Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds is lowering public expectations for his campaign in at least one national interview.
But he’s stressing that external headwinds may be one reason why.
During a segment on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” the Congressman from Naples acknowledged that it may be harder for him to run up an impressive margin against Democrat David Jolly than it might be in another cycle.
“First of all, when you’re the party that’s in power, it’s always a tougher cycle,” Donalds said.
Indeed, Florida Republicans control all statewide offices and have supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature and the congressional delegation. Couple that with complete Republican control of the federal government, and it’s difficult to see how a Republican candidate can deviate from the status quo in a meaningful way.
Polling suggests that some GOP fatigue may be in play here, with no survey showing Donalds approaching the massive spreads Ron DeSantis had in 2022, or Donald Trump and Rick Scott had in 2024.
Though Democrats have touted a Democratic Governors Association survey that shows Jolly with a margin-of-error lead over Donalds, public surveys have shown a 6-point lead for Donalds on average. No surveys have been released since the Aug. 18 Primary, however.
Donalds says his economic message will make a difference.
“We are addressing housing costs for the people of our state, insurance costs,” Donalds said, adding that his campaign is “also making sure that our young kids are prepared to take on the economy in their future. This is why we have a launchpad initiative for internships and apprenticeships for juniors and seniors in high school.”
“Talking about these kitchen table issues,” he added, is “the way you win in November.”
Donalds was propelled to the nomination by President Trump’s endorsement, which he reiterated numerous times on the road to the Primary.
Asked if he was concerned about Trump’s slumping numbers with independent voters, Donalds said “not too much.”
“This campaign in Florida is about the people of Florida. I know that sometimes it’s easy to nationalize these races,” Donalds said.
He pivoted the response to the high costs of building and insurance, expressing confidence that the message would resonate with swing voters who have voted Democratic in recent elections.
Pressed on whether he would campaign with the President, Donalds said he thinks “that probably will happen.”
Trump, of course, came to Florida on numerous occasions for DeSantis in 2018.
Speaking of DeSantis, Donalds said he and the Governor had a “very productive conversation” last week and that he expects to talk to DeSantis “this week” as well, and that the two men will “continue” to talk “through the rest of this campaign.”
However, Donalds stopped short of saying DeSantis planned to campaign with him.
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