Donalds announces run for Governor
Congressman Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican whose district includes most of Lee County as well as Collier, announced Tuesday night that he is running for governor of Florida.
Donalds made his announcement following an endorsement from President Donald Trump a week earlier for the governorship, which will be up for election in 2026.
Donalds hasn’t been endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited, and who said Monday he would support his wife Casey DeSantis for governor.
During a press conference Monday, DeSantis said the District 19 representative “hasn’t been a part of any of the victories we have had here over the left over the past year. He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that and that’s fine. But OK well than deliver results up there. That’s what I want to see.”
Elected this past November to a third term in Congress, Donalds made his announcement Tuesday night on Fox News with Sean Hannity.
Donalds, a New York native, said “I got to Florida when I was 17 years old off of a Greyhound bus with just a trunk full of clothes. Over the rest of my time in Florida, I built a family, I built a career, 17 years in financial services. I joined the Tea Party movement, was in the Conservative movement. I was able to serve four years in the state legislature, four years in Congress. Now is the time to now take the mantle and lead our state into the future,” Donalds said.
“Now is the job is to keep the best state in the country the best state in the country.”
Donalds said in response to questions from Hannity that his agenda would include tackling the state’s insurance costs. Donalds cited his professional background in banking, insurance and financial services as a way to bring the stakeholders “to the table.” Donalds said he wants to stabilize the costs of insurance in the state. Costs for insurance across the board have risen in recent years particularly for homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance and car insurance.
“We have an insurance problem in this state,” Donalds said.
Donalds said he wants to make Florida the “financial hub of the world and to make Florida the most “business-friendly” state in the country.
The former financial services advisor said he wanted to take the lead on cryptocurrency.
“I would even consider having crypto being a part of the state’s financial portfolio,” Donalds said.