The race to become the governor of Florida is beginning to bubble, with U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds leading what is becoming a crowded field of hopefuls, all jockeying to assume the mantle.
It’s way too early to divine who will win the open governor’s seat next November, but Donalds, who is Black and represents Florida’s 19th Congressional district, is bumping up against the reality that in its 180-year history, Florida has never elected a Black governor, man or woman, Democrat or Republican.
The closest an African American has come was in 2018, when according to the Tampa Bay Times, a Quinnipiac poll taken the day before the election showed Democratic challenger Andrew Gillum leading former Congressman Ron DeSantis 50 to 43 percent. Another poll had Gillum – the Tallahassee mayor – up by as much as 8 points but he lost to DeSantis by 4/10th of 1%.
The state elections that year were poised to be a defining moment with three African Americans vying to be elected governors of their respective states: Gillum, Ben Jealous in Maryland and Georgia’s Stacey Abrams, who sought to become the first woman and first African American ever to become governor.
None of them won.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump endorsed GOP Donalds which in a number of ways has given Donalds the fuel and impetus to propel him to a win.
But that may or may not happen.
Is the system rigged?
In America’s history, five Black men have served as governor but only three of them – Doug Wilder of Virginia (1990-94), Deval Patrick of Massachusetts (2007-2015) and most recently, Wes Moore of Maryland (2023 -) – were elected to the governor’s office. The other two politicians, New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson (2008-2010) and Louisiana Lt. Gov. P.B.S. Pinchback (1872-73), were not elected but served when their predecessors were forced to step down.
In 2025, a record 13 women are serving as governor, but a Black woman has never been elected. Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears hopes to change that this fall.
The fact that so few Black people have been able to climb this particular mountain, Cassandra Brown and other critics contend, is because the system is rigged.
“This system was not built for us or by us. As it stands, they can’t relate to us, understand us,” said Brown, co-founder and executive director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Central Florida, called All About the Ballots. She was referencing white people who have controlled the political system over decades and continue to control it now.
“Is it time for new political parties? Yeah, I think Black people need their own governance, own spaces, realize the power of the Black dollar and build on that,” said Brown, who said she is Florida-born and raised. “We need to elect people from our communities … but in the spaces where I am in Florida people are not having these conversations.”
Brown and almost all of the others interviewed by the Florida Trident for this story cautioned that just having Black candidates or elected officials is not nearly enough. That person must have a commitment to embracing and promoting those issues of the greatest concerns to most Black people.
The current political environment of bare-knuckle politics, hyper-partisanship and the rise of MAGA and other far-right Republican elements poses an existential threat to Black and brown people in this country, experts and critics point out.
Donalds, William DC Clark said, will not be a guardrail against Republicans’ racial excesses which is the best reason to rebuke him at the polls.
“Because of Trump and DeSantis, we cannot teach our kids the horrific nature of slavery, segregation and Jim Crow. Donalds sees this and still supports this individual,” said Clark, a retired Miami-Dade firefighter and founder and president of the DCS Mentoring Program said. “Trump has one Black person in his cabinet, no Black people in his inner circle and Donalds still talks about the positive aspects of this guy. Jobs, opportunities, livelihoods are being taken. This eats at my soul. I’m not comfortable with what’s going on.”
There are political pundits, observers and others who constantly assert that America is a meritocracy, that there are no barriers to non-whites running for elective office. What’s often not discussed or pushed to the side as irrelevant is the issue of race. In the South, Black candidates have had a tough time winning statewide.
There are considerable hurdles to success, not the least of which includes pervasive and entrenched systemic racism; the cost of running for office; difficulties attracting and securing funding from donors; the absence of party recruitment and support; wealth disparities and lack of access to needed resources, and the continued exclusion and the suppression of Black votes.
Jumping in the race
Meanwhile, the number of white candidates running or considered jumping in the 2026 race include State Sen. Jason Pizzo, formerly a Democrat who recently left the party declaring it “dead.” He’s running as an independent.
Democratic donor and noted attorney John Morgan is intimating that he might run and former GOP Congressman David Jolly is planning to run as a Democrat.
The governor’s wife, Casey DeSantis, has been considering a campaign to replace her husband but the DeSantis plans have been rattled by accusations by State Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, and a range of other critics that the state diverted $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to a charity founded by Casey DeSantis, which then transferred the funds to two dark money nonprofits to fund opposition to ballot initiatives that appeared on the November ballot.
According to Florida Politics, the Tallahassee Democrat and other news outlets, Donalds, through his gubernatorial campaign account and a political action committee Friends of Byron Donalds, has pulled more than $12 million, based on financial filings through the end of March. Donalds launched his campaign in late February, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
Donalds, who represents parts of Southwest Florida, including Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Naples, is one of Trump’s most loyal supporters. He joined other Republican/MAGA lawmakers at Trump’s New York trial; was on Trump’s shortlist for vice president; and coordinated Black voter outreach for Trump with the “Congress, Cognac, and Cigars” tour designed to link Trump to African Americans.
Donalds, who describes himself as a “Trump supporting, gun-owning, liberty-loving, pro-life, politically incorrect Black man,” is anathema to many Democrats, independents and other non-MAGA folk, and has people questioning his allegiances and authenticity.
Unconvinced or not?
Retired educator and South Florida resident Noel Gray castigated Donalds.
“Byron Donalds and (U.S.) Sen. Tim Scott (of South Carolina) are easily bought and sold. They don’t stand up for what’s right or for fairness. They have no backbone and fold when it comes to the white race,” said Gray. “He might win. They will vote for him because it’s a Republican state.”
Meanwhile, Tallahassee labor and employment law attorney Rick Johnson said he remains unconvinced Donalds will win.
“I haven’t seen any data that’s persuasive (that Donalds will win) and there is enough anti-Black animus in his party. He will be handicapped in part because of prejudice against his race,” said Johnson, who has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years. “The Trump endorsement helps him in the Republican primary … but will not be much of an aid in the general election.”
But veteran Republican political operative Raynard Jackson told the Florida Trident that a Donalds win is a slam dunk.
“Trump’s endorsement is game, set, match. When Trump did this, the primary is over. Trump will be campaigning for him. He will get probably 40 percent of the Black vote, 50-60 percent of the Latino vote and there’s the MAGA factor. Tell the math where Democrats can win. It’s not there,” said Jackson, who has worked closely with Donalds since 2016 and calls the Naples resident “a dear friend.” “He’s a straight-up guy who has credibility in the hood or the ivory towers. He has an impressive level of engagement and he’s a phenomenal policy person.”
A Black conservative?
Dr. Marvin Dunn, a noted Miami social justice activist, historian and author, said Donalds cannot outrun Florida’s deeply entrenched racism and the toxic and divisive brand of politics the GOP has embraced.
“He cannot win. If he’s counting on a big portion of the Black vote, he will not win. There’s too much Trump, DeSantis, MAGA politics and policies that have hurt ordinary Floridians,” Dunn explained. “I would be surprised if he won the primary. White men in this country are trying not to empower Black men. Anything that enhances Black men will be squashed.”
For the time that he’s been in office, Gov. Ron DeSantis has ratcheted up his attacks against Black people in Florida. For example, he and the Florida Legislature ignored the last successful citizen-led ballot amendment campaign in 2018 to deny voting rights to almost one million formerly incarcerated individuals, including a significant number of Black people. He also eliminated a majority Black congressional district; and has censored and whitewashed Black history in Florida public schools.
That said, David Cannady, senior partner of Cannady & Associates, LLC., a boutique law firm, who ran for Broward County State Attorney in 2023, said he thinks Donalds has a good chance of winning.
“It’s a natural progression. The entire time Trump was running for office, Mark Robinson and Tim Scott and Donalds, three Black men, followed him. Donalds is a Black conservative and his message is on-brand,” Cannady said.
Cannady, a self-described conservative Democrat and a supporter of the capitalist model, said a key question is, how far will MAGA support Donalds?
‘I don’t think there’s anything good or bad about this. He wants to continue to push the message that Black folks are not beholding to Democrats. But many people are Democrats because there’s no other choice. There are too many issues with the Republican Party to ignore its overarching message. I agree with more of the Democratic than the Republican message. I am a conservative Democrat. I believe in capitalism, conscious capitalism, making rules and adhering to them. Those who break the rules, prosecute them.”
Jackson, who is a Washington, DC-based political consultant, lobbyist, and radio host, refutes any criticisms of Donalds, choosing to focus on what he will bring to the job.
“He has the ability to break down esoteric policy issues about cryptocurrencies. He’s so good, he’s scary. He’s a very disciplined campaigner and good on the stump whether in the hood or in the ivory towers,” said Jackson, founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 super PAC established to get more Black people involved in the Republican Party.
“He is himself. The caricature of the Black Republican is Carlton from ‘Fresh Prince.’ This boy is a beast. He will change the way Republicans are viewed. Byron will win the race. I’m glad to have played a small part.”
Barrington M. Salmon is an award-winning journalist, writer, columnist, public relations practitioner and speechwriter. The Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization, focuses its government accountability and journalistic efforts primarily on local governments, providing support and assistance for citizens and investigative journalists working to hold government accountable. FLCGA is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News — a nationwide network of independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations. The Florida Trident is a local investigative news outlet focusing on government accountability and transparency across Florida. The Trident was created and first published in 2022 by the Florida Center for Government Accountability.