Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is edging out his potential Democrat challengers in the Sunshine State’s gubernatorial race, an Echelon Insights survey reveals.
The survey put Trump-endorsed Donalds against former Democrat David Jolly – a Republican turned Democrat. Donalds leads Jolly by six points, garnering 49 percent support to Jolly’s 43 percent support.
The survey also put Donalds against Democrat Mayor of Orange County, Florida, Jerry Demings. In that scenario, Donalds leads by four points – 48 percent to Demings’ 44 percent support.
“Byron Donalds is the only candidate in this race who can defeat any Democrat, unite Republicans, and defend the Florida Dream for our families, seniors, and young people,” Ryan Smith, Chief Strategist for the Byron Donalds for Governor Campaign, said in a statement.
“Byron Donalds continues to lead because he’s focused on what matters: making Florida more affordable, safer, and stronger. The contrast in this race couldn’t be clearer, and Florida voters will vote for Byron Donalds and his positive vision to lead Florida forward in November,” he added.
The survey was taken April 3-9 among 406 likely Florida voters. It has a +/- six percent margin of error.
The race to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, who can not run again due to term limits, is among the most high profile, given Florida’s past as a purple state but radical shift to the right in recent years. The race in 2018 was particularly tight, as DeSantis barely defeated Andrew Gillum, besting him by less than half a percentage point. However, in 2020, DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist by over 19 percentage points.
Donalds said that he wants to build upon the successes of the DeSantis administration and make Florida the “financial capital of the world.”
“Now my job going forward is to take that, build upon it, and now let’s add in things around the financial industry of Florida… Let’s be the financial capital of the world,” he told Breitbart News Daily last year. “Let’s have that vision, that focus. Let’s get back into education. Let’s make sure that every child is getting a world class education that allows them to have proficiency in math and reading and writing. Those are the types of things that we have to do.”
Notably, the campaign for Byron Donalds and the Friends of Byron Donalds PAC announced weeks ago that Donalds raised $22.2 million during the first quarter of 2026.
