Florida Republicans are consolidating support behind the U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds as the party prepares for the November general election for governor.

Following his win in the Florida primaries, Donalds has been gathering support from his contemporaries, demonstrating to his party that backing him signals unity.

Donalds was the odds-on favorite to secure the Republican nomination, backed by President Donald Trump, among other high-ranking GOP officials.

Donalds remained a strong backer of the president, standing on advancing his agenda if elected Florida’s governor.

The president’s endorsement, along with a substantial war chest of around $100 million, gave Donalds enough momentum to lead to a decisive win, earning 41% support, outpacing second-place finisher Jay Collins, who received 15% support.

Notably absent from the endorsements was outgoing governor Ron DeSantis, who firmly declined to back any of the candidates vying for his position ahead of the primaries. The closest DeSantis came to offering support was for Jay Collins, his Lieutenant Governor; however, he had not been publicly endorsed by the governor heading into the primaries, instead focusing on Collins’ achievements during his tenure serving in the governor's cabinet.

After Donalds's victory, DeSantis offered a sweeping list of endorsements during a leadership rally held on Tuesday. Among those he endorsed were Donalds, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.

The two have seemingly buried the hatchet, as their relationship had strained due to DeSantis’ bid for president in 2023 and Donalds’ endorsement of Donald Trump rather than the governor of the state he represented.

DeSantis praised the nominee's alignment on key issues including immigration enforcement and tax relief.

Donalds acknowledged the endorsement in a post on X, writing, "Governor DeSantis has done incredible work to make Florida the envy of America. As your next Governor, I will build on his success and defend the Florida Dream."

Donalds has credited Collins on a spirited primary campaign; however, the Lieutenant Governor has publicly stated he’s not ready to endorse the Republican nominee.

“I'm not endorsing right now. There's a process we all go through for that,” Collins said. “Byron and I are good. We’ve talked a few times already. I think it's important to put those things behind us and move forward.”

Paul Renner, who served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2022 to 2024, ran for the Republican nomination and, after the primaries concluded, endorsed Donalds in late August.

Donalds has also secured endorsements from the state Cabinet, legislative leaders, and a majority of Florida's Republican congressional delegation. Polling prior to the primary showed him leading rivals by wide margins among likely GOP voters.

On August 28, 17 Florida sheriffs announced their endorsements of Donalds:

  • Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods
  • Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly
  • Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell
  • St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick
  • Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood
  • Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach
  • Taylor County Sheriff Wayne Padgett
  • Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson
  • Nassau County Sheriff Billy Leeper
  • Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells
  • Hardee County Sheriff Vent Crawford
  • Osceola County Sheriff Chris Blackmon
  • Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis
  • Citrus County Sheriff David Vincent
  • Dixie County Sheriff Darby Butler
  • Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison
  • Levy County Sheriff Bobby McCallum

The general election pits Donalds against Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who won his party's nomination.

Jolly, heading into this election, is hoping to secure Republican voters who are no longer interested in Trump or those aligned with the president, like Donalds, while gathering support from stragglers and the Florida Democratic base.

Republicans hold a significant registration advantage in Florida and have won every gubernatorial contest since 1998, a trend Donalds is expected to continue.

Recent polling compiled by 270toWin shows Donalds leads Jolly by about five percentage points. Among the ten polls conducted, Donalds was favored to win eight times over Jolly.

If elected on November 3, Donalds would become Florida's first Black governor.