Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) is leaving the door open to President Donald Trump campaigning alongside him as Florida’s race for governor moves into its final stretch.
Asked Tuesday on NewsNation’s “On Balance” whether Trump would come to Florida to campaign with him, Donalds replied, “Well, that’s his decision if he’s going to come down.”
The answer stopped short of announcing a joint appearance, but it also made clear that Donalds would welcome Trump’s continued involvement after the president backed his bid to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Donalds credited Trump’s endorsement with providing “a great lift” among Republican voters. He also emphasized that the endorsement was only one part of the campaign, pointing to the work his team has done across Florida over the past 18 months.
The alliance has been central to Donalds’s run from the beginning. Trump endorsed him in February 2025, before Donalds formally entered the race, and renewed his support ahead of the primary. In an August endorsement reported by the Tampa Free Press, Trump called the congressman a “TOTAL WINNER” and said Donalds would work with him to advance an America First agenda in Florida.
That support helped Donalds emerge from a crowded Republican field. He will face Democratic nominee David Jolly, a former Republican congressman and prominent Trump critic, in the Nov. 3 general election.
The matchup presents Florida voters with a clear contrast. Donalds has built his campaign around his conservative record, his alliance with Trump and a promise to preserve what he calls the “Florida Dream.” Jolly, who left the Republican Party before later becoming a Democrat, is campaigning as a critic of both Trump and the state’s current Republican leadership.
Republicans enter the fall contest with a strong record in statewide elections. No Democrat has won a Florida gubernatorial election since Lawton Chiles in 1994, according to The Guardian. A Donalds victory would also make him the first Black governor in Florida history.
Donalds said his general-election campaign will focus on “kitchen table issues,” including insurance premiums, housing costs and the effects of rapid population growth.
He argued that Florida must reduce government-related expenses that add to the price of a new home, expand housing more efficiently and protect residents’ quality of life while creating more high-paying jobs. Donalds also said he plans to crisscross the state during the 77-day sprint to Election Day.
For now, no joint Trump-Donalds campaign event has been announced. But Donalds has left the invitation open—and made clear that the final decision belongs to the president.
