Byron Donalds leads Florida's Republican primary for governor in money and endorsements

Florida Republicans pick a nominee for governor on August 18, and one candidate has pulled away from the field in money and endorsements. Representative Byron Donalds, who has held Florida's 19th Congressional District seat since 2021, leads three other Republicans running to replace Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is barred by the state constitution from seeking a third consecutive term, leaving the seat open.

President Trump endorsed Donalds on February 20. "Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump wrote. Donalds announced his campaign five days later.

The other declared Republicans are Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins, whom DeSantis appointed to the post in 2025; James Fishback, chief executive of the investment firm Azoria; and Paul Renner, speaker of the Florida House from 2022 to 2024.

The money

State campaign-finance filings covering the period through April 1 showed Donalds with about $7 million raised through his campaign account. Renner reported about $617,000, Collins about $388,000, and Fishback about $298,000. Florida Politics reported that Donalds raised roughly $22 million in the first quarter when contributions to an affiliated political committee are counted, and more than $67 million over the course of the campaign.

The endorsements

Donalds has been endorsed by much of Florida's Republican establishment and the national party, including Senator Rick Scott of Florida, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a majority of Florida's Republican members of the U.S. House, and Lara Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Collins, the sitting lieutenant governor, has announced far fewer. Fishback's public endorsers include the commentators Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes and the social media personality Andrew Tate.

DeSantis has not endorsed anyone in the race, including Collins, whom he appointed lieutenant governor.

The polling

An Emerson College survey of 465 likely Republican primary voters, taken March 29 to 31 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, put Donalds at 46 percent. Collins, Fishback, and Renner each drew 4 percent or less, and 39 percent were undecided. Surveys by other pollsters over the same weeks, including one from the Republican firm Tarrance Group, showed Donalds at or above that level.

The Democratic field

David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who represented a Tampa-area district from 2014 to 2017 and later registered as a Democrat, leads the Democratic primary. Jerry Demings, the mayor of Orange County and husband of former U.S. Representative Val Demings, is also running. An Emerson College survey of 362 likely Democratic primary voters, taken March 29 to 31 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 points, put Jolly at 21 percent and Demings at 10 percent, with 53 percent undecided. No Democrat has won a Florida governor's race since Lawton Chiles was re-elected in 1994.

What is next

Fox News has scheduled a Republican debate for July 21 in Tampa. The primary is August 18, and the general election is November 3. DeSantis won re-election in 2022 by about 19 percentage points, and Trump carried Florida by about 13 points in 2024, results that make the eventual Republican nominee the favorite in November.