Trump-backed Donalds vows to maintain DeSantis 'trajectory,' take Florida to 'whole new level'

MAGA champion Rep. Bryon Donalds, a top ally of President Donald Trump in the House, is on a roll as he runs to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis as Florida's next governor.

With over ten months to go until next year's election, the three-term Republican representative from a red-leaning district in southwest Florida is sitting on a massive fundraising war chest and is far ahead of his GOP primary rivals in the latest public opinion polling.

But Donalds takes "nothing for granted."

"I’ve been all over the state, crisscrossing and nonstop. We have a very strong campaign. The people of Florida have been very receptive to my message and the ideas we're bringing to this campaign," Donalds highlighted in an interview last week with Fox News Digital at his congressional office in the nation's capital.

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Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida is interviewed by Fox News Digital ahead of his 2026 campaign kickoff for governor, in Bonita Springs, Florida on March 28, 2025 (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )

Donalds was endorsed by Trump in February, before he even formally launched his campaign for governor.

While giving Donalds a big boost, the president's backing hasn't prevented other Republicans from entering the GOP primary race.

Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner launched his bid in September, and late last month investor James Fishback, who had generated some buzz in MAGA world earlier this year before clashing with top Trump advisers, also jumped into the race.

And Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a former Green Beret and army veteran, has been mulling a run.

But Donalds remains the overwhelming frontrunner.

"People want to run. They want to run. That's fine, but we're focused on our race, and that's contacting voters. I've been in 41 counties doing political events. I've been in 50 counties, when you consider fundraising and political events," Donalds highlighted.

Donalds said he is "very honored to have President Trump's endorsement. Now I have to go county by county, city by city to get the endorsement and the support from the people of our state."

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, seen speaking on Feb. 5, 2025, in Miami, is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026.  (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)

DeSantis remains mum on the race to succeed him, not backing Donalds or any of the other contenders, which earlier this year also for a time included his wife, first lady Casey DeSantis.

Donalds was once a close ally of the governor, but their relationship soured when Donalds endorsed Trump for president over DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

"It's been better," Donalds said when asked by Fox News Digital about his relationship with the governor. "But at the end of the day, it's about the trajectory of our state. Would love to earn Gov. DeSantis support in this campaign, but at the end of the day, we are going to take all of the hard work that he's done for our state, and it's been tremendous, we're going to take that work and we're going to build upon it, and that's what matters."

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Democrats are likely to have a competitive primary between Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and former Rep. David Jolly, a Republican-turned-Democrat. But in battleground-turned-red-state Florida, most of the attention is focused on the Republicans.

Dan Eberhart, a Florida-based oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor who's raised big bucks for Trump and DeSantis this decade and who is also in Donalds' political orbit, told Fox News Digital, "Donald’s MAGA credentials and fundraising prowess put him in the driver’s seat" in the GOP primary.

Eberhart noted "Donalds having a primary will make him a better general election candidate," and emphasized that the congressman "is doing all of the right things to win both the primary and the general election."

Rep. Byron Donalds shakes hands with then-former President Donald Trump during the Moms for Liberty national summit, on June 30, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Trump and Republicans spotlighted rising prices as they swept to major victories in 2024, retaking the White House and Senate and holding their majority in the House.

But with inflation remaining persistent, Democrats have been laser focused this year on the issue of affordability, which fueled their decisive victories in last month's 2025 elections and their overperformances this year in a slew of special elections.

And those contests saw a drop-off in turnout by MAGA voters, with Trump not on the ballot.

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"Are the Democrats motivated? Fine," Donalds said when asked about the Democrats' energy. "We are going to make sure that we get Republican voters out to the polls, because at the end of the day, the people of Florida love the trajectory set by Governor DeSantis. We're going to maintain that trajectory, and we're going to build it and take Florida to a whole new level."

And pointing specifically to affordability, Donalds predicted, "over the next year, you're going to see a lot of these economic changes, decisions made by the President of the United States, have real impacts in the lives of the American people. Positive impacts."

But the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) argued, "Whether in DC or Tallahassee, Byron Donalds has spent his political career helping to make Florida the least affordable state in the country."

"From supporting cost-raising tariffs to voting to spike the cost of everything from health care to housing, Byron Donalds is one of the architects of the affordability crisis devastating Florida families," DGA spokesperson Kevin Donohoe charged in a statement to Fox News Digital.

And pointing to this month's Miami mayoral election, where the Democrats won for the first time in a quarter-century, Donohoe said "the Miami mayoral race showed that Florida voters are looking for change — but Byron Donalds would just offer more of the same."

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Asked about the results in Miami, Donalds said, "I do acknowledge what happened in the city of Miami, but that's not going to happen in the state of Florida."

"Florida is going to continue to be a red state, because the people of Florida know what conservative policies are they want that to continue. It's been the best state going in the entire country, and we're not going to stop here," he added.