U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds fended off challenges from 10 other Republicans in Tuesday’s primary to carry his party’s nomination for governor into the general election.
He’ll face former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a former Republican who switched parties and easily defeated five other Democrats.
Donalds called on Republicans to come together and immediately focused on Jolly.
“Now is the time for the Republican Party to unite. By working together, we can make Florida more affordable and defend the Florida Dream for our families, seniors, and young people,” Donalds posted on X. “My Democrat (sic) opponent would raise taxes, make life more expensive, and bring the Democrats’ radical left agenda to the Sunshine State – Florida cannot afford Liberal David Jolly.”
Donalds, 47, faced vocal opposition from Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, former House Speaker Paul Renner and conservative activist James Fishback.
As of Tuesday evening, Donalds had 48 percent of the vote, while Collins received 25 percent, Fishback had 10 percent and Renner had 9 percent.
Jolly, 53, brushed aside his opposition, taking 62 percent of the vote. The next-largest vote-getter in the Democratic primary was Dayna Marie Foster, who received 15 percent, and state Rep. Dotie Joseph of North Miami garnered 10 percent.
Jolly also was eager to pivot to the general election.
“We’re a state gripped by an affordability crisis and exhausted by culture wars. People want change,” Jolly said in a video posted on X.
Backed by an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Donalds dominated the field and easily outraised his opponents, raking in more than $110 million. Much of the money he spent in the primary was aimed at Jolly, with ads bashing him for supporting transgender issues, such as allowing transgender women in women’s bathrooms and to play in female sports.
But Donalds bore the brunt of attacks from Collins and Renner, who accused him of being weak on crime, favoring data center construction and slammed him for refusing to debate them.
Donalds, who is Black, also shrugged off racist jeers from Fishback, who called him a “DEI hire” and a “slave” to his donors.
At one point Collins sued to kick Fishback off the ballot, alleging his voting record in Washington D.C. in 2020 and the purchase of a primary residence there in 2021 showed he didn’t live for seven consecutive years in Florida as required by the state constitution. A Leon County judge, though, rejected the suit saying there wasn’t enough evidence.
Collins campaigned heavily on his military background as a Green Beret who had his leg amputated due to injuries sustained in Iraq, as well as his appointment by DeSantis at lieutenant governor in August 2025. He even tapped DeSantis’ Director of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, to be his running mate on Monday evening.
But DeSantis never formally endorsed Collins or anyone else in the campaign, although he specifically criticized Donalds.
After initially saying Renner’s decision to enter the race in 2025 was misguided, DeSantis this month said he would make a “good governor.”
Renner touted his term as Speaker in 2022-2024 in which much of DeSantis’ conservative agenda was passed, including universal school vouchers, bans on transgender surgery for minors, eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and a bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons without a license.
The efforts of Donalds’ opponents, however, ran into a wall of campaign ads and implicit trust in Trump among the GOP electorate.
In the Democratic primary, Jolly waltzed to victory over Foster and Joseph, who got in the race at the end of qualifying, after Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings dropped out due to a cancer diagnosis.
Joseph wanted to give Democrats an alternative to Jolly, a former Republican who moved away from the GOP as Trump rose to prominence. But she had minimal fundraising and low name recognition throughout the state.