{"id":99861,"date":"2025-12-30T10:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T10:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/99861\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T10:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T10:52:13","slug":"florida-politics-runner-up-for-2025-politician-of-the-year-byron-donalds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/99861\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Politics\u2019 runner-up for 2025 Politician of the Year: Byron Donalds"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the start of 2025, a looming race for Governor spurred speculation about who would run. But heading into 2026, nobody appears as well-positioned as U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.<\/p>\n

With an endorsement<\/a> from President Donald Trump in his pocket and upward of $40 million<\/a> deposited in the bank, the Naples Republican may be better positioned for a run than any candidate for Governor \u2014 certainly any Republican \u2014 ever. Political consultant Ryan Smith boasted in an end-of-year campaign memo called Donalds \u201cthe most dominant gubernatorial candidate in Florida history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donalds sounded strong as he launched his campaign in March from a restaurant in Bonita Springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy plan for Florida is bold and clear,\u201d Donalds told the crowd<\/a>. \u201cFix the insurance prices, build new roads, finish restoring the Everglades. Make Florida the financial capital of the world, and ensure our kids master math, reading, writing and reasoning.\u201d<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean he scared off any competition. House Speaker Paul Renner, who served alongside Donalds in the Florida House, threw his hat in the ring in September<\/a>. Azoria CEO James Fishback also made a splash online as he openly courted groypers<\/a> and the far right. Meanwhile, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings<\/a> and former U.S. Rep. David Jolly<\/a> both filed to compete for the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But in a state that leans far more Republican than when Gov. Ron DeSantis first won office by a recount margin<\/a>, the GOP Primary feels like the race to watch \u2014 assuming it\u2019s not already over.<\/p>\n

\u201cByron isn\u2019t just leading the Florida Governor\u2019s race, he is dominating it in unprecedented fashion,\u201d said Matt Hurley, a Naples-based political consultant. \u201cPresident Trump is behind him completely and totally. His financial war chest is growing at a rate few can truly fathom (wait until you see what he raises in 2026).\u201d<\/p>\n

Other political developments also served Donalds. DeSantis appointed<\/a> former Attorney General Ashley Moody, the top vote-getter in Florida in 2018 and 2022, to the U.S. Senate. Former Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, meanwhile, won a Special Election for Congress. That leaves the only statewide candidates who boasted victories in 2018 and 2022, besides term-limited DeSantis, focused on new jobs in Washington. Though once rumored as gubernatorial hopefuls, both now appear content on the Hill.<\/p>\n

Other potential contenders, such as Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, would have a higher hill to climb with late entries into the race. While not insurmountable, most now expect Simpson to seek re-election, and more are suggesting Collins look for his own route to Congress (though he denies interest<\/a>). First Lady Casey DeSantis, the only contender whom polls have shown as competitive with Donalds, has only shown decreasing interest in a run herself<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Donalds has a distinct \u201cbeen there, done that\u201d aura regarding Washington. In fewer than three terms, he managed to build a strong relationship with Trump, earn the trust of leadership and even court significant support for bids for Speaker<\/a> \u2014 twice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lawmakers from Southwest Florida feel confident the Naples wealth manager will soon move into the Governor\u2019s mansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done a great job as a State Representative and as a Congressman, and he\u2019ll do a great job as our Governor,\u201d said state Rep. Adam Botana, a Bonita Springs Republican. \u201cHe needs to keep working, and I look forward to seeing him in the Governor\u2019s Mansion.\u201d<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean he lacks detractors or skeptics. An association with U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican who spoke at Donalds\u2019 campaign launch before a series of scandals surrounded him, led to Donalds recently distancing himself<\/a> from a onetime ally. DeSantis has yet to weigh in on who he wants to succeed him in office, but many of the Governor\u2019s online supporters have heavily critiqued Donalds for shifting positions.<\/p>\n

But with ties in Washington and Tallahassee, support from establishment and MAGA leaders, and made-for-cable news charisma, Donalds appears on track to win Florida\u2019s biggest race next year and become Florida\u2019s first Black Governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe maintains an insurmountable polling dominance in the primary, and massive leads in every single hypothetical general election matchup. Regardless of how you feel about him personally, he maintains an unbreakable stronghold on the future of Florida politics,\u201d Hurley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018competition\u2019 is scrambling in his rearview while he\u2019s charging toward the Governor\u2019s mansion. He is simply in an unstoppable position as 2025 comes to a close. It will take an act of God to stop his momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the start of 2025, a looming race for Governor spurred speculation about who would run. But heading…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7380,51975,445,28,30,29,28912,5187,52468,7381,52465,412,9962],"class_list":["post-99861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-2026-governors-race","tag-adam-botana","tag-byron-donalds","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-james-fishback","tag-jay-collins","tag-matt-hurley","tag-paul-renner","tag-politician-of-the-year","tag-ron-desantis","tag-wilton-simpson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}