Republican Representative Byron Donalds was elected Florida’s first black governor on Tuesday, defeating Democrat David Jolly in an unexpectedly competitive race that tested the GOP’s grip on President Donald Trump ‘s adopted home state.
Donalds, a staunch Trump ally, will succeed outgoing Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who used the office to fan presidential ambitions and steer the nation’s third-most populous state further to the right.
Donalds, who will become the nation’s first elected Black Republican governor, fended off Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties and ran a centrist campaign.
Donalds thanked Trump in his victory speech to supporters in South Florida.
“I want you to hear from Florida that we are still red,” Donalds told the crowd.
“Mr. President, I also want to tell you thank you for your support and thank you for being in my corner.”
The race presented a test of whether Trump’s unpopularity, which has dragged down Republicans across the US, would extend to his backyard and endanger an office in Florida that a Democrat hasn’t won in more than 30 years.
Donalds had sought to define Jolly as an out-of-touch liberal, and he reached out to Black voters who traditionally side with Democrats.
Beyond the national political environment, the race centered on issues including high prices and the cost of homeowners insurance, a particularly salient issue in a state with a history of being ravaged by hurricanes.
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