On Aug. 18, Florida’s Republican voters chose U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds to be their candidate to replace term-limited Ron DeSantis as Florida’s next governor. Donalds is also only the second Black gubernatorial candidate in Florida after Andrew Gillum in 2018, and, if he wins in November, would become Florida’s first Black governor.
Donalds rode to the primary well ahead in every poll since he announced his candidacy in February 2025, thanks to an endorsement from President Donald Trump and a record-setting $111 million war chest. With 97% of the vote counted Tuesday, Donalds captured 48% of the GOP electorate, compared to Lt. Gov. Jay Collins with 25%, conservative firebrand James Fishback with 10.5%, and former House Speaker Paul Renner trailing with 8.5%.
Here’s what to know about the Naples resident.
Who is Byron Donalds?
According to his congressional biography, Byron Lowell Donalds, 47, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a single mother. He graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in finance and marketing, then reportedly worked in the banking, finance, and insurance industries in Southwest Florida.
Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016 and to Congress in 2020, where he serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the House Financial Services Committee. He was a nominee for Speaker of the House in the January 2023 and October 2023 elections.
Is Byron Donalds married? Does he have a wife, children?
Donalds lives in Naples, Florida, with his second wife, Erika, and sons Damon, Darin, and Mason.
What does Erika Donalds do for a living?
Erika Donalds is the founder and chairman of charter school support management organization OptimaEd, the chair of the Center for Education Opportunity, and Chair of the America First Policy Institute-Florida State Chapter.
According to the New York Times, AFPI is a right-wing think tank founded in 2020, which “installed itself as the Trump campaign’s primary partner in making concrete plans to wield power again.”
She is also a visiting fellow for the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy. The Heritage Foundation published Project 2025, a detailed plan to dismantle and reconstruct the government.
Byron Donalds’ political career
Donalds entered politics as part of the Tea Party movement and ran for the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida’s 19th congressional district in 2012. He finished fifth, out of six candidates. In 2016, he ran for the Florida House of Representatives and won, replacing retiring incumbent Francis Rooney to represent Hendry County and east Collier County in the State Capitol.
While serving in the Florida House, Donalds said he primarily focused on elder affairs, criminal justice reform, and ensuring that each child has access to a world-class education.
In 2016, he ran for the Florida House of Representatives and won, replacing retiring incumbent Francis Rooney to represent Hendry County and east Collier County in Tallahassee.
In 2020, Donalds was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was re-elected in 2022. His first vote as a U.S. congressman was to void the U.S. 2020 presidential election results. Donalds has repeatedly claimed that Joe Biden was not the legitimate president of the United States.
He has described himself as a “Trump-supporting, liberty-loving, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man,” and a “Black MAGA patriot,”
What is Byron Donalds’ criminal record?
When Donalds was 18, after a party at his apartment, he was arrested for possession of marijuana. He admitted in a March 8 interview with CBS News that he was dealing at the time “for a period of time, low level amounts.”
Two years later, a female acquaintance convinced him he could make a thousand dollars by depositing a bad check. “I was desperate, I was out of money, I didn’t have a job, my rent was overdue,” he said.
Donalds said he has since made restitution to the bank for about seven times the original amount, but the state pressed bribery charges in 2000. The charges were later expunged. The 1997 marijuana charge was dismissed as part of a pre-trial diversion program.
“My pastor always says that everybody in life is 15 seconds away from stupid,” Donalds said, “but when you’re desperate, you’re three seconds away. And I was desperate.”
Donalds has been very open about his past during his campaigns, saying it is a tale of sin and atonement that makes him uniquely qualified to serve others.
Was a Florida ethics complaint filed against Byron Donalds?
In 2020 a complaint was filed alleging that Donalds did not disclose his previous arrests on several applications, including one to sell securities and a 2014 application to serve on the board of Florida SouthWestern State College. Donalds maintained that since the bribery charges were expunged, they no longer existed and he had no reason to disclose them.
After reviewing the complaint, the Florida Ethics Commission dismissed it, finding it lacked legal sufficiency.
What is Byron Donalds’ net worth?
Byron Donalds’ net worth depends on which numbers you use. According to the mandatory personal financial interests filing Donalds made in Florida in June 2026, he listed his 2025 net worth as just over $89,000.
In 2025, on the federal disclosure form where legislators are required to only indicate approximate ranges of asset values, he listed his 2023 net worth as somewhere between $1.6 million and $7 million.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, Donalds listed his home value at $754,600, with a $731,000 mortgage. He also listed his stock values at $204,961, and two savings accounts totalling $41,758. A joint checking account held $49,316. Aside from the mortgage, the only creditors Donalds listed were for $260,588 in student loans for two of his sons.
Donalds made $205,669 as a U.S House Representative in 2025. Most U.S. House Representatives earn a base annual salary of $174,000.
However, Florida doesn’t require candidates to list their spouse’s income or assets.
Quiver Quantitative, a financial data platform that tracks U.S. congressional stock trading and lobbying, put Donalds’ net worth in 2026 at $2.37 million, down from a high of $4.32 million in 2024.
Read US Rep. Byron Donalds’ financial interests disclosure
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When is the 2026 Florida general election?
Donalds will face off against Democratic nominee David Jolly on Nov. 3, 2026.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Who is Byron Donalds? What to know about Florida governor candidate
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
