ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis is the projected winner in the governor’s race against Charlie Crist, according to early poll results.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

DeSantis won nearly 58% of the vote, according to early state results.

Polls and early voting numbers were in DeSantis’ favor, and he seemed to have little doubt that he will be giving a victory speech tonight.

ELECTION LIVE UPDATES: DeSantis, Rubio and Moody all reclaim posts

As of last night, almost 5 million people voted early, and already hundreds of thousands of votes have been cast across the state. Republicans are leading the early voting numbers by a hefty margin. Some polls have DeSantis leading by double digits.

A few months ago, Republicans celebrated passing Democrats in the state for overall voter registration numbers. Republicans are now banking on that advantage to definitively move Florida from tossup to GOP stronghold.

READ: Democrat Maxwell Frost wins U.S. House District 10 race

See Charlie Crist’s concession speech below:

Charlie Crist concedes Florida governor race (WFTV)

VIDEO: A look inside the Florida governor race Florida governor’s race: Early polls indicate GOP lead in matchup between DeSantis, Crist

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2022 Cox Media Group