Will Donalds make race a focus in Florida governor’s race? Here are 5 takeaways
Florida Congressman Byron Donalds has Trump’s endorsement, a $45 million war chest and a polling lead in the Republican gubernatorial primary. His candidacy is raising questions about whether he can court Black voters while running a race-neutral campaign.
FULL STORY; Byron Donalds win over Black voters if he doesn’t want to talk about race?
Here are the highlights:
• Donalds would be the first Black Republican governor of any state since Reconstruction. The closest Florida came to electing a Black governor was in 2018, when Andrew Gillum lost to Ron DeSantis by fewer than 34,000 votes.
• Republican primary opponent James Fishback has already used racially charged language against Donalds, calling him a “Section 8” candidate and a “slave” to corporate donors. Donalds hasn’t addressed those comments directly but denounced “the woke right” and “soft bigotry” at a November fundraiser.
• Black voter registration is shifting in Florida. Democrats lost 10% of their Black registered voters between 2022 and 2024, while registered Black Republicans grew 17% over the same period.
• State Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Black Democrat who worked with Donalds in the Legislature, said he’s “disappointed in his silence” on Trump administration policies affecting Black communities and immigrants. Cliff Albright of Black Voters Matter said Donalds won’t win Black votes on identity alone, comparing the dynamic to Herschel Walker’s loss in Georgia.
• Donalds’ campaign platform centers on enacting Trump’s agenda, fighting illegal immigration and addressing affordability — not race. His senior advisor Danielle Alvarez said he’ll “protect and grow the coalition Trump built,” including young, Hispanic and Black voters.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 3:29 PM.