Story perspectives

Byron Donalds wins Florida GOP gubernatorial nomination over David Jolly

8/19/2026

Summary

Donalds Secures Nomination

Byron Donalds (R-Florida) won the Republican gubernatorial nomination while David Jolly (D-Florida) won the Democratic nomination.
President Donald Trump endorsed Donalds, whose campaign raised $111 million, while Jolly raised $6.3 million, including $1.6 million public funds.
Florida’s closed primary excludes 3.3 million No Party Affiliation voters, while Republicans have 5.6 million voters versus Democrats’ 4.1 million.
The November race will test Trump’s influence and the Democrats’ effort to end a GOP governorship streak dating to 1994.

Summary

Nixon Beats Vindman

Rep. Angie Nixon (D) defeated out-spent impeachment witness Alex Vindman, winning Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
A 42-year-old union organizer with the Florida Public Services Union, Nixon advocates universal health care, a $25 federal minimum wage, higher taxes on the wealthy and ending for-profit prisons.
She ran a low-cost grassroots campaign, driving herself in hot-pink outfits and using volunteers, after unseating Kimberly Daniels in 2020 while pregnant.

History

Historical Context

Lawton Chiles, the last Democrat elected governor of Florida, won re-election on November 8 1994, after which Republicans captured the office in 1998 with Jeb Bush and have held it for almost three decades. The 1994 Republican wave that flipped dozens of states set the stage for that streak, which today faces a challenge from Democrat Angie Nixon’s low-budget campaign.

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Donalds Secures Nomination

Byron Donalds (R-Florida) won the Republican gubernatorial nomination while David Jolly (D-Florida) won the Democratic nomination.
President Donald Trump endorsed Donalds, whose campaign raised $111 million, while Jolly raised $6.3 million, including $1.6 million public funds.
Florida’s closed primary excludes 3.3 million No Party Affiliation voters, while Republicans have 5.6 million voters versus Democrats’ 4.1 million.
The November race will test Trump’s influence and the Democrats’ effort to end a GOP governorship streak dating to 1994.

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