Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds will face Democrat David Jolly in November as he seeks to become the first Black governor in Florida history.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds has won Florida’s Republican nomination for governor, putting the Trump-backed congressman one election away from potentially becoming the state’s first Black governor.
Donalds defeated Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, hedge fund investor James Fishback and a crowded field of Republican candidates in Tuesday’s primary. He will face Democratic nominee David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties last year, in the Nov. 3 general election.
The race will determine who succeeds Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who cannot seek a third consecutive term. It will also test whether Democrats can regain ground in a state that has shifted sharply toward Republicans in recent election cycles. Florida has not elected a Democratic governor since 1994.
Donalds Could Make Florida History
If elected in November, Donalds would become Florida’s first Black governor. His nomination also places him among a historically large group of Black gubernatorial nominees running across the country this year.
But Donalds, 47, has largely resisted making race a centerpiece of his campaign.
“I’m aware of it, but I don’t really focus on it,” Donalds told CBS News when asked previously about the possibility of becoming Florida’s first Black governor.
“I think it’s not so much about my race,” he said. “I think it’s more about the policies I support, the principles I stand for, common-sense conservative policies that have made Florida the envy of the other 49 states in the union.”
Donalds, a Brooklyn native who represents southwest Florida in Congress, has become one of the Republican Party’s most prominent Black elected officials. He gained national attention during the contentious 2023 race for House speaker and later became a high-profile surrogate for President Donald Trump.
Trump endorsed Donalds in the governor’s race, but Donalds said after his primary victory that the president’s backing alone was not enough to secure the nomination.
“Obviously, he has the strongest following of anybody in our party,” Donalds said Tuesday night. But, he added, “you can’t just sit back and think the president’s endorsement is going to carry you.”
Addressing supporters at an election-night event in Orlando, Donalds called for Republicans to unite heading into November.
“The primary is over,” Donalds said. “Tonight we put aside our differences. Tonight we are one united Republican Party.”
Donalds’ Record on Race Draws Scrutiny
Donalds has supported Trump administration efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and has argued that DEI policies are based on a “false premise.” He has also faced criticism from Black political leaders for past comments about race, including remarks suggesting Black families were more unified during the Jim Crow era.
Despite those controversies, Donalds has increasingly taken on a national role for Republicans, particularly in the party’s efforts to increase support among Black voters and Black men.
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His general election campaign now presents Republicans with an opportunity to elect a Black governor in a state the party has increasingly dominated.
Florida Democrats came within a percentage point of electing the state’s first Black governor in 2018, when Democrat Andrew Gillum narrowly lost to DeSantis.
This year, Democrats are betting on Jolly, who previously represented Florida in Congress as a Republican before leaving the GOP, becoming an independent and ultimately joining the Democratic Party.
Jolly has pitched himself as a political moderate focused on affordability, housing and education while arguing that Florida should move beyond the culture-war politics that have defined much of the DeSantis era.
Donalds, meanwhile, has campaigned on tax cuts, changes to Florida’s insurance system and greater health care price transparency.
The November contest now gives Florida voters a stark choice — and Donalds a chance to make history in a state where no Black candidate has ever occupied the governor’s mansion.
