US news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-08-19 · by Richard Luscombe in Miami
Byron Donalds, a congressman backed by Donald Trump, won the Republican nomination for governor in Florida on Tuesday, defeating three other prominent Republicans, including Jay Collins, who was handpicked by outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis. Donalds is expected to win the November election and become the first Black governor of any southern US state. According to his campaign website, Donalds is "committed to implementing President Trump's agenda" and made affordability and reducing property taxes a central plank of his campaign. He will face Democrat David Jolly in the general election, who secured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Florida Primary Results
- Angie Nixon projected winner in Florida Democratic Senate primary
+ NBC News projects that Angie Nixon will win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Florida.
- Jolly thanks supporters after projected win in Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary
+ Charlie Crist is projected to win the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida.
- Rep. Donalds celebrates projected win in Florida GOP governor primary
+ Rep. Matt Gaetz's ally, Rep. Byron Donalds, is projected to win the Republican nomination for Governor of Florida.
Takeaways from Tuesday Primaries
- Trump endorsement can't lift Mills
+ Embattled and scandal-ridden Republican Rep. Cory Mills lost his reelection bid in Florida Tuesday.
- GOP Rep. Cory Mills loses his Florida primary amid investigations
+ NBC News projects that Ryan Elijah, a former TV news anchor and NFL sideline reporter, will win the Republican nomination for Congress in Florida's 7th District.
Socialist Movement Gains Ground
- Socialists capture major Florida victory on hit-or-miss night for Trump-endorsed primary candidates
+ A socialist, Angie Nixon, is projected to win the Democratic Senate primary in Florida.
- Sunshine State socialist scores shocking Senate upset despite being heavily outspent
+ Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member and Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon scored a massive upset in the state's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
Other Primary Results
- GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, Democrat Mary Peltola advance to Alaska Senate race
+ Senator Dan Sullivan is projected to win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Alaska.
- Wasserman Schultz wins Florida’s 20th District Democratic primary, NBC News projects
+ Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is projected to win the Democratic nomination for Congress in Florida's 20th District.
Investigations and Controversies
- Mills faces a House Ethics Committee investigation; a judge issued a restraining order against him last year after he was accused by his former girlfriend of threatening to distribute sexually explicit videos of her.
- The loss makes him the latest member of a relatively rare set of Republican candidates who lost GOP primaries even with Trump’s blessing.
Written for “Florida Primary Election Results” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 19 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.70 for article 1289 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-21
Byron Donalds, a congressman backed by Donald Trump, won the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday in the race to succeed Ron DeSantis.
asserted
Donalds → back → DeSantis
Donalds, who has represented south-west Florida since 2021, trounced three reasonably prominent Republican rivals, including Jay Collins, DeSantis’s handpicked lieutenant governor.
asserted
who → represent → Collins
If he wins the November election, as he is expected to do in the conservative stronghold, Donalds would become the first Black governor in any southern US state.
asserted
Donalds → win → state
So confident was Donalds of victory that his television advertisements in the weeks leading to the primary ignored his Republican challengers and focused on former Republican congressman David Jolly, who secured the Democratic party’s nomination on Tuesday.
asserted
who → lead → Tuesday
He continued that message on Tuesday evening.
asserted
He → continue → evening
“I am grateful to my family, my team, my volunteers, and every Floridian who powered us to this victory,” he wrote on X. “My Democrat opponent would raise taxes, make life more expensive, and bring the Democrats’ radical left agenda to the Sunshine State – Florida cannot afford Liberal David Jolly.
asserted
Florida → power → Jolly
David Jolly has lost before, and he will lose again on November 3.
asserted
he → lose → November
United, we will win the Governor’s mansion in 77 days and ensure that Florida remains the best state in this great country.”
asserted
Florida → win → country
In his victory speech, Jolly addressed political division and the economy before placing blame on Donalds for the state’s rising costs.
asserted
Jolly → address → costs
We have built friendships, we have found common ground,” he said.
asserted
he → build → ground
He added: “Byron Donalds has sold the governor’s mansion to the highest bidder and the special interests across the state have been happy to play ball.”
asserted
interests → add → ball
DeSantis did not make an endorsement in the race, but Trump did, backing Donalds and his conservative credentials, with support that could prove decisive in Florida, arguably the arguably the heart of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, and home to his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach estate.
uncertain
America → make → estate
DeSantis was largely considered dead in the water in his own campaign to become governor in 2018, before Trump’s endorsement turned things around.
asserted
endorsement → consider → things
Republican voters roundly rejected the credentials of Collins, an army special forces veteran who called Donalds a Washington elite; Paul Renner, the former Florida house speaker; and extremist James Fishback.
asserted
who → reject → Donalds
Instead, they favored Donalds, who at times polled close to 50% and is, according to his campaign website, “committed to implementing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Great Again”.
uncertain
America → favor → agenda
A vocal Trump ally who was reportedly considered for the 2024 vice-president pick that ultimately went to JD Vance, Donalds made affordability and reducing property taxes and insurance costs a central plank of his campaign, which some have seen as a dig at DeSantis’s obsession with culture war issues during his eight-year tenure.
Jolly, a former Republican congressman and lawyer, became an independent, then switched parties last year.
He ran a much more moderate campaign than the ones that worked well for progressive Democrats in other states’ primaries this summer, although that did not stop Donalds assailing him as “a radical liberal” who he claimed was an advocate for gender-reassignment surgery who supports transgender males in girls’ and women’s sports.
Jolly easily fended off a challenge from five other Democrats, including state representative Dotie Joseph and Dayna Marie Foster, a former high school educator who was endorsed by the Florida Democratic Progressive caucus.
Jolly faces an uphill battle in November, however.
uncertain
Jolly → consider → November
No Democrat has won a Florida governor’s election since Lawton Chiles in 1994; and no Democrat has won a statewide election in Florida since Nikki Fried, the current chair of the Florida Democratic party, was elected agriculture commissioner in 2018.
asserted
Fried → win → 2018
