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Byron Donalds Wins Florida Governor GOP Nomination

8/20/2026

Left

Donalds Secures Nomination

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for Florida governor while former Rep. David Jolly secured the Democratic nomination Tuesday.
The voting-restriction bills he sponsors, the SAVE America Act and Florida’s SAVE Act, could disenfranchise millions of Floridians.
Jolly, a former Republican now Democrat, accused Donalds of being backed by big-money corporate interests.
He warned Donalds’ policies would raise property taxes and insurance costs, worsening Florida’s affordability crisis.

Right

Donalds Secures

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds secured the Republican nomination for Florida governor, while former Rep. David Jolly won the Democratic nomination in August 2026.
The victory was presented as unifying, with Donalds thanking God and his family while pledging a united Republican Party.
Donalds’ campaign raised over $100 million, giving a sizable financial edge for the general election.
A James Madison Institute poll showed Donalds leading Jolly 45% to 38% among likely voters.

Center

Donalds Secures Nomination

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and former Rep. David Jolly secured the Republican and Democratic nominations, respectively, for Florida governor in the August 2026 primary.
President Donald Trump’s endorsement was cited by Donalds as pivotal to securing his primary victory.
Donalds’s campaign spent $111 million, far outpacing Jolly’s $6.3 million fundraising total.
The Cook Political Report rates the race ‘solid Republican’ for the November contest.

Blindspot

Donalds has promoted the federal SAVE America Act and Florida’s SAVE Act, which would require voters to present citizenship documents to register.
Within this story's sources, this policy detail appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center- and Right-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

In the 2000 presidential election, Florida’s razor-thin margin of 537 votes out of nearly six million cast triggered the state’s automatic machine recount. Disputed ballots, the butterfly ballot and felon-list purges led the Florida Supreme Court to order a statewide recount, which the U.S. Supreme Court stopped in Bush v. Gore on December 12, 2000. The controversy prompted the Help America Vote Act.

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Donalds Secures Nomination

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for Florida governor while former Rep. David Jolly secured the Democratic nomination Tuesday.
The voting-restriction bills he sponsors, the SAVE America Act and Florida’s SAVE Act, could disenfranchise millions of Floridians.
Jolly, a former Republican now Democrat, accused Donalds of being backed by big-money corporate interests.
He warned Donalds’ policies would raise property taxes and insurance costs, worsening Florida’s affordability crisis.

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