Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) officially has his successor lined up, as Floridians voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) to take over as the next leader of the Sunshine State in what turned out to be a true nail-biter.
The Associated Press called the race with over 95 percent of the votes in. As of 9:10 p.m. Eastern, Donalds led Jolly by just 1.3 percent, or less than 102,000 votes.
It is significant and follows years of Republicans seeing massive gains in Florida since 2020. This was largely due to DeSantis rocketing to stardom during the coronavirus era, championing personal freedom and standing against the unscientific dictates of Anthony Fauci, drawing Americans to what has been now dubbed the “Free State of Florida.”
Ironically, Donalds’s opponent, Democrat David Jolly, actually fled Florida in fear during the coronavirus pandemic, making sure to disparage his state as he hid in restriction-heavy Pennsylvania. Rules, he said at the time, were “greater than the calling of personal freedom.” With that mindset, Jolly also openly favored mask and vaccine mandates on children, evidently considering himself and the Fauci-led medical establishment more capable of making calls for minors than parents.
But, with conservative leadership at the helm, Florida thrived:
Despite Jolly’s hysteria, Florida thrived during the pandemic and thereafter, experiencing massive growth economically. Inflation-adjusted GDP per resident increased 16.9 percent in Florida, compared with 5.5 percent in Pennsylvania from 2019 through 2025. Florida also recovered payroll jobs much sooner than Pennsylvania. And it was during this time that Florida served as a live test for the country, as people flocked to the state to get away from restrictions. As a result, for the first time in November 2021, registered Republicans outnumbered Democrats in the Sunshine State, and that figure has only continued to explode. Registered Republicans now outnumber registered Democrats by over 1.5 million voters.
During a summer interview with Breitbart News last year, Donalds said his governorship in the state would be about taking the success of Gov. DeSantis and building upon it.
“Governor DeSantis has led our state tremendously, and now it’s taking all that success and then now building upon it. What are we going to do about the future of transportation in our state, making sure it’s easier for our citizens to move through our cities and move to the states. Insurance. We have to continue to do everything we can to drive prices low,” he said, asserting that Florida “can become the financial capital of the world in a decade.”
In contrast, Jolly has only expressed embarrassment about the state he lost, expressing the desire to apologize to the “world” on behalf of Florida for launching what he described as “culture wars” – ie. protecting children from genital mutilation surgery, protecting citizens from criminal illegal aliens, and more.
“Congratulations to Florida’s next governor, Byron Donalds!” Republican National Committee (RNC) spokeswoman Emma Hall said in a statement. “Florida is the best place to live, work, and raise a family because of commonsense conservative champions, and Donalds will keep it that way by delivering historic wins for families, workers, seniors, veterans, and small businesses across the Sunshine State.”
