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<\/p>\nFlorida’s four leading Republican candidates for governor crisscrossed the state and Tampa Bay this weekend to talk to voters in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary.<\/p>\n
Here’s what they highlighted in closing arguments.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins<\/p>\n
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins at Hillsborough County’s 29th Annual Memorial Day Observance Ceremony at Veteran’s Memorial Park in May.<\/p>\n
Collins, 50, spoke to reporters Thursday. He’s a retired U.S. Army first sergeant and Special Forces medic who won two Purple Hearts after he was wounded twice in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Why him? Everyman appeal.”The differences between myself and Byron Donalds \u2014 it couldn’t be any more clear. I’m not an elitist candidate. I’m not the country club candidate. I am not the hedge fund candidate, and I am not in the permanent D.C. class. I am a man of the people. … I’ve been told thousands of times, ‘You seem like one of us.’ Well, I am one of you. I’m comfortable being one of you.”<\/p>\n
Affordability: He said he will lower insurance rates by eliminating fraud, demanding transparency from carriers so consumers know how much they’ll pay, and expediting insurance claims. He promises to expand home hardening to help homes get reinsured. Like everyone else in the GOP race, he supports eliminating property taxes on primary residences. If Amendment 3 doesn’t pass, he said he’ll “use every tool I can as governor to put money back in your pockets now,” including holding “as many tax holidays as we can responsibly deliver.”<\/p>\n
Data centers: He thinks locals should decide.<\/a><\/p>\n Power grid: “We will not ration comfort. We will not build capacity on the backs of the people. We’re going to protect ratepayers. We’re going to build capacity that works for the ratepayers.”<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds talks with Mike Carroll, the president of the North Pinellas Republican Club, during a campaign stop in Tarpon Springs on Saturday.<\/p>\n During a Saturday stop at St. Petersburg College’s Tarpon Springs campus, Donalds, 47, spoke to about 70 voters, framing his speech past the primary and toward the general election against Democrats. He’s a heavy favorite because of President Donald Trump’s endorsement<\/a>, support from the state Republican establishment and a huge lead in campaign contributions.<\/p>\n Why him? He said he has vision and experience in the private financial sector and would continue the legacy of Gov. Ron DeSantis: “This primary is about making sure that not just the vision of Florida, but the dream of Florida, remains alive and well for everybody.”<\/p>\n Affordability: Donalds vows to lower insurance rates by reforming the regulatory side of insurance markets. He plans to have a state commission review property taxes if Amendment 3 doesn’t pass and proposes to eliminate taxes for seniors and working families. “If we can repeal homestead property taxes, we will get that done,” he said. Utility bills need to come down, he said, adding that the way to do that is to expand the power grid by adding more natural gas and nuclear options. Talk of solar and wind farms won’t cut bills, he said, only “empower the Chinese.”<\/p>\n Data centers: Allow, but regulate.<\/a> Florida law already prohibits utility rates from going up because of a data center. It also requires data centers to get water use permits. He said they won’t be built next to homes, and “we are going to keep them away.” But he said data centers are necessary to make America and Florida competitive. “We have to understand that computing power is going to be essential in the future of Florida’s economy and America’s economy, and the people who want us to fail, the people who want us to come in second in the space race, the people who do not want our economies to expand, those are the Chinese,” he said.<\/p>\n Investor James Fishback Florida Republican primary gubernatorial candidate James Fishback delivers remarks at the University of Central Florida in Orlando in April.<\/p>\n Fishback, 31, spoke with the Tampa Bay Times on Friday about his closing arguments. Favored by white nationalists like Nick Fuentes<\/a>, Fishback’s campaign punched above its weight because of an advanced digital strategy.<\/p>\n Why him? “My wife’s pregnant. We got bills. We got electric bills that keep going up. We got property taxes that keep going up. We got auto insurance. Doesn’t make any sense. It’s borderline criminal. And so, I think one, I’ve got the right message. But two, I think it’s coming from a very credible person in that, I am in the trenches with my generation. I am not someone disconnected from that.”<\/p>\n Affordability: “We’re going to eliminate tolls for Florida residents. That’s the most important closing argument we’ve had. We’ve pushed that aggressively. The idea that you have to drive to work and pay to drive to work on top of your gas, on top of your auto insurance, on top of your monthly car payment \u2014 it’s ridiculous. We have 140 million tourists that come to Florida every year. Charge them to go on the roads. Don’t charge us.” He also supports the elimination of property taxes and “tackling” property insurance.<\/p>\n Data centers: Hepromises to ban them completely.<\/p>\n Former House Speaker Paul Renner Former House Speaker Paul Renner spoke at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor on Saturday during a last pitch for his bid for the GOP nomination for governor.<\/p>\n Having served as House speaker from 2022 to 2024, Renner, 59, established his credentials with Republicans for presiding over one of the most conservative legislative sessions ever<\/a>, passing concealed weapon carry without a permit, a six-week abortion ban, a rollback on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools and universities and more. He showed up at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor on Saturday to talk to about 50 voters who attended.<\/p>\n Why him? He said hisexperience makes him the leader in the pack. He’s a battle-tested Navy veteran who was a prosecutor in Broward County, a business owner and speaker of the House. Also? “Every one of the other (Republican) candidates, frankly, is hiding something about their background,” Renner said. “If I’m your nominee, (presumptive Democratic nominee) David Jolly has got nothing.”<\/p>\n Affordability: He promises that he’ll work to lower property insurance further “because it’s still way too high, and also to get after electric rates that we have pretty high electric rates as well.” He thinks Florida should consider a rate freeze on utilities like the one Georgia has.<\/p>\n Data centers: “I’m a hard no on the data centers. … Let them go somewhere like these states, these blue states that are emptying out, that have more grid capacity, that have excess water, right?”<\/p>\n Islam and Democrats: “There is a nexus between the left and Islam because they share one thing in common: They want to destroy America.”<\/p>\n \u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Times Election Coverage<\/p>\n Know your candidates: 2026 Florida election candidates: Primary voter guide<\/a><\/p>\n Congressional midterms: St. Petersburg and Wauchula are in the same congressional district. We drove it<\/a><\/p>\n Property tax amendment: DeSantis has claims about his tax amendment. Here’s what it actually does.<\/a><\/p>\n State races: Here’s who wants to represent Tampa Bay in Legislature, Cabinet primaries<\/a><\/p>\n Congressional candidates: Who’s running for the US House in Tampa Bay after redistricting?<\/a><\/p>\n![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/tampa_bay_times_articles_917\/ca0511f504e73a921ad4782da91d0691.jpg\"\/)
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