Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) won Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday, putting the Trump-backed congressman one step closer to succeeding Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) won Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday, putting the Trump-backed congressman one step closer to succeeding Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Associated Press called the race for Donalds at 8 p.m. EDT. With 83% of the vote counted, Donalds had 48.7%, or 715,409 votes. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins trailed with 24.8%, while James Fishback had 10.2%. Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner received 8.3%, and Bobby Williams had 3.9%.
Donalds entered Election Day as the clear frontrunner after leading his Republican rivals in polling for months. President Donald Trump endorsed Donalds before the congressman formally entered the race in February 2025.
Collins, who became lieutenant governor in 2025, emerged as Donalds’ closest challenger. DeSantis did not endorse a candidate in the primary, though Collins was widely viewed as an ally of the governor.
Donalds, a two-term congressman representing Florida’s 19th Congressional District, has become a leading conservative voice in Washington and a strong supporter of Trump’s policies on immigration, gun rights, and the economy.
The race will determine who replaces DeSantis, who cannot run again because of Florida’s term limits. Republicans have held the governor’s office for more than two decades.
Donalds will face Democrat David Jolly in the November general election. Jolly, a former Republican congressman who later became a Democrat, won his party’s gubernatorial nomination Tuesday with 61.5%, or 704,526 votes, with an estimated 85% of the vote counted.
A Donalds victory in November would make him Florida’s first Black governor. It would also extend Republicans’ hold on the governor’s mansion.
