacancy in July 2025, and he is now seeking election to his first full term. The winner will serve a four-year term as one of the three elected members of the Florida Cabinet. Learn about the Executive Branch of Florida’s government in my Sparker’s Civics primer post.

In this post, I summarize the backgrounds and stated priorities of the two candidates seeking the position, along with their endorsements, recent news coverage, and campaign finance data, to help voters prepare to cast their ballots. I also include links where you can research each candidate further.

• Blaise Ingoglia (Republican)
• Annette Taddeo (Democrat)
• The Race in the News
• Campaign Finances

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Blaise Ingoglia

Republican incumbent Blaise Ingoglia was born Nov. 4, 1970, in New York City. He moved to Spring Hill, FL, in 1996, where he founded a mortgage company focused on helping first-time homebuyers and, in 2001, Hartland Homes, a home-building company serving the Spring Hill market. In 2007, he founded Government Gone Wild, a public awareness effort using live seminars and YouTube videos to highlight government spending; the videos have been viewed approximately 8 million times.

Ingoglia served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2014 to 2022 and as Chair of the Republican Party of Florida from 2015 to 2019. As Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, he led statewide efforts to elect President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis. He served in the Florida Senate from 2022 until his CFO appointment in 2025. He lives in Spring Hill with his wife Julie. (campaign website; Wikipedia; Ballotpedia)

Platform

Ingoglia’s campaign website lists the following priorities: (campaign website)

Endorsements

• State leaders: Gov. Ron DeSantis, among 16 state senators and 55 state representatives. (campaign website)
• Federal officials: Six federal officials, named on his campaign website. (campaign website)
• Former officials: Former Florida CFOs Jimmy Patronis and Jeff Atwater, among 13 state attorneys. (campaign website)
• Law enforcement: 63 sheriffs statewide, including Collier County Sheriff Kevin J. Rambosk, and the Florida Fraternal Order of Police, Florida Police Benevolent Association, and National Association of Police Organizations. (campaign website)
• Other organizations: The Florida Professional Firefighters, the Republican Party of Florida, and the Associated Industries of Florida. (campaign website)

Legal Matters

On Aug. 16, 2026, the Florida Bulldog reported that Ingoglia’s state-required Form 6 financial disclosure omits more than 100 properties, worth an estimated $10 million, held through four limited liability companies he controls: Hartland Homes, Hartland Holdings, Hartland Centre, and Hartland Plaza. Florida law requires officials to identify real estate holdings above $1,000 in value by street address or another description that lets the public locate them without further research; the report identified 55 Hernando County properties and 57 Citrus County properties tied to the companies that are not individually listed on the form. It cited a prior case involving homebuilder Carlos Beruff that drew a $1,500 ethics fine for a similar disclosure gap. Ingoglia spokeswoman Sydney Booker said the form was filled out accurately and in accordance with the law, and that it had been reviewed by an attorney before filing. (Florida Bulldog)

Further Research

• Campaign website
• facebook.com/blaiseforflorida
• x.com/govgonewild (@GovGoneWild)
• instagram.com/blaiseingoglia
• youtube.com/@blaiseingogliaflorida

In the News

• DeSantis taps Florida’s ‘most conservative senator’ for state CFO. (FOX News, 7/17/25)
• Florida CFO accuses some local governments of scrubbing records before DOGE audits. (WUSF, 8/8/25)
• Calling himself ‘unapologetically conservative,’ Blaise Ingoglia kicks off his campaign for CFO. (Florida Phoenix, 9/23/25)
• Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announces local government budget standardization and accountability legislative proposals. (News Release, 12/18/25)
• Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia Announces Local Government Budget Standardization and Accountability Legislative Proposals. (myfloridacfo.com, 12/18/25)
• Informing or campaigning? CFO announces storm awareness initiative. (Florida Phoenix, 5/5/26)
• Qualified for ballot, Blaise Ingoglia carries more than $6M into first CFO campaign. (Florida Politics, 6/11/26)
• Blaise Ingoglia stretches fundraising lead in CFO race. (Florida Politics, 6/20/26)
• Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia claims Palm Beach County wasted $1.2 billion over last 6 years. (WFLX, 6/16/26)
• Moody backs Blaise Ingoglia for full term as Florida CFO. (FL Voice News, 7/27/26)
• Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia highlights 1 year of fighting fraud and supporting law enforcement. (myfloridacfo.com, 7/28/26)
• Blaise Ingoglia’s state financial disclosure omits millions in real estate, report finds. (Florida Bulldog, 8/16/26)
• Blaise Ingoglia backs Flock camera removals. (Florida Politics, 9/2/26)

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Annette Taddeo

Democratic challenger Annette Taddeo was born April 7, 1967, in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, to an Italian-American father, a U.S. World War II and Korean War fighter pilot, and a Colombian mother. After her father was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas, she moved to the United States at age 17, initially settling in Huntsville, AL. She graduated from the University of North Alabama with a degree in commercial Spanish and, shortly after, moved to Miami. In 1995, Taddeo founded LanguageSpeak, a language services company recognized as one of Florida’s Top 100 Small Businesses and one of the nation’s Top 500 Small Businesses. (Lobby Tools)

Taddeo entered politics in 2008 when she ran unsuccessfully against Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for Florida’s 18th Congressional District. She remained active in local Democratic politics and ran as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor alongside Charlie Crist in 2014. In September 2017, she won a special election for Florida Senate District 40, becoming the first Latina Democrat elected to the Florida Senate; she was re-elected in 2018. After announcing a gubernatorial run in 2021, she shifted to Florida’s 27th Congressional District race, losing to incumbent Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar in 2022. She ran for Miami-Dade County Clerk and Comptroller in 2024 but lost. She announced her candidacy for CFO on June 8-9, 2026. Taddeo is married to Eric Goldstein, a Miami psychologist, and they have a daughter, Sofia. (Wikipedia; WUSF)

Platform

Taddeo’s campaign website describes Florida families as “being robbed in plain sight” by insurance companies and calls for “an independent watchdog — not a political appointee who answers to the governor.” She has stated that as CFO, she will “hold the corrupt accountable — starting on day one.” (campaign website; Florida Politics)

Endorsements

• State leaders: Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman, among Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, incoming Florida Senate Democratic Leader Tracie Davis, state Sens. Kristen Arrington and Carlos Guillermo Smith, state Reps. Kevin Chambliss, Anna Eskamani and Ashley Gantt, and former state Sens. Vic Torres and Linda Stewart. (Florida Politics)
• Local and former officials: Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, among Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, Miami-Dade Commissioner and former House Democratic Leader Kionne McGhee, Palm Beach County Commissioner Bobby Powell, South Miami Mayor Javier Fernández, former House Democratic Leader and Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, Broward County School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi, and Miami-Dade School Board Members Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall and Joe Geller. (Florida Politics)
• National figures: Former Florida CFO Alex Sink, among former Congresswoman and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, and former U.S. Reps. Al Lawson and Kendrick Meek. (Florida Politics)
• Organized labor: The Florida AFL-CIO, among the state chapters of AFSCME and the Communications Workers of America, SEIU Florida, SEIU Local 1991, United Teachers of Dade, the United Faculty of Miami-Dade College, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Florida Politics)
• Advocacy organizations: The Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Political Operations Division, among Equality Florida Action PAC, the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, and Ruth’s List Florida. (Florida Politics)

Further Research

• Campaign website
• facebook.com/annette.taddeo
• twitter.com/Annette_Taddeo (@Annette_Taddeo)
• instagram.com/annette_taddeo
• linkedin.com/in/annettetaddeo
• public.lobbytools.com/legislators/695

In the News

• Annette Taddeo would lead Blaise Ingoglia in a head-to-head CFO race, Ruth’s List poll finds. (Florida Politics, 5/28/26)
• Former State Sen. Annette Taddeo has announced Florida CFO bid. (WUSF, 6/8/26)
• A ‘watchdog,’ not a ‘lapdog’: Annette Taddeo is running to unseat Blaise Ingoglia as CFO. (Florida Politics, 6/8/26)
• Former state Sen. Annette Taddeo joins Florida CFO race, questions property tax plan and state spending. (WFLX, 6/9/26)
• Annette Taddeo says she’s running for Florida CFO to hold insurance companies accountable. (CBS Miami, 6/14/26)
• Teamsters, Democratic leaders line up behind Annette Taddeo’s CFO campaign. (Florida Politics, 7/27/26)
• ‘Integrity, sound judgment’: 2 more local leaders endorse Annette Taddeo for CFO. (Florida Politics, 7/30/26)
• 2 more labor unions endorse Annette Taddeo for CFO. (Florida Politics, 8/3/26)
• Hispanic Chamber division endorses Annette Taddeo for CFO. (Florida Politics, 8/25/26)

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The Race in the News

• Poll: Annette Taddeo deadlocked with Blaise Ingoglia in CFO race. (The Floridian, 9/14/26)

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Campaign Finances

Political committees may raise and spend money without limit to support or oppose candidates, but Florida law caps direct transfers from a committee to a candidate’s own campaign account at $3,000 per election, with the primary and general treated as separate elections. For more on how to read these figures and what this information does and does not tell us, see the Sparker’s Civics primer, Understanding Campaign Finance Data.

Ingoglia’s Contributions

Blaise Ingoglia raised a total of $2.4 million (monetary contributions plus in-kind support) from 1,051 individual and institutional donors. Ninety-four percent of his monetary contributions came from Florida donors. Of that, $281,450 in contributions came from political committees giving directly to his campaign account. Nearly all of his in-kind support, 97 percent of the $1,052,807 total, came from the Republican Party of Florida.

Separately, Friends of Blaise Ingoglia and Government Gone Wild PAC, political committees he chairs, have raised $10.3 million combined since their formation, of which $5.3 million remains available.

Taddeo’s Contributions

Annette Taddeo’s campaign took in $163,359 in total: monetary contributions, in-kind support, and a personal loan. The $157,359 in contributions came from 366 donors, 85 percent of that monetary total coming from Florida donors. Of that, $31,500 came from political committees giving directly to her campaign account. Most of her in-kind support, $13,019 of the $16,649 total, came from the Florida Democratic Party; another $3,256 came from Taddeo herself.

Separately, Friends of Annette Taddeo PC, a political committee she chairs, has raised $129,451 since its formation, of which $53,947 remains available.

Sources

Campaign finance data is from Florida Division of Elections filings, cross-checked against source records. See the Division of Elections’ Candidate Listing search for complete filings. Affiliated political committee data is from the Division of Elections’ Committee Database Search.

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This post was researched and drafted with the assistance of Claude (Anthropic AI). The content was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by the author. Both humans and AI can make mistakes. Please let us know if you spot one.