Joseph Hernandez

Credit: Aaron Kassman

Hernandez, 54, is a registered Republican and is running on the Republican and Conservative party lines in the general election. He ran as an independent candidate for mayor in New York City in 2025.
He is an entrepreneur, investor and founder of Blue Water Venture Partners LLC.
Hernandez is originally from Camagüey, Cuba, and immigrated to Miami as a child. He has degrees from the University of Florida, Yale University and the University of Oxford in England.

Hernandez said that if elected he wants to rein in the state’s tax-and-spend policies.
He is also campaigning on rooting out fraud and abuse in state government.
Hernandez said he also wants to use the power of the comptroller’s office to develop policies that invest in the state.

Thomas P. DiNapoli