As midterm elections approach, with the state primary Aug. 18 and the general election Nov. 3, UF students are consumed by national debates over immigration, ICE and cultural flashpoints at the federal level. But while attention is fixed on Washington, the elections most directly shaping students' lives are largely overlooked.
Unlike federal officials, state policymakers operate with far less visibility and funding, even as their decisions directly govern public universities.
In Florida, power and influence are concentrated in the governor’s office. Who becomes governor has a direct and measurable impact on UF students’ experiences inside and outside the classroom.
The governor appoints 14 members of Florida’s Board of Governors, the body overseeing every public university in the state. This board sets system-wide policy, controls tuition caps, determines performance funding and decides which academic programs are prioritized or cut. UF answers to this board, and the governor shapes it.
The governor’s influence reaches directly into UF’s top decision-making bodies. Six of UF’s 13 Board of Trustees members are appointed by the governor, with five more appointed by the Board of Governors. Only two seats are held by internal university leadership — the student body president and the chair of the UF Faculty Senate. This means the board responsible for hiring and firing UF’s president, approving budget priorities and guiding campus direction is primarily shaped by the governor and his appointees.
This isn’t abstract power. It shapes tuition, academic offerings and campus priorities in real time.
Students often gravitate toward federal politics because they feel morally urgent and emotionally charged. But many of the issues dominating national debate are deeply entrenched problems that won’t be solved by one election cycle.
If students want to see tangible changes during their time at UF, they need to start paying closer attention to state and local races that directly affect campus life.
Beyond the governor’s race, Florida’s 2026 ballot includes multiple elections receiving little student attention, despite significantly affecting UF. All 120 seats in the Florida House of Representatives and 20 seats in the Florida Senate are up for election, giving voters influence over the lawmakers who write UF’s budget, set tuition policy and pass higher education laws.
Voters will also decide statewide cabinet offices, including chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture, which play roles in state budgeting and land-use decisions tied to university expansion and development.
Paying attention to these races is not a rejection of federal politics; it is an acknowledgment of where power actually sits. Students can debate national issues endlessly, but state elections determine the officials who control tuition, funding, governance and policy at UF. If students want their political engagement to produce tangible outcomes during their time here, they need to treat state races as seriously as the national ones.
Contact Alannah Peters at apeters@alligator.org. Follow her on X @alannahpeters777.
