HISTORY IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: Byron Donalds Wins the Governor’s Race and Becomes Florida’s First Black Governor

By Staff Reports
TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters made history on November 3. Republican Byron Donalds has won the race for governor, according to the Associated Press, defeating Democrat David Jolly in a contest that stayed close to the very end — and becoming the first Black governor in Florida history.
The Associated Press called the race for Donalds with 50.1% of the vote, a total of 4,132,363 votes. Jolly finished with 48.7%, leaving a margin of just 1.4 percentage points between the two men.
The result carries weight well beyond Florida. With the win, Donalds also becomes the first Black Republican governor in the nation — a milestone that lands in a race Florida voters split nearly down the middle.
Donalds will succeed DeSantis, who is term-limited and could not run again. He is set to take office in January 2027, which gives the state a two-month transition between the election and the handover of power in Tallahassee.
The closeness of the race tells its own story. A 50.1% to 48.7% finish means millions of Florida voters backed the other candidate, and the new governor will take office leading a state that was almost evenly divided over who should run it. How he handles that divide — and the Florida Legislature that will send him bills — will shape the next four years in the Capitol.
For now, the headline is the history. In January, when Byron Donalds takes office, Florida will have a governor unlike any in its past — the first Black governor the state has ever elected, chosen in a race decided by barely a point.
Join the conversation: What should be Governor-elect Donalds’ first priority when he takes office in January? Tell us what you think in the comments.
Sources: Associated Press, USA Today, NPR