Congressman Byron Donalds shared some of his plans for Florida during a question and answer session at Versailles Cuban restaurant in Miami Monday, starting with foreign policy, after campaigning for governor for more than a year without releasing a detailed policy platform.
The campaign has focused much of its messaging since it launched last February on Donalds’ endorsement from President Donald Trump. The campaign’s internal polls and outside polls have shown that support for the congressman shoots up among likely Republican primary voters’ when they learn he was endorsed by Trump.
But during the latest stop in his listening tour at the longtime Miami political campaign hotspot, Donalds, 47, didn’t start with a focus on Trump’s endorsement for him. “Campaigns are not just about endorsements, it’s about your vision for the future,” he said at one point.
Instead, Donalds began his address to the crowd by praising recent U.S. foreign policy actions, including the military raid and capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and military strikes in Iran — and pointing to Cuba as the next target.
U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds speaks during an “Ask Byron Anything” meet-and-greet event at the Versailles Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Little Havana, as part of his campaign to run in the 2026 Republican primary for Florida governor, on Monday, March 02, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
“Now that Venezuela has decided that they want to cooperate and work with the United States of America, something is happening to this island nation not too far away,” Donalds said to cheers from the conservative Miami crowd in the room. “It is time for the Cuban regime to come to an end. It is time for freedom to reign in Cuba and have real, open relationships with the United States.”
His visit came three days after the U.S. began widespread strikes in Iran, which polls show most Americans oppose. Donalds dismissed criticism that focusing on U.S. military intervention is a distraction from local issues.
“Some people think that, ‘Oh Byron, we have so much going on in our country, we got to be focused on our country.’ And I agree, we’re going to talk about a lot of the policies facing the future of Florida, but let’s also be very clear that America does need allies,” Donalds told the crowd.
As to his plans for Florida, he focused primarily on how to “grow our state responsibly,” pitching regional plans for increasing housing supply and growing Florida as a financial industry hub. A super PAC backed by AI industry leaders recently committed $5 million to Donalds’ campaign.
City of Miami Police officers guard the perimeter around the Versailles Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Little Havana, ahead of a visit by U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds for an “Ask Byron Anything” meet-and-greet event as part of his campaign to run in the 2026 Republican primary for Florida governor, on Monday, March 02, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Donalds took questions from the room in Miami, including defending his conservative bona fides to critics and promising to prioritize expanding gun rights in his first year. He was previously a registered Democrat, but told the room he changed parties in 2010 and has “one of the most conservative voting records in the country.”
He’s polling well ahead any of his Republican opponents heading into the August primary and has a more than $45 million war chest to spend on his campaign. Former Congressman David Jolly and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings are battling to become the Democratic candidate on the ballot in November.
The event was as much a media show as much as it was an open conversation with voters, as political candidates up and down the ballot have done for years at Versailles. There was heavy police presence all morning leading up to Donalds’ talk. A small crowd of reporters and cameras packed in behind the counter to snap a shot of the potential future governor sipping a cafecito with former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and watch him perform a classic campaign-style handshake and chitchat with the restaurant’s barista.
Local elected officials including, from right-Commissioner Rafael “Ralph” Rosado Francis Suarez, former City of Miami Mayor, Vincent Lago, City of Coral Gables Mayor and Juan Carlos Porras, Florida Representative, joined U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds at la ventanita area for a “Cuban Cafesito” at the Versailles Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Little Havana, for an “Ask Byron Anything” meet-and-greet event as part of his campaign to run in the 2026 Republican primary for Florida governor, on Monday, March 02, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
The Versailles event room was filled with reporters and local Republican political leaders. Donalds was introduced by state legislators Mike Redondo and Juan Carlos Porras and thanked Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo, former Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo, political donor Maximo Alvarez and others for attending.
Also in attendance was his “good friend,” Donalds said, Madeline Pumariega, the president of Miami Dade College who backed Miami Dade College’s transfer of land at no cost for Trump’s presidential library.
Notably absent from Donalds’ speech, or any questions from the room during the hour-long question and answer session, was any discussion about immigration. The issue has become a political landmine for Miami Republicans, including Donalds’ colleagues in Congress who have openly criticized Trump’s approach.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office officers guard the perimeter around the Versailles Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Little Havana, ahead of a visit by U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds for an “Ask Byron Anything” meet-and-greet event as part of his campaign to run in the 2026 Republican primary for Florida governor, on Monday, March 02, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Speaking to reporters after the event, Donalds defended the president’s mass deportation agenda, arguing that the “American people still support our president’s plans,” even as polls show the opposite.
As to the support among some young Republicans, Donalds’ long-shot, hard-right opponent James Fishback, Donalds said his policies — yet to be fully rolled out — will break through the online noise.
“I think if you address those concerns with real policy and a real plan, not just 120 characters on social media,” he told reporters. “I think they will say, you know what? That Byron guy’s got it right.”
U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds greets supporters including Maximo Alvarez (left), founder and president of Sunshine Gasoline Distributors, as he enters a dinning area at the Versailles Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Little Havana, for an “Ask Byron Anything” meet-and-greet event as part of his campaign to run in the 2026 Republican primary for Florida governor, on Monday, March 02, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
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Miami Herald
Claire Heddles is the Miami Herald’s senior political correspondent. She previously covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C at NOTUS. She’s also worked as a public radio reporter covering local government and education in East Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida.