Moliere "Moe" Dimanche, a Haitian American from Orlando running with no party affiliation, is one of eight candidates certified for the Nov. 3 Florida gubernatorial election, according to BallotReady election data. His running mate is Benjiman Rojas.

Asked why he is running, Dimanche said in our candidate questionnaire: "I believe that most Floridians have had it with public corruption. It affects every aspect of our life and there is no way to escape it anymore. I envision a Florida where everyone can expect to live peacefully and be prosperous, but until we get a handle on public corruption that's not a reality for most Floridians. I'm in this race to put an end to corruption once and for all."

Other candidates in the race are Byron Donalds (Republican), Charles Burkett (No Party Preference), David Jolly (Democratic), Dean Ocean Abrams (No Party Preference), Frank Russo (No Party Preference), Jeffrey Peter Datto (No Party Preference) and Scott Jewett (Libertarian).

Candidate information

Party affiliation: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I am not affiliated with any party. I believe both parties can be right at times, and on the wrong side of things as well."

Family: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I have a ton of brothers, and no sisters. My father was deported to Haiti in 1988 and I don't really know him. I've spoken to him by phone before, but his house has an antenna on top and if it moves, the signal goes out, so I'v probably spoken to him for a total of 10 minutes my entire life. My wife is a registered Republican and has been a pro-life activist since she was a child because her mom was very active protesting against Planned Parenthood. We have 3 sons. My oldest son, Caleb is a 6th grader at Discovery Middle School, and we have 5-year-old identical twins."

Education: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I attended West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Florida and received a scholarship to attend Florida School of the Arts. Flo Arts is a part of St. John's River State College in Palatka, Florida." He holds an associate of arts in studio art from St. Johns River State College, according to Wikipedia.

Date of birth: Nov. 7, 1987, according to Wikipedia.

Best advice: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "'Be teachable, you're not always right.' Nobody actually said that to me, but I saw it on a coffee mug in Magnolia Cafe in Palatka one morning."

Experience and public service

Occupation: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I am a FedEx driver. I previously worked as a barber before I published a book called It Takes a Criminal to Know One: How the Inspector General and I are one and the Same. I took a book tour from 2016-2109 and showcased my art all over the world before I settled down and began working for FedEx."

Previous campaigns: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I have never held, or been appointed to public office. I did run for mayor of the city of Orlando, but did not appear on the ballot because I did not manage to pay the qualifying fee. I also ran for District 5 Commissioner, but the check I provided forms qualifying fee was returned by the City of Orlando without explanation and I did not appear on the ballot."

Civil rights litigation: In 2007, at age 19, Dimanche received a 10-year prison sentence for theft of construction materials and served 8.5 years, according to Wikipedia. While incarcerated, he litigated a civil rights case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Dimanche v. Brown (2015). Asked how that experience shaped his decision to run, Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "It was miraculous. It taught me that, no matter how hard things seem, the system works. No matter what the odds are, if you keep fighting, you can get there. And the 200 other cases that will lead to 200 more that will lead to 200 more means that what I stood for was right and just."

His Redemption series, a portfolio of drawings made while in prison, earned him a Pell Grant scholarship and has been featured in Folio, Salon.com and The Conversation, according to Wikipedia.

On the issues

Top priority: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "Within my first year I would definitely put guard rails around Amendment 3, if it passes. I think that is important because I'm a beneficiary of the 2018 Amendment 4. When it passed, Rick Scott and other legislators reinstated the poll tax, even though that was not in the language of the Amendment … I don't like any of that, and I'm pro-life. Florida needs to return to a place where the governor stayed out of the People's business, let them vote, and uphold whatever laws or Amendments the People pass."

Economy and cost of living: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "The best thing we can do is take the cost of living off of folks as best we can. Right now, most Americans spend a third of their income, minimum, on keeping a roof over their heads. In Maryland, and in Michigan, municipalities implemented a beautification initiative where they awarded abandoned properties to anybody in America for $1, as long as they homesteaded the property and took care of any repairs. I want to do that in Florida … We can easily alleviate the cost of living that way, and give Floridians that economic boost they need to revive the leisure sector and stimulate the economy."

Public safety: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I led the charge to incorporate Pine Hills into its own municipality, so I have unique expertise here … A serial killer was allowed to roam Pine Hills and he took the lives of 9-year old T'Yonna Major, Natacha Augustin, and Spectrum reporter Dylan Lyons. In response to this violence, we held a town hall at Kingdom Church and I proposed incorporation to secure a law enforcement presence for Pine Hills because relying on county resources in unincorporated communities is a recipe for disaster."

Education: Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I'd definitely like to see more funding and opportunities granted to parents who home-school their kids. There are a lot of reasons parents choose home-school, but regardless, they still face the challenges of not having advanced curriculums or technology."

Independence: Asked why running without a party matters, Dimanche said in our questionnaire: "I believe we are in a time where folks don't know what to expect anymore. We keep getting the same problems, no matter who we vote for … the two major parties are two sides of the same coin. Once we break away from that, we will see a state, and a country that finally meets our expectations. I'm asking Floridians to start with me."

Dimanche filed his candidacy on June 26, 2024, and qualified on June 10, 2026, by paying the qualifying fee, according to the Florida Division of Elections.