MIAMI \u2014 U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds campaigned in Hialeah, where he highlighted public safety, housing affordability and responded to a newly filed civil lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are defending the Florida dream, and that starts with supporting our men and women in law enforcement,\u201d Donalds said. \u201cPeople feel safe in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the August primary approaching, fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates James Fishback, Jay Collins and Paul Renner have continued to call on Donalds to join them on the debate stage.<\/p>\n
Asked why he continues to decline, Donalds pointed to his standing in the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere it stands right now, 39 days to go, our poll numbers have us around 50 percent,\u201d Donalds said. \u201cTheir poll numbers are in single digits, and they\u2019re grasping at straws, and I\u2019m not going to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donalds is the front-runner in the race, with a major endorsement and tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds.<\/p>\n
During the campaign stop, Donalds also outlined his plan to make homeownership more affordable.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment has to shrink permitting timelines to push down the cost of construction,\u201d Donalds said. \u201cThirty percent of the cost of a new home in America is government permitting costs. We need to shrink that down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donalds also responded to allegations in a newly filed civil lawsuit accusing him of threatening and intimidating a Collier County school official in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frivolous, it\u2019s baseless,\u201d Donalds said.<\/p>\n
Among the supporters attending the event was Miriam Campos, who praised Donalds\u2019 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has very good ideas, and he\u2019s proven he\u2019s a good person,\u201d Campos said.<\/p>\n
Campos said she supports Donalds because she wants \u201cto live in a free country that nobody wants to interfere with my religion or the way I speak or the way I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
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