Byron Donalds Wins Florida Republican Primary, Sets Up Historic November Race

The Result

Byron Donalds won the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday night. The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed. Donalds finished with nearly 49 percent of the vote in an eleven-candidate field. Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins finished second, and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner came in third. Donalds celebrated the win at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, where he told supporters the primary was over and the party was now united heading into November.

Who He Beat and How

Donalds dominated a crowded field by running on President Trump’s endorsement and his own record as a three-term congressman representing parts of Fort Myers and Naples. Collins, who had served as DeSantis’s running mate and held the lieutenant governor’s office, could not overcome the disadvantage of being seen as the DeSantis pick in a race where Trump’s support carried decisive weight. DeSantis himself did not endorse anyone, caught between his own lieutenant governor and the candidate backed by Trump, who DeSantis had feuded with publicly during the 2024 presidential primary.

What’s at Stake in November

Donalds will face Democrat David Jolly in the November 3 general election. Jolly is a former Republican congressman who left the party and ran as an independent before affiliating with Democrats. He won his party’s primary Tuesday as well. Early polls show Donalds with a narrow lead, but the race is expected to be competitive. Florida has not elected a Democratic governor in more than 25 years.
If Donalds wins in November, he will become the first Black governor in Florida history. Only three Black governors have been elected in the United States since Reconstruction.

His Background

Donalds, 47, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and later attended Florida State University. He worked in banking and finance before entering politics. He was elected to the Florida state legislature in 2016 and won his congressional seat in 2020. During the 2024 presidential race, he was on Trump’s shortlist for vice president. He was also among the candidates who ran for House Speaker in the chaotic multi-round vote that eventually produced Kevin McCarthy’s election. Trump publicly backed Donalds before he even announced his gubernatorial campaign, posting on Truth Social that Donalds would be a great and powerful governor and urging him to run.

The DeSantis Factor

Governor Ron DeSantis is term-limited and cannot seek a third term. His relationship with Donalds has been tense. DeSantis suggested publicly that his wife Casey DeSantis would make a worthy governor, and he made calls to donors encouraging them to consider other options before ultimately staying out of the race officially. In his final weeks of the primary, DeSantis said Renner would be a really good governor but stopped short of a formal endorsement.
Collins, in his concession statement, congratulated Donalds and pledged to keep fighting to ensure Florida remained what DeSantis had long called the Free State of Florida.

Source: WLRN, Forbes, NBC News, Washington Post, CF Public Radio, NBC Miami