Moliere "Moe" Dimanche is running for Florida governor with No Party Affiliation in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The Haitian American artist, author and prison reform activist is from Orlando. His running mate is Benjiman Rojas.

Dimanche said fighting public corruption drove him into the race. "I got into this race to put an end to public corruption," Dimanche told Tampa Bay 28 in a candidate questionnaire. He said officeholders too often misuse positions of public trust to benefit themselves and their friends, leaving residents with "the short end of the stick every time."

Candidate information

Party: No Party Affiliation

Born: Nov. 7, 1987

Residence: Orlando

Family: Married with three sons, ages 5 (twins) and 11, according to his campaign website

Education: High school diploma, West Orange High School; associate of arts in studio art, St. Johns River State College (Florida School of the Arts)

Ballot status: Certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data. Dimanche filed his candidacy on June 26, 2024, and qualified on June 10, 2026, paying the qualifying fee, according to the Florida Division of Elections.

Campaign: "No MOE Corruption" (nomoecorruption.com)

Other candidates: Byron Donalds (Republican), David Jolly (Democratic), Charles Burkett (No Party Affiliation), Dean Ocean Abrams (No Party Affiliation), Frank Russo (No Party Affiliation), Jeffrey Peter Datto (No Party Affiliation) and Scott Jewett (Libertarian), according to BallotReady.

Experience and public service

Dimanche describes himself as a first-generation American whose father was deported to Haiti in 1988, according to his campaign website.

He has worked as a construction worker at Garcia's Flooring & Remodeling and as a FedEx driver, according to his campaign materials and a Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce questionnaire response.

In his campaign biography, Dimanche describes receiving a 10-year prison sentence after a 2007 incident involving a truck carrying construction materials. He maintains his innocence and says the experience led to his advocacy on prison conditions and civil rights.

His Redemption series, a portfolio of drawings made while in prison, earned him a Pell Grant scholarship to the Florida School of the Arts and has been featured in Folio, Salon.com and The Conversation, according to Wikipedia. His art and writings were also featured in "Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration" by Nicole Fleetwood.

Dimanche ran for mayor of Orlando in 2023 but did not appear on the ballot after being disqualified over technical issues regarding the payment of qualifying fees, according to Wikipedia. He hosts "The Moe Dimanche Show," a podcast, according to his campaign website.

On Aug. 8, 2025, Dimanche formally announced his gubernatorial candidacy at the 43rd Annual Pig Roast & Political Mingle hosted by the Northeast Polk Chamber of Commerce in Haines City, according to his campaign.

On the issues

Municipal incorporation: Dimanche said he supports incorporating all unincorporated county lands across Florida to ensure public safety, adequate 911 response and infrastructure, according to his campaign website. He said he has drafted a charter for a proposed City of West Orlando. Wesley Chapel and much of Pasco County are unincorporated, governed by the Pasco County Commission.

Property taxes: Dimanche said he supports eliminating property taxes in Florida and has proposed a lottery system to increase homeownership by awarding abandoned properties to the public, according to his campaign.

Homeowners associations: Dimanche has pledged to abolish HOAs, calling them unconstitutional and a "honeypot for taxation without representation" that enables scam foreclosures against vulnerable citizens, according to his campaign website.

Data centers: Dimanche said he opposes the construction of data centers and has pledged to ban them entirely if elected, according to a post on his X account.

Government spending transparency: Dimanche has proposed establishing an online portal to track government spending in real time to deter wasteful spending, according to his campaign.