Florida voters chose Byron Donalds and David Jolly as their gubernatorial candidates this Tuesday, setting a November 3 contest defined by Trump-drawn electoral maps.
Donalds for the Republican
Donalds won the Republican election with 764,284 votes, and President Donald Trump quickly congratulated him through Truth Social. The Trump-backed candidate dominated across South Florida. In Miami-Dade County, Donalds captured 58.7%; in Palm Beach, 59%; and in Broward, 56.2%. He also led in Orange County, home to Orlando, with 48.3%, and in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, with 44.4% of the votes.
Donalds, 49, was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Florida State University in 2002 with a degree in Marketing and Finance. After a period in the financial sector, he entered politics in 2016, representing Hendry and eastern Collier counties in the state House of Representatives. On August 8, 2020, he won election to Florida’s 19th Congressional District with 23% of the vote, and since then has served on the Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Financial Services.
The victory of Donalds in the southwest of the peninsula, validated the strength of Donald Trump’s endorsement among Florida Republicans despite his low national popularity. Trump backed Donalds in February of last year, when he had not even announced his candidacy, and the congressman reached Tuesday’s polls with a 49-point lead in surveys over his ten party rivals.
Jolly for the Democrats
David Jolly, 53, -who left the Republican Party in 2018 and joined the Democrats last year-, led the Democratic primary with strong support across the state’s most populous counties: 64.8% in Palm Beach, 63.5% in Broward, 62.3% in Hillsborough, 52.9% in Miami-Dade, 50.4% in Orlando and 50.4% in Orange.
Jolly, who was born in Pinellas County, Florida, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University in 1994 and a law degree from George Mason University in 2001. Between 1994 and 2006, he worked with the team of Representative Bill Young, when he was affiliated with the Republican Party.
In 2014, Jolly won a special election to occupy the seat as representative for the Tampa Bay area. The now Democrat remained in office until 2017, when he lost his reelection bid against Democrat Charlie Crist. One year later, he left the Republican Party and spent seven years as an independent. He has presented himself as capable of attracting voters from across the political spectrum, including independents and moderate Republicans disappointed with Trump.
His victory by 45 points over his closest rival reflects that the Democratic electorate has consolidated behind his candidacy and decided to bet on a former Republican to try to regain ground in November in a state that has moved to the right.
New Map for Florida
The primaries unfolded under a congressional map that the state Legislature approved in May at Trump’s urging, four years before the 2030 census. The new drawing reduces the Democratic delegation from eight to four seats and raises the Republican delegation to 24, over a total of 28 districts.
Current Governor Ron DeSantis signed the law on May 4, meanwhile Democrats described the map as unconstitutional gerrymandering.
DeSantis did not endorse any candidate, not even his lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, who ran as a successor to his legacy. Collins finished second among Republicans with 25% of the votes.
Among the issues dominating the electoral agenda are the housing crisis and property insurance, with rising costs in household premiums and assessments for condominium owners; energy development and infrastructure, marked by the debate over the regulation of new data centers and their environmental impact; and the normative and educational approach, focusing on parents’ rights in public schools, migration control and corporate policies.
The next governor will inherit a series of urgent structural challenges that have focused citizens’ interest, from rising cost-of-living to the sustainability of the insurance system and economic competitiveness.
Florida has been ruled by Republicans since the victory of Jeb Bush in 1998. Republicans exercise broad dominance in Florida’s government, from the executive to a supermajority in the state Legislature that allows them to pass laws with minimal Democratic opposition. The party occupies 27 of the 40 seats in the Senate and 83 of the 120 in the House of Representatives.
DeSantis will leave office in January 2027, after completing two terms -the constitutional ceiling- and thus cannot run for re-election in November. Now officially confirmed as their respective parties’ candidates for the governorship, Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly are launching a 76-day time race until election day.
Author: Laura V. Mor
Source: Agencies
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