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U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, running for the Republican nomination for Florida governor, center, speaks while people clap including his wife, Erika, right, during a campaign event on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, at El Tropico restaurant in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.<\/p>\n
Alie Skowronski<\/p>\n
askowronski@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
With Florida Republicans set to head to the polls Tuesday to determine who will carry the GOP gubernatorial ticket into November, the front-runner, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, stopped at a Sunny Isles Beach restaurant for one last appeal to voters, promising South Floridians that, with him, they will have a \u201cfriend in the governor\u2019s mansion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donalds, who is backed by President Donald Trump, held a get-out-the-vote rally Monday evening at El Tropico Cuban Cuisine, where he reminded the crowd of his journey from growing up in Brooklyn to finding his footing in Florida. He spoke on a range of issues, from reducing insurance costs to housing affordability and traffic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you go to the polls tomorrow, understand that the person you\u2019re voting for, somebody who loves this state,\u201d he said to the thundering sounds of applause. \u201cI love this state like I love my wife and I love my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restaurant vibrated with excitement as more than 60 supporters cheered and hugged while Donalds appealed to the Cuban immigrant community, saying that a \u201cfree Cuba will have a friend here in Florida\u201d when he\u2019s elected.<\/p>\n
But he did not have to convince that many. In a show of hands, some in attendance had already voted for him and just wanted the opportunity to meet the man they saw on television and social media.<\/p>\n
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Antedates listen during a campaign event for U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, running for the Republican nomination for Florida governor, on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, at El Tropico restaurant in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
Among them was 66-year-old North Miami Beach resident Roberto Elovic, who said he had already voted for Donalds and knew his policies but wanted to see the candidate in person.<\/p>\n
Elovic, who immigrated to the United States from Venezuela in 2003, said this was part of his civic process: listening, evaluating each of the GOP candidates, and finding that Donalds \u201cwas the better option\u201d for the state.<\/p>\n
\u2018What I see is that he\u2019s a family man. He\u2019s a trustworthy man,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Miriam Alam, a 68-year-old Aventura resident, agreed. She said she had first seen Donalds on television almost three years ago and immediately thought, \u201cI like this guy. He\u2019s gonna go far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alam said she likes voting in person and plans to vote for Donalds tomorrow because \u201che\u2019s ready to fight\u201d against Democrats.<\/p>\n
Though the rally centered on tomorrow\u2019s primary elections, Donalds was already campaigning for the November election. He described himself as best suited to defeat the gubernatorial Democratic frontrunner, David Jolly,<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s win tomorrow night. Go vote, and in 79 days, let\u2019s beat Florida red,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A Miami-Dade voter push<\/p>\n
Donalds is not the only Republican candidate appealing to Miami-Dade voters. Over the past month, Miami-Dade has been a hot spot for GOP gubernatorial candidates hoping to secure the votes of predominantly Hispanic immigrant communities.<\/p>\n
Far-right candidate James Fishback spent Sunday hopping throughout Miami-Dade County on his sprint across the state, making hourly campaign stops in the final days of his campaign.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Jay Collins and Paul Renner also campaigned in Miami, pitching themselves to voters as the better option over Donalds for a general election matchup against Jolly.<\/p>\n
Collins and Renner specifically targeted Cuban-majority areas. Collins held a Tuesday morning breakfast in early August at Versailles Cuban restaurant in Little Havana, where he told his life story and took questions from audience members for nearly an hour.<\/p>\n
He addressed a wide range of issues, including denouncing socialism, emphasizing how education should better meet the needs of autistic students and sharing worry \u201cabout people who want to make Venezuela a state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a pure anti-communist and is a pure man,\u201d said Andr\u00e9s R. Rodriguez, a supporter and Cuban biologist touting books he\u2019d written about Marxism at the event.<\/p>\n
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Renner, right, glances back to get his bearings while campaigning in Miami’s Little Havana on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
A few blocks away that afternoon, Renner made an ill-fated attempt at door knocking in Little Havana. He had a volunteer cameraman and a couple of reporters snap his photo near people huddled around the tables in Domino Park, but didn\u2019t introduce himself or pitch his campaign to those playing.<\/p>\n
He knocked on two doors but no one answered. Then a small team of campaign employees, Renner\u2019s wife and two loyal Renner supporters tagging along, called it a day and headed to Versailles to eat.<\/p>\n
Rommel Lopez, a paid field organizer for Paul Renner, said he\u2019s backing Renner personally as well because he sees him as the best candidate to reach the wide scope of Hispanic and Latino communities in Florida. Renner lived in Venezuela in the 90s and speaks Spanish.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe understands the Latino community, he understands the Hispanic community. I\u2019m not saying you have to be Latino to understand the community, but you have to share time,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n
But he sees an uphill battle for Republicans this election cycle: \u201cHispanic Republicans, we are at odds. I personally think it\u2019s going to be a tough cycle for us. I hope that we win, I\u2019m praying that we win, I think we\u2019re going to win. But it\u2019s gonna be a little bit rough for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cImmigration is a big issue,\u201d he added. \u201cThe way that immigration is being handled, I think that it could be different ways that we can handle more humanely.\u201d<\/p>\n