Posted on 08/18/2026 8:55:28 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
It was a crowded field of Republican candidates vying for the chance to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis – who is term-limited and unable to run for reelection a third time – but Florida Republicans made a decisive choice Tuesday night: Rep. Byron Donalds (FL-19) will be the GOP nominee for governor.
Donalds beat out 10 other candidates to seal the nomination, with preliminary results showing him sitting around 49 percent, compared with 25 percent for Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, 10 percent for James Fishback, and 8 percent for Paul Renner.
On the Democrat side, former Republican congressman David Jolly cruised to his party’s nomination, setting up a Donalds-Jolly showdown in November. Jolly represented Florida’s 13th Congressional District as a Republican from 2014 to 2017 before leaving the GOP and eventually joining the Democrat Party in a show of opposition to President Trump.
Tuesday's result could actually be seen as a victory for President Trump, who endorsed Donalds a full five days before Donalds even announced his candidacy back in February of 2025.
Jolly faces an uphill battle in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat governor since Lawton Chiles narrowly beat Jeb Bush in 1994.
Once seen as a swing state, Florida hasn’t elected a Democrat statewide since 2018 when Nikki Fried, the Florida Democratic Party chair, won agriculture commissioner. The last time a Democrat won the Sunshine State at the presidential level was in 2012 under former President Obama.
But it’s been even longer — more than three decades — since Florida’s elected a Democrat as its top executive, when Democrat Lawton Chiles narrowly won a second term against Republican Jeb Bush.
Florida's political landscape has only moved further to the right in the years since. Donalds now heads into the November 3 general election as the Republican nominee in a state where the GOP has dominated statewide politics for years.
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Florida does good again! Governor Byron Donalds has a nice ring to it.
Man, our bench is deep and getting deeper. Solid young black guy conservative governor from the South?
Crap! The Dems don’t have anyone like that.
And we’ve got a couple of generations of quite good guys standing by to run for the big job.
I think Florida stopped being a swing state when they brought in voter ID. Just like magic Florida went solid Republican.
Governor Jay Collins would have had a nice ring, also.
But Republicans around the country seem to not like that solution.
No, Florida was won for the GOP by migration to the state and a lot of hard work by activists and party staff.
Imagine that......
Bunch of racists.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Bunch of racists.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
I see what you did there. lol
Collins got my vote.
👍
Yes...just look at all of the other Republican-controlled states that didn't implement voter ID < / s >
Go on X (formerly Twitter). Musk won’t countenance X staff banning anyone for TELLING THE TRUTH!
Oops … POSTED THAT ON THE WRONG THREAD. Sorry!
DeSantis has been drummed out of the GOP for doing it.
Heard him speak...Excellent...
Donalds got my money...
I like Bryon, however Jay Collins would’ve been great, too. Florida will be Red...
Very disappointed. He didn’t even show for the debate. And not a word against ai or data centers.
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