After spending much of the past decade working alongside Florida’s most influential statewide elected officials and helping build political operations with grassroots organizations, I’ve had a front-row seat to what creates real momentum, what merely creates the appearance of momentum, and, ultimately, what wins elections.
One lesson has remained remarkably consistent: campaigns are not won on social media.
Digital platforms are indispensable communication tools, but they are still only one part of a strategy. Winning campaigns remain disciplined, investing their time and resources in the fundamentals: raising money, earning endorsements, organizing volunteers, building coalitions, voter contact, and assembling a professional operation capable of turning out supporters on Election Day.
Florida’s Republican gubernatorial Primary offers a clear example of that principle in practice. Byron Donalds’ campaign has focused on building a winning organization while his opponents prioritize online engagement, burner accounts and internal infighting.
Successful campaigns require more than ambition. They require the humility to trust people, the discipline to listen to experienced advisers, the confidence to know when to speak and when to hold back, the integrity to accept responsibility, and the maturity to build an organization that is larger than any one ego.
The available polling has reflected which campaign has maintained a disciplined approach. The latest survey from Ryan Tyson found Donalds receiving 48% support among Republican Primary voters, nearly 40 points ahead of his closest competitor.
While no individual poll is definitive, consistent results across multiple surveys deserve attention. Donalds’ opponents have claimed that “the polls are rigged.” Healthy skepticism toward polling is understandable. But that argument lost credibility when other campaigns released their own polling and Donalds still maintained a commanding advantage.
Polling, however, is only one measure of organizational strength. Donalds secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement early in the race and has built a fundraising operation that has generated more than $90 million. Those achievements cannot be explained by online engagement alone. They are the product of disciplined planning, strategic relationships, and the kind of campaign infrastructure that has defined successful statewide races in Florida for decades.
Watching Donalds’ campaign reminds me of what I observed during U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s most recent statewide campaign. My husband served as Director of External Affairs, giving me a unique opportunity to watch firsthand how a disciplined statewide operation functions behind the scenes.
Rather than allowing online debates to dictate strategy, Scott’s team remained relentlessly focused on the fundamentals: voter contact, consistent follow-up, coalition-building, endorsements, fundraising, and delivering a clear, disciplined message. Donalds’ campaign has demonstrated many of those same organizational strengths.
Having worked in all three branches of Florida state government, as well as in the private sector, I understand why X, formerly Twitter, commands so much attention. It is immediate, influential, and often shapes the day’s political conversation. President Trump has demonstrated better than anyone how powerful digital platforms can be when used strategically. But even X has its limits.
That is perhaps the broader lesson from this Primary. As political communications continue to evolve, campaigns that mistake online engagement for electoral strength risk confusing attention with persuasion. Digital platforms are indispensable for communicating with voters, amplifying messages, and supporting get-out-the-vote efforts, but they cannot replace the hard work of building an organization capable of winning an election.
Campaigns that prioritize organizing, fundraising, coalition-building, endorsements, and sustained voter contact consistently outperform those that confuse online momentum with real-world political strength. Florida’s Republican gubernatorial Primary is simply the latest reminder that elections are still won where they have always been won: in the field.
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Jessica Caruso Wright is a political consultant and former communications professional who has worked in the Florida Senate, the Florida Attorney General’s Office, the 6th Judicial Circuit, and the private sector. The views expressed are her own.