WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds introduced Tuesday that he is getting into the 2026 race to succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s ineligible to hunt one other time period after eight years in workplace.
Donalds enters the race with President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Donalds has been a frequent Trump surrogate and was on the short list to be his vice presidential operating mate final yr.
DeSantis, who can not run once more as a result of time period limits and unsuccessfully tried a presidential bid in opposition to Trump final yr, has not but made any official endorsement for his successor.
Simply earlier than Donalds’ announcement, DeSantis advised that his spouse, Casey DeSantis, can be a worthy governor and stated Donalds was not a part of his victories on conservative priorities.
Donalds praised the governor Tuesday, saying he had carried out a “super job for our state.” Chatting with Sean Hannity on Fox Information, Donalds didn’t immediately deal with the hypothesis a few Casey DeSantis run however famous his Trump endorsement and his file in elected workplace.
“For a very long time, I have been within the trenches, in a number of these battles, coping with conservatism,” he added, saying he would prioritize decreasing insurance coverage prices, selling the cryptocurrency trade and preserving the waterways of the Everglades, the most important subtropical wilderness within the U.S.
The 46-year-old Donalds, who lives in Naples in southwest Florida, was born and raised in Brooklyn. He graduated from Florida State College.
He was working as a monetary adviser when then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to the board of trustees at a state faculty, cementing his rise within the state GOP.
He entered the Florida Home in 2016, received a seat within the U.S. Home in 2020 and has been on the brief listing for a number of alternatives ever since, together with being nominated in January 2023 by the far-right wing of as a candidate for Home speaker.
After Trump’s endorsement, Donalds indicated that he would make an announcement quickly and stated he was “dedicated to working with him to Maintain Florida Nice.” In a speech on the Conservative Political Motion Convention on Feb. 21, Donalds stated Trump has referred to as him to speak to him about operating.
“Florida shouldn’t be going to cease main,” Donalds stated. “We’re going to construct off of what we’ve carried out, and we’re going to proceed to steer larger, higher, quicker, larger, safer, freer, as a result of the American dream is for everyone, and we’re going to point out the opposite 49 states how one can get it carried out.”
Along with Casey DeSantis, different potential GOP candidates embody former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who stated in January that he was contemplating a run, and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, although he just lately fought with DeSantis over immigration insurance policies.
However Trump’s endorsement could clear the way in which for Donalds given his dominance in Republican politics, notably in his adopted residence state. Trump established residency in Palm Seashore throughout his first time period.
“Byron Donalds can be a very Nice and Highly effective Governor for Florida and, ought to he resolve to run, could have my Full and Whole Endorsement,” the president posted Thursday on his social media website. “RUN, BYRON, RUN!”
One of many state’s most high-profile Black Republicans, Donalds would develop into the primary African American to function governor if he wins.
Donalds and his spouse, Erika Donalds, constructed a popularity for working to remodel public schooling and direct extra taxpayer {dollars} into personal and constitution faculties. A former county college board member, she runs an organization that oversees constitution faculties and a digital academy.
