TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Just like March Madness, Florida’s gubernatorial race has reached its “Final Four.”

In just four days, voters will narrow down a jam-packed field of candidates looking to replace Governor Ron DeSantis, and by Tuesday night only two will remain.

For Republicans, Tuesday will determine who moves on from a crowded and, at times, messy primary.

For Democrats, the question is whether David Jolly, a former republican, can secure the nomination and lead the state in a different direction.

But before the general election matchup takes shape, Floridians have a few final questions to settle: what should the next governor do about property taxes, data centers, the rising cost of living, and just how much of DeSantis’ legacy should move forward?

Out voting Friday in Madison County, Republican candidate James Fishback argued that he is the true outsider in the GOP field, saying Florida needs a fresh perspective rather than another seasoned politician.

“My opponents, they are good people, but they collectively have been in office for over three decades,” Fishback said. “If they had a plan to make your life better, to bring down costs, to tackle sky-high insurance, to make real reform to property taxes, ask yourself: they’re in government. Why haven’t they done it already?”

Meanwhile, both former House Speaker Paul Renner and Lt. Governor Jay Collins are making the case that Republicans should look beyond the current frontrunner, Congressman Byron Donalds.

“He is running a Joe Biden basement campaign right now, hoping that he’ll just be the name you know and people will just default to him. That would be a huge mistake,” Renner said. “I do believe that a vote for Donalds is a vote for David Jolly in the end, and we’ll have David Jolly as our governor.”

“Byron Donalds has been in the race for 18 months, give or take, right? Far longer than anybody else,” Collins said. “There are still 20, 15, 20, 25% of people who are undecided. That means those 15, 20, 25% of people have had 18 months to not choose him.”

Donalds, however, is urging Republicans to unite behind him, while turning his attention away from his GOP opponents and towards Democrat David Jolly.

“There is a choice in November,” Donalds said. “The Democrats are going to run a guy named David Jolly. David Jolly is somebody who, all of a sudden, in his mid-50s, decided that he was a Democrat. Florida needs a governor who’s going to stand on common sense and follow the science, the real science, not the crazies on the left, and a governor that’s going to keep Florida free.”

By Tuesday night, the inner-party fights will likely fade, and the race will enter a new phase – who will lead the state next: a Republican or Democrat?

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