‘I will be your governor too:’ Byron Donalds makes history as Florida’s First Black Governor

DAVIE, Fla. — Byron Donalds won the race for Florida governor on Tuesday, and in doing so he became the first Black person elected to lead the state.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:09 p.m. Eastern, with the Republican at 50.1% of the vote to Democrat David Jolly’s 48.7%. Donalds, a U.S. representative, will keep the governor’s office in Republican hands as Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was prohibited from running again, leaves office.

At Donalds’ election-night party in Davie, red, white and blue filled the ballroom. Supporters had waited out a tight race, and the room was tense until the results came in.

Donalds emerged as the victor, but just barely. In 2022, by comparison, Gov. Ron DeSantis beat Democratic challenger Charlie Crist by about 19 points. Whether Donald’s razon-thin win is a sign of some Republicans voters’ reluctance to support him or evidence of the anti-Trump blue tsunami on Election Day – or a combination of both – remains unclear. 

When Donalds spoke, he did not start with the history he had made. He started with his family. He thanked his wife, Erika, and his sons for letting him take on this journey. Then he turned to his mother, who was in the room.

“You laid the foundation for the man that I have become,” he said. “Mom, thank you.”

It was a fitting start for a man who, according to his Congressional biography, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of a hardworking single mother. 

He then described two phone calls. The first was from David Jolly, the former Republican congressman turned Democrat he had just defeated.

“I had to congratulate David on running a hard-fought race,” he said. “Because he did.”

It was a gracious moment at the end of a long campaign. Donalds said his team worked “with integrity” and “won with class and dignity.”

The second call came from President Donald Trump, who had endorsed him. “Mr. President, I want you to hear from Florida that we are still red,” Donalds said. He also thanked DeSantis for what he called “a great job leading Florida these last eight years.”

Then he turned to the voters who had not chosen him.

“Even if you didn’t vote for me, you have my word that I will be your governor too,” he said.

With about 1.4 percentage points between the candidates when the race was called, the promise carried weight. Nearly half of those who voted had wanted a different result.

In his concession speech at the Tampa Convention Center, Jolly expressed hope for the future, WUSF reported.

"To come up with 48 or 49 percent in a state where our own party only has 29 percent of the voters means that we have a coalition. We have a coalition that has emerged," he said.

Donalds brings a long record in the state to the governor’s office. He graduated from Florida State University in 2002 with a degree in finance and marketing, and his career led him to Southwest Florida, where he worked in banking, finance and insurance. 

He entered the elected office in 2016. Voters sent him to the Florida House, where he chaired the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee. He has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District, which includes Naples and Fort Myers, since 2021. That insurance background matters in a state where, as Donalds noted, families are watching their insurance bills. 

Donalds said the work ahead starts with the cost of living. He described Floridians “looking at their insurance bills” and “looking at their bank accounts” while trying to make ends meet. At a rally in Hialeah five days before the election, he put it simply: “We want you to be able to afford Florida.”

He said that his goals are to lower costs and insurance premiums, make housing more affordable, protect farmland, water and the environment, and build an economy that ranks among the world’s top 10.

On the campaign trail, he also talked about education and work. He said he wants students to master math, reading and writing, and he proposed giving students who do not go to college the chance to get an apprenticeship or internship before they finish high school. He also promised continued audits of state and local spending, so taxpayers can see how their money is used.

Donalds also said Florida “will not tolerate bigotry of any kind, including anti-Semitism,” and that it “will be a state for everybody.”

Florida’s next governor closed with a promise of action.

“This might be the shortest speech I’ve given on the campaign trail, but it doesn’t need to be long,” he said. “Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow, we work.”

After a long campaign and a close finish, the Sunshine State has made its choice, and it has made history. 

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