ORLANDO, Fla. — Rep. Byron Donalds, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, easily secured the Republican nomination for Florida governor Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

Donalds, 47, will be favored to win the general election in a state that Trump calls home and that has shifted toward Republicans during the past decade.

If elected, Donalds would become the state’s first Black governor. He is vying to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, a popular but divisive Republican who is term-limited. Donalds has vowed to continue DeSantis’ conservative agenda by reducing property taxes for homeowners, streamlining government agencies and expanding the state’s voucher program for private school tuition.

Donalds, of Naples in southwest Florida, was first elected to Congress in 2020 and has emerged as a rising star among the next generation of pro-Trump Republicans. He endorsed Trump over DeSantis in the 2024 presidential primary. Trump returned the favor last year, backing him for governor even before Donalds had made his candidacy official.

Though the endorsement did not clear the Republican field for Donalds, it did make it all but impossible for other candidates to pose a serious threat. One candidate, James Fishback, did gain some traction with young men — and garnered a lot of media attention — for his far-right stances and incendiary racial remarks about Donalds.

In addition to Fishback, Donalds defeated Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and Paul Renner, a former speaker of the state House.

DeSantis did not endorse Donalds — or any candidate — in the Republican primary.

If he wins in November, Donalds would continue the party’s electoral dominance in Florida. Republicans hold all statewide offices and supermajorities in the state House and Senate. Democrats have not held the governor’s seat in more than 25 years.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By David Ovalle/Zack Wittman
c. 2026 The New York Times Company