Byron Donalds wins Florida governor’s race, becoming first Black man to hold state’s highest office

Donalds, a stringent advocate of President Trump, joins Wes Moore and Keisha Lance Bottoms as elected governors on Tuesday.

In a historic first, Rep. Byron Donalds defeated Dem. David Jolly in the Florida gubernatorial election, the Associated Press reports. Donalds, who has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District since his election in 2021, becomes the first Black man or woman to win Florida’s highest office.

“From a larger perspective, there’s so much that has been talked about in politics over the last couple decades around race. Obviously, the country has had some real negative parts of our history surrounding race,” he told NBC News in October. “I’m humbled to be in this position, but I think it says a lot more about the state [of Florida] than it does about me.”

Donalds’ victory keeps Florida as a stronghold for Republicans, as Democrats have not held the seat since 1994. In August, he defeated Jay Collins, Florida’s lieutenant governor, by more than 20 points in the primary and earned the endorsement of Ron DeSantis, Florida’s incumbent governor, in September.

DeSantis had been term-limited and could not seek a third term in the governor’s mansion.

Jolly, a former Republican congressman, ran as a Democrat in the election, but could not secure help from national Democratic groups. However, his performance surpassed that of the previous Democratic candidate for governor, as DeSantis defeated former Governor Charlie Crist by nearly 20 percentage points in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

Donalds raised more than $130 million for his campaign and during the final months of his campaign, he shifted away from touting Trump and instead touted DeSantis and his desire to continue what DeSantis had done during his eight years in Tallahassee.

“We have one goal, and that goal is for the free state of Florida to remain the free state of Florida,” Donalds said at a September event. “A lot of the issues that we’re talking about up here on this stage, this isn’t just talking points for this event.”

When he assumes office in January, Donalds will be one of three Black governors in the country, joining Wes Moore of Maryland and Keisha Lance Bottoms of Georgia.