An internal poll from the Bryon Donalds campaign for governor shows him consolidating support among Republican voters — once they’re informed President Donald Trump is endorsing him, according to a polling memo shared with the USA TODAY Network Florida Capital Bureau.
The survey from Tony Fabrizio, who was Trump’s pollster during his 2024 campaign, shows Donalds receiving 47% support when polled against the two other main declared candidates, former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (4%) and conservative activist and investor James Fishback (5%). There were 43% who were undecided.
After respondents were told Trump endorsed Donalds, however, about 76% threw their support to Donalds.
Similar results held when First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, both of whom have considered jumping in the race but haven’t officially announced, were added to the survey.
Donalds led DeSantis 39%-26% but after being informed of Trump’s support, Donalds’ stretched his lead to 68% to 10%. Donalds had 45% when Collins (6%) was included among the candidates, but that rose to 73% after Trump’s support was unveiled.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) shakes hands with former U.S. President Donald Trump during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on June 30, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“In all ballot variations, Donalds leads the field by double digits, especially over current declared and potential candidates. Donalds wins more than two-thirds of those who know President Donald Trump endorsed him for governor,” the polling memo states.
Although Donalds has garnered the support of most Florida Republican elected officials in addition to Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis has notably withheld his endorsement and heaped skepticism on his candidacy.
When DeSantis tapped Collins to be his lieutenant governor last year, it was thought to be a springboard to a run to replace him as governor, but the campaign hasn’t materialized.
A mysterious group paid to run ads highlighting Collins last year but no official announcement about entering the race has been made.
“Lastly, any sugar high from Jay Collins’ multimillion ad buy has completely dissipated. Virtually no (Republican primary voters) recall seeing anything about Collins (only 16%) and Donalds crushes him in every ballot permutation,” the memo states.
The poll of 600 likely GOP primary voters was conducted Jan. 4-6.
Gray Rohrer is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Governor’s race: Poll shows Byron Donalds leads in Florida GOP primary