Donalds launches bid for Florida governor

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) announced he's running for Florida governor on Tuesday, becoming the first major candidate to jump into the race.

“I’m here to announce my candidacy as the next governor of the great state of Florida,” Donalds told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

“We have a great governor. Ron DeSantis has done a tremendous job for our state but now the job is to keep the best state in the country as the best state in the country, so that’s going to be the mission at hand, "he continued. 

The announcement comes as Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is considering a potential run for the governor’s mansion. Donalds said “It’s very early” when asked about the possibility of the first lady jumping into the Republican primary. 

Trump formally endorsed Donalds before he jumped into the race last week. 

“I’m the only person in this race, so we’ll see what happens,” Donalds said. “I’m excited to have the full endorsement of President Trump. He has a lot of faith in me.” 

The announcement comes after Donalds told GOP donors in Florida that he planned on launching a bid for the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee. 

Donalds enters the Republican primary as a heavy favorite with the backing of President Trump, as well as a strong lead in early polls. 

“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. RUN, BYRON, RUN!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform before the congressman formally launched his campaign.

Donalds teased an announcement shortly after Trump’s endorsement, writing on X “President Trump is making America great again. I’m committed to working with him to keep Florida great.” 

Gov. DeSantis, who has an icy relationship with Donalds, declined to endorse the congressman during a press conference on Monday. 

“The reality is we’ve achieved victories in Florida. We need to start achieving those victories up there,” he said. “I think people look at it and say you’ve got a guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the left over these last years. He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that and that’s fine, but okay, then deliver results up there.” 

Instead, DeSantis talked up his wife as a potential candidate. 

“She’s somebody that has, I think, the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles,” DeSantis said of his wife. “Anything we’ve accomplished, she’d be able to take to the next level.”

The congressman represents the state’s 19th Congressional District, which includes Naples, Fla. 

Earlier this month Trump shared a poll from the Florida Republican firm Victory Insights on TruthSocial showing Donalds leading a hypothetical GOP primary field with 31 percent support. Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez (R) trailed at 4 percent support followed by the state’s Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R) at 3 percent support, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez at 1 percent support.

But other polls show Casey DeSantis leading in name ID. 

A poll released last week by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research lab found that 33 percent of registered voters in Florida had never heard of the first lady, while 66 percent said they had never heard of Donalds. 

In addition to having a strong likely advantage in the Republican primary, Donalds also stands to have an advantage in the general election in 2026. Florida has become the center of the Republican political universe over the last decade, with Republicans up and down the ballot making gains in the state under President Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R ). Trump won the state by just over 13 points in 2024 after winning the state by just over three points in 2020. Additionally, traditional Democratic strongholds, notably Miami Dade County, have flipped from blue to red.