Associated Press calls Florida gubernatorial race for Donalds

It was a photo finish in the race between the Republican and, uh, the former Republican.

By Scott Harrell November 3, 2026 9:19 pm

Byron Donalds Florida official photograph — 352todaySeveral races have been tight, but reliably red state Florida seems impervious to any possible "blue wave" in 2026.

TALLAHASSEE, FL (352today.com) – In the latest tight high-stakes Florida race to be called by AP, Republican Byron Donalds is projected to narrowly defeat Democratic candidate David Jolly and become the next governor of Florida.

Donalds, a longtime Sunshine State political operator endorsed by outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis among many others, went from a member of the Florida State House to the U.S. House in 2020. Jolly spent his only term in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican, switched parties for this gubernatorial bid.

After an evening of being too close to call, when the Associated Press called the race with more than 97 percent of the vote in, Donalds had 50 percent to Jolly’s 48.7 percent.