TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) won Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday, positioning the Trump-backed congressman to succeed outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis and potentially make history as the state’s first Black governor.
The Associated Press called the race at 8 p.m. EDT. With 83% of the vote counted, Donalds held a commanding lead with 48.7% of the vote, or 715,409 ballots cast in his favor. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins trailed well behind at 24.8%, followed by James Fishback at 10.2%, former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner at 8.3%, and Bobby Williams at 3.9%.
Frontrunner from the start
Donalds entered Election Day as the clear favorite, having led his Republican rivals in polls for months. President Donald Trump endorsed Donalds even before the congressman formally entered the race in February 2025, giving him an early edge in a crowded field.
Donalds, a two-term congressman representing Florida’s 19th Congressional District in the southwestern part of the state, has emerged as a leading conservative voice in Washington and a strong ally of Trump’s policy agenda on immigration, gun rights, and the economy. His campaign leaned heavily into that alignment with the former president, positioning himself as the candidate best equipped to carry Trump’s vision into the governor’s mansion.
Collins, who became lieutenant governor in 2025, proved to be Donalds’ closest challenger. Although DeSantis did not endorse any candidate in the primary, Collins was widely viewed as an ally of the governor, and his campaign sought to appeal to supporters of the outgoing administration. But that backing was not enough to overcome Donalds’ momentum and the political weight of the Trump endorsement.
Race to replace DeSantis
The primary was always about more than a single seat — it determines who will take over from DeSantis, who cannot seek another term because of Florida’s term limits. Republicans have held the governor’s office for more than two decades, and the party’s primary results indicate a strong desire among GOP voters to extend that streak.
Donalds will now face Democrat David Jolly in the November general election. Jolly, a former Republican congressman who later switched parties to become a Democrat, won his party’s gubernatorial nomination Tuesday with 61.5% of the vote, or 704,526 votes, with an estimated 85% of the vote counted.
A Donalds victory in the general election would make him Florida’s first Black governor — a historic milestone that his campaign has highlighted — and would extend the GOP’s decades-long hold on the governor’s mansion. Jolly, meanwhile, is seeking to turn the race into a broader conversation about bipartisanship and breaking the state’s Republican dominance.
The general election matchup sets up a stark contrast: Donalds, a Trump-aligned conservative running on the president’s policy platform, versus Jolly, a former Republican turned Democrat who is pitching himself as a moderate alternative. Political observers will be watching closely to see whether Donalds’ strong primary performance translates into a general election win in a state that has trended increasingly Republican in recent cycles.
With the primary behind him, Donalds can now shift his attention to the fall campaign and what would be a historic run for the Sunshine State’s highest office.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/18/trump-backed-byron-donalds-wins-florida-gop-gubernatorial-primary/