Republican Byron Donalds has won the race for governor of Florida, beating Democrat David Jolly, according to a race call by The Associated Press reported by NPR. Donalds will become the first Black governor in the state's history.
Donalds won with an early endorsement from President Donald Trump and a large campaign war chest. He won even as some Republicans have grown unhappy with Trump over gas prices and the war with Iran. On the trail, Donalds focused on affordability, including inflation, housing and insurance costs. He also promised to carry on the conservative agenda of outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is still popular in Florida and campaigned with him.
Polls showed a close race that favored Donalds through much of the campaign. Florida has about 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats, plus 3.3 million unaffiliated voters.
Donalds, 48, spent most of his career in finance. He has served two terms in Congress and two in the Florida House. He began as a Democrat and left the party in 2010. He was an early Trump supporter in the 2024 election and rallied with the president just days before Tuesday's vote. Earlier this year, polls showed Trump was less popular in Florida than DeSantis, and in September Donalds took prominent displays of Trump's name off his campaign website.
Jolly, 54, ran on a "believe in better" message focused on housing, inflation, gas prices and the boom in AI data centers. He called his opponent "data center Donalds" over donations from the industry. Donalds had introduced a bill this summer to make data centers produce their own power and water.
Jolly served in Congress as a Republican and left the party in 2018. He became a Democrat last year.
Sources: NPR, The Associated Press