GOP Rep. Byron Donalds becomes Florida’s first Black governor

Republican Rep. Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to become Florida’s next governor, NBC News projects, extending the GOP’s nearly three-decade run in the Governor’s Mansion.Donalds, who was endorsed early by President Donald Trump, was widely considered the favorite. He will become Florida’s first Black governor when he is sworn in next year.Donalds raised a staggering $130 million, giving him a huge financial advantage, and he was running in a state that has not elected a Democratic governor since 1994. Jolly did work to keep things closer than the last gubernatorial contest, which term-limited GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis won by more than 20 points.But Jolly, a former Republican congressman who became a Democrat, was outmatched and unable to secure much help from national Democratic groups, which have largely abandoned Florida over the past few election cycles.Follow live updates on the midterm electionsWhile Donalds welcomed support from Trump, much of his late messaging highlighted his endorsement from DeSantis and a promise to continue his legacy.DeSantis has a better approval rating than Trump in Florida, but he has had an icy relationship with Donalds. He did not endorse in the open GOP primary this year.“We have one goal, and that goal is for the free state of Florida to remain the free state of Florida,” Donalds said at a September event in Tampa where he stood next to DeSantis. “A lot of the issues that we’re talking about up here on this stage, this isn’t just talking points for this event.”Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly.Joe Raedle / Getty Donalds’ main line of attack on Jolly centered on the fact he refused to debate, and he regularly called his rival “angry Jolly” and painted him as too far left for a state that is now seen as Republican-leaning. Republicans tried to tether him to Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.“Florida rejects socialism. Full stop. Just ask Floridians who came from Cuba and Venezuela — they’ll tell you,” Donalds told Fox News as the general election was kicking off. “Socialism is now the brand of the Democrat Party. David Jolly and Angela Nixon are too far left for Florida.”Jolly declined to debate Donalds, a surprise decision that drew criticism from both parties. It allowed Donalds to attack him for “hiding” from voters, and some Democrats questioned the strategy for a candidate who needed to generate attention in a race in which he could not compete financially.Jolly said he made the decision in order not to give a platform to Donalds. “You can’t debate a liar,” Jolly said in September when he announced he would not debate.He also attacked Donalds for his close ties to Trump, whose early endorsement helped Donalds largely clear the GOP primary field of viable challengers. As Trump’s approval ratings continued to drop, Donalds did remove several mentions of Trump from his website, but he maintained he welcomed the support of Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who held a rally in Florida in early October.“I look forward to seeing @VP in Lakeland and @realdonaldtrump out on the trail in Florida!” Donalds posted on social media. “We are going to KEEP FLORIDA RED!”Jolly, meanwhile, rarely held public events with Nixon and tried to maintain a moderate persona, including selectively praising DeSantis.“I say this as a candidate for governor,” he said in October as Hurricane Isaias approached the state’s Panhandle. “Follow the directions of our current governor, Ron DeSantis, a very capable leader in a moment of storms and state emergencies.”Though Donalds was considered the front-runner, he ran an active campaign that held many public events, some of them in front of hostile audiences.In late September, he held a town hall at Florida A&M, a historically Black university, which grew contentious at times and was repeatedly interrupted by those in attendance, sometimes over his opposition to “critical race theory,” including in higher education.“We want our children to not only be able to attend one of our universities but also have degrees that will allow them to be economically viable,” Donalds said after he was pressed by those in attendance. “My view and my focus with our state university system is to make sure that when a young adult gets a degree from a state university, that degree is not just a piece of paper.”Donalds will become Florida’s fifth consecutive Republican governor.