Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., announced plans to run for Florida governor next year during an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” Tuesday night.
The next Florida gubernatorial election is slated for Nov. 3, 2026. Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Donalds said he came to the decision to run “after a lot of prayer [and] a lot of thoughts with my family and my friends.”
“Sean, we have a wonderful state,” Donalds said. “I got to Florida when I was 17 years old, off of a Greyhound bus with just a trunk full of clothes. And over the rest of my time in Florida, I built a family, I built a career. … I was able to serve four years in a state legislature, four years in Congress.
“And I think now is the time to now take the mantle and lead our state into the future.”
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The Florida Republican said he is the only candidate in the race so far and commended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his service to the state.
“We have a great governor. Ron DeSantis has done a tremendous job for our state,” Donalds said. “But now the job is to keep the best state in the country as the best state in the country. And so that’s going to be the mission at hand. And I’m excited to announce my candidacy with you tonight.”
Donalds was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who recently wrote that his fellow Sunshine State resident “would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida.”
“I am hearing that Highly Respected Congressman Byron Donalds is considering running for Governor of Florida, a State that I love, and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024,” a Trump social media post said.
“[S]hould he decide to run, [Donalds] will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!”
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DeSantis, however, has not signaled support for Donalds. On Monday, DeSantis told reporters he wants Florida congressmen to be “focused on enacting [Trump’s] agenda.”
“They haven’t done very much yet,” DeSantis said. “They’re not putting his executive orders into place. We’ll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes, I think, is not something that’s advisable at all.”
DeSantis’ comments came amid rumors that his wife, Casey, might run for governor. The Florida governor dodged a reporter’s question about his wife’s plans at a press conference Monday.
“People ask me all the time about our wonderful first lady, who has done a fantastic job as first lady of Florida,” DeSantis responded. “I will tell you this. You’re talking about somebody like her. I won by the biggest margin that any Republican has ever won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me.”
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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