Rep. Bryon Donalds leads Florida governor race with Trump support

MAGA champion Rep. Bryon Donalds, one of President Donald Trump’s top allies in the House, is running to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis as Florida’s next governor.

With more than a decade until next year’s election, the three-term Republican representative from a red-leaning district in southwestern Florida sits atop a massive fundraising war chest and is well ahead of his GOP primary rivals in the latest polling.

But Donalds “doesn’t take anything for granted.”

“I’ve been around the state, I’ve been around all the time. We have a very strong campaign. The people of Florida have been very receptive to my message and the ideas that we brought to this campaign,” Donalds said in an interview with Fox News Digital last week at his congressional office in the nation’s capital.

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Donalds was endorsed by Trump in February, before he even officially launched his gubernatorial campaign.

While he gave Donalds a big boost, the president’s support hasn’t stopped other Republicans from entering the GOP primary race.

Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner launched his bid in September, and late last month, investor James Fishback, who made waves in the MAGA world earlier this year before clashing with Trump’s top advisers, also joined the race.

And Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a former Green Beret and former military member, is also considering a run.

But Donalds continues to have an overwhelming advantage.

“People want to run. They want to run. That’s good, but we’re focused on our race, and that means engaging with voters. I’ve been to political events in 41 countries. When you consider fundraising and political events, I’ve been to 50 counties,” Donalds emphasized.

Donalds said he was “very honored to have the support of President Trump. Now I have to go county by county, city by city to get the approval and support of the people of our state.”

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, seen speaking in Miami on February 5, 2025, is term-limited and cannot seek reelection in 2026. (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)

DeSantis has remained silent on the race to replace Donalds, without endorsing him or other candidates, including his wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, earlier this year.

Donalds was once a close ally of the governor, but their relationship soured when Donalds endorsed Trump for president over DeSantis in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

“It’s gotten better,” Donalds said when asked about Fox News Digital’s relationship with the governor. “But at the end of the day, this is about the direction of our state. I would love to have Governor DeSantis’ support in this campaign, but at the end of the day, we’re going to take on all the hard work that he’s done for our state, and it’s been tremendous work, we’re going to take on that work and we’re going to build on that, and that’s what matters.”

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Democrats are likely to have a competitive primary between Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and former Rep. David Jolly, a Republican-turned-Democrat. But in the battleground state of Florida, which has turned red, most of the attention is focused on Republicans.

“Donald’s MAGA credentials and fundraising prowess put him in the driver’s seat in the GOP primaries,” Dan Eberhart, a Florida-based oil drilling chief executive who has raised big money for Trump and DeSantis this decade and is also in Donalds’ political orbit, told Fox News Digital.

“Donald having a primary will make him a better general election candidate,” Eberhart said, emphasizing that the congressman “did all the right things to win both the primary and the general election.”

Representative Byron Donalds shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during the Mothers for Freedom national summit on June 30, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Trump and Republicans drew attention to rising prices as they achieved major victories in 2024, taking back the White House and the Senate and maintaining their majority in the House of Representatives.

But with inflation persisting, Democrats have focused on affordability this year, fueling their decisive victory in last month’s election. 2025 elections and their over-performance in a series of special elections this year.

And those contests saw a drop in turnout from MAGA voters, leaving Trump off the ballot.

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When asked about Democrats’ energy, Donalds said, “Are the Democrats motivated? Good.” “We’re going to make sure we get Republican voters to the polls because at the end of the day, the people of Florida love the course that Governor DeSantis has set. We’re going to stay that course and we’re going to build on it and take Florida to a whole new level.”

Pointing specifically to affordability, Donalds predicted, “Next year, you’ll see many of these economic changes taken by the President of the United States have real impacts on the lives of the American people. Positive impacts.”

But the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) said, “Whether in D.C. or Tallahassee, Byron Donalds spent his political career helping Florida become the cheapest state in the country.”

“From supporting cost-increasing tariffs to voting to raise the cost of everything from health care to housing, Byron Donalds is one of the architects of the economic crisis that has devastated Florida families,” DGA spokesman Kevin Donohoe said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“The Miami mayoral race showed that Florida voters are looking for change, but Byron Donalds would offer more of the same,” Donohoe said, pointing to this month’s Miami mayoral election, which Democrats won for the first time in a quarter-century.

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When asked about the results in Miami, Donalds said, “I accept what happened in the city of Miami, but it’s not going to happen in the state of Florida.”

“Florida will continue to be a red state because the people of Florida know what conservative policies they want to see continue. This was the best state going in the entire country, and we’re not going to stop there,” he added.