A news photograph by Dave Decker showing Byron Donalds at Veterans Metal in Largo, Florida on Oct. 8, 2026. Captured in a medium shot inside an industrial venue, U.S. Representative and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds speaks into a handheld microphone during a campaign event. He has a short dark beard and wears a dark navy suit blazer over a white dress shirt with a light blue patterned necktie. He gestures outward with his left hand while speaking into the mic held in his right, set against a grey painted indoor wall with overhead industrial ductwork and audience members seated in the background. — Byron Donalds at Veterans Metal in Largo, Florida on Oct. 8, 2026 Credit: Dave Decker

Despite intense ridicule for his support of data centers and his wife’s $30 million taxpayer funded charter school empire, Florida voters have elected Republican Byron Donalds, who has made history as the state’s first Black governor.

With 95% of precincts reporting, Fresh Take Florida’s election dashboard shows Donalds with over 50% of the vote

Democrat David Jolly, who is a former Republican, faced an uphill battle to beat Republican Byron Donalds, who raised roughly $148 million for his 2026 Florida gubernatorial campaign, while Jolly has raised just $22 million.

Besides the massive war chest, Donalds also enjoyed a 1.5 million Republican voter advantage over Jolly. But the Republican never really pulled away in the polls, and was constantly dogged by ties to data centers and his embrace of a historically disliked president.

Donalds, a congressman from southwest Florida who won the Republican nomination with President Donald Trump’s backing, attempted to frame his Democratic rival as a “radical socialist,” while Jolly spent his time on the campaign trail focusing on issues like high prices and the cost of homeowners insurance.

Despite Florida Gov. DeSantis winning his reelection by nearly 20 points in 2022, and Trump winning the state in 2024 by 13 points, some polls on Election Day showed Jolly within a single digit point of Donalds.

At the Tampa Convention Center, energy steadily dwindled at Jolly’s election watch party as Donalds grew his lead. At 9 p.m., after most outlets had declared, Jolly had yet to be seen. The DJ remixed “I Gotta Feeling (That Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night)” as supporters hugged and consoled one another.

Democratic consultants stopped staring at their phones and began staring into the distance while waiting for the official call.

The DJ played “Party In The U.S.A.” for the second time that evening, this time a sped-up house remix.

NBC called the race in Donalds’ favor at 9:10 p.m. eastern time, met with boos from the crowd as the music stopped.

Jolly finally took the stage at 9:30 p.m. In his concession speech, Jolly said that “it has been the honor of a lifetime to move this state 14 points in a new direction.”

“Somewhere out there tonight is someone that, in the next cycle, is going to get it across the finish line,” Jolly said.

This is a developing post.

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.

This article appears in Oct. 29 – Nov. 04, 2026.