Republican Rep. Byron Donalds has made history Tuesday in his bid to become Florida’s first Black governor – and the first Black Republican ever elected governor of any American state. 

Donalds successfully fought off a challenge by former Republican Congressman-turned-Democrat David Jolly, in a race that proved far more competitive than expected when Donalds first launched his campaign with the backing of President Donald Trump in February of 2025. 

Buoyed by Florida’s lunge to the right in recent years that has netted Republicans a 1.5 million voter advantage over Democrats in what was once the nation’s largest swing state, Donalds outraised his competitor by more than $150 million, helping him overcome a nationwide wave of voter dissatisfaction with high prices and government corruption that eroded Republican support at the ballot box.

First activated by the Tea Party movement, Donalds is a father of three who went from working in finance to winning a seat in the state Legislature, where he made his political name opening the door to the state’s explosive school choice industry – while his wife, education entrepreneur Erika Donalds, grew the couple’s personal wealth in the process. Jolly has called on the Donaldses to divest from the charter school business over conflict of interest concerns. They have not done so.

Byron Donalds charted a rapid political rise as a prominent Black conservative and a fresh face in Washington, becoming a go-to cable news surrogate for Trump and even being floated as a potential House speaker and possible vice presidential pick. Donalds’ election to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis shattered what Florida Democrats had hoped would be a historic opportunity to break the GOP’s stronghold on Trump’s adopted home state, where no Democrat has been elected governor so far this century.

Kate Payne is The Florida Trib’s state government reporter. She can be reached at kate.payne@floridatrib.org.