Byron Donalds Offers Florida More of the MAGA Same in Governor's Race
· Reason
Rep. Byron Donalds' (R–Fla.) closing pitch to voters in his campaign for Florida governor is the same one he's relied on his whole political career: success through affiliation. If you like President Donald Trump and current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Donalds promises, you'll like him.
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"The Democrats are now arguing that they want change," Donalds said at a campaign event on Sunday in Tampa. "And I look at my opponent. I look at these Democrats that are running, and I say to myself, 'Change what?' We are the best state in America."
If he wins on Tuesday, Donalds will have gone from a backbench congressman to Florida's first black governor in roughly six years, inheriting an office that has swelled in power under DeSantis. With the help of an acquiescent GOP-controlled state legislature and litigious state attorney general, DeSantis became the most powerful Florida governor in living memory.
Donalds doesn't offer detailed plans about what he would do with that accumulated power, but judging from his campaign speeches and statements, it would presumably be a continuation of DeSantis' heavy-handed brand of top-down conservative government.
"Florida hasn't happened by accident," Donalds said in a Fox Business interview last Wednesday. "This is something that has been about consistent leadership over time in our state. Gov. DeSantis has done a great job."
"It's about reminding voters that you have to choose for Florida to continue to be the free state of Florida," he continued.
Voters usually don't have to be reminded when things are going well, though. That might be partly why Donalds is in a tighter-than-expected race against Democratic candidate David Jolly.
A Stetson University poll released on October 30 found Donalds leading Jolly 51 percent to 45 percent, but also found that statewide Republican candidates' margins were roughly half of what pollsters measured in mid-October. It would still be a shocking upset if Florida Republicans lose any statewide races, but the trend is a warning sign for a Florida GOP that has made significant gains against Democrats for the past several election cycles in a row.
In addition to national pessimism over the economy and direction of the country, Donalds is being dragged down by a state political legacy that is several years past its sell-by date.
In many cases, DeSantis' efforts to make Florida the tip of the spear of the national conservative movement have, rather than expanding freedom, fed a growing police state: The state launched overbroad reviews of school library catalogs, monitored and threatened drag shows, enacted anti-competitive bans on lab-grown meat, and crusaded to stop cities from painting rainbows on their crosswalks. Florida's culture war bills have, in many cases, been expensive failures. Judges struck down Florida's ban on social media for children under 14 and large portions of the state's Individual Freedom Act of 2022, better known as the "Stop WOKE Act."
In his August 18 victory speech after winning the Republican gubernatorial primary, Donalds said his goal is to preserve "the Florida dream," which he says under former Republicans Gov. Charlie Christ and DeSantis have become "the envy of every state of America."
Donalds' campaign website and stump speeches offer few concrete details on how he would do this. He promises to make Florida "accountable, achievable and affordable." (One is tempted to ask why, after two years of a "golden age" under Trump and six years of freedom under DeSantis, Floridians' primary concern is affordability.)
Donalds promises every state contract, budget, and fee will be posted publicly. "Taxpayers deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars are being spent efficiently, transparently, and with absolute integrity," he said at his victory speech.
Donalds is correct, but the DeSantis administration would be a terrible example to follow. DeSantis spent more than $1 billion building and operating the "Alligator Alcatraz" detention camp, removed the contracts from a public database, and then closed the camp less than a year later. Another of DeSantis' major projects over the course of his terms has been gutting Florida's once-strong public records law.
As for fiscal responsibility, Donalds said his administration would continue the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative started under DeSantis. "We are going to DOGE every agency," Donalds said. "There will be no sacred cows."
A short while later, after name-checking several Florida sheriffs in the audience, Donalds also said, "We will not jeopardize funding for police, firefighters, and first responders."
Donalds also promises to "slash red tape" by streamlining government permitting and decrease costs to consumers by forcing hospitals and insurance companies to provide transparent billing.
Among the issues where Donalds aligns with libertarian values is his staunch support of school choice and the Second Amendment. Donalds' wife runs a network of charter schools, which have been the subject of media investigations since Donalds announced his candidacy.
But if Donalds' voting record in Congress is an indication of his leadership, it is not reassuring. Donalds voted multiple times against nonbinding war powers resolutions to require Trump to cease hostilities with Iran ("All you're doing is providing more leverage to the Iranian regime," Donalds said of the resolutions), voted for the fiscally ruinous One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, and voted against certifying 2020 election results—none of which speak well of how seriously he takes the role of Congress or his job as a member of it.
Donalds' rhetoric about affordability and transparency would be more convincing if he were honest with voters about the excesses of his predecessor, or at least not enthusiastic about them. Florida's next governor must commit to truly rebuilding transparency and accountability in the state government, and that will require more than just the same old reheated MAGA leftovers.
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