Florida voters on Tuesday chose Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly as their nominees to succeed Governor Ron DeSantis, as well as other candidates for the state legislature in Tallahassee and the U.S. Congress. Donalds won with 48% of the Republican vote, while Jolly garnered 61% of the Democratic vote.
Following these primaries, the two will face off on November 3, seeking to make history: Donalds as the state’s first Black governor, and Jolly as the first Democrat elected to the position in more than 30 years.
Donalds used his thank-you message to his supporters to call for party unity and attack his Democratic rival. “It’s time for the Republican Party to unite. Working together, we can make Florida more affordable and defend the Florida dream for our families, our seniors, and our youth. (…) My Democratic opponent would raise taxes, make life more expensive, and bring the radical left-wing Democratic agenda to the Sunshine State. Florida cannot afford the liberal David Jolly,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
DeSantis, who is ineligible for a third consecutive term, did not endorse any candidate, not even his lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, who presented himself as a candidate who would carry on his legacy. Collins finished second among Republicans on Tuesday, behind Donalds, with 25% of the vote.
The victory of Donalds, 49, a former congressman from Naples, in the southwest of the peninsula, has served as validation of the strength of President Donald Trump’s support among Florida Republicans, despite his low popularity nationally. Donalds received Trump’s endorsement in February of last year, before he had even officially announced his candidacy, and went into Tuesday’s election with a commanding 49% lead in the polls over the other 10 contenders from his party.
Jolly, 53, is a former congressman from the Tampa Bay area who left the Republican Party in 2018 and joined the Democrats last year. He has presented himself as someone capable of attracting voters from across the political spectrum, including independents and moderate Republicans disillusioned with Trump. Jolly’s 45-point victory over his closest rival reflects the Democratic electorate consolidating behind his candidacy and deciding to back a former Republican to try to regain ground in November in a state that has shifted to the right, while in other parts of the country, Democratic candidates much more aligned with the left are winning.
For decades, Florida was one of the so-called swing states, where voters leaned either way along the political spectrum, but it has transformed from purple to red, partly due to the shift of Hispanics to the Republican wing, including in former Democratic strongholds like Miami-Dade.
Republicans wield considerable power in Florida’s government, from the executive branch to a supermajority in the state legislature that allows them to pass legislation with minimal Democratic opposition. The party holds 27 of the 40 Senate seats and 83 of the 120 seats in the House of Representatives.
On Tuesday, both parties also chose their candidates for three key state cabinet positions: Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Agriculture Commissioner, and Attorney General, as well as for dozens of seats in both houses of the state legislature.
According to preliminary results, former state senator Annette Taddeo won the Democratic nomination for CFO and will face Republican Blaise Ingoglia, the current incumbent, in November. Taddeo has emphasized oversight of public spending throughout her campaign and has criticized Ingoglia for, according to her, turning a blind eye to state expenditures, particularly the state funds used to build and operate the infamous Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention center in the Everglades, which cost nearly a million dollars a day, as well as the no-bid contracts awarded for its management.
For Agriculture Commissioner, Republican Wilton Simpson, the current incumbent, won his party’s nomination and will face Democrat Joey Mendoza Atkins in November.
The race for Attorney General, between Republican James Uthmeier and Democrat José Javier Rodríguez, was already decided before Tuesday, as neither candidate faced a challenger within their party and they advanced automatically.
