CAPITOL COMPETITORS? U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, from left, and fellow Republicans, Florida Agriculture Commissioner and former Senate president Wilton Simpson, and former U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz, reportedly are eyeing the governor’s mansion in 2026. PHOTOS COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

By David L. Snelling

Miami – U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican representing Southwest Florida, is apparently mounting a campaign to help him become the first African American governor of Florida, according to reports citing people who attended a GOP party in Orlando last week.

Though Donalds hasn’t publicly announced intentions of a 2026 gubernatorial run, GOP leaders and rank-and-file party members suggested the two-term congressman is seeking to replace fellow Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Donalds, along with several other potential candidates, has been long rumored to be eyeing the governor’s mansion in 2026 when DeSantis is term-limited.

Donalds, 46, has been tight-lipped when reporters asked him of his intentions. “I’m fully focused on helping President Trump pass his America First Agenda. Florida will proudly lead the way,” Donalds told NBC News.

But during the GOP event in Orlando, where party leaders and potential donors gathered to discuss Trump’s plans, and when flying back to Washington for the inauguration, Donalds reportedly told those in attendance he’s running for governor.

Political strategist Paul Howard said on social media that Donalds is privately preparing a campaign.

“He was in Tallahassee meeting with all the folks you need to meet with,” Howard said. “He told them he is in. It’s the steps any candidate takes as they prepare to run for governor.”

Florida Agriculture Commissioner and former Senate president Wilton Simpson, and former U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz, also Republicans, are reportedly considering running for Florida’s top elected office as well.

“Florida needs a Governor who can break the control insurance companies have over Tallahassee. I can do that,” Gaetz said in a press release. He didn’t announce he was running.

Gaetz was Trump’s initial pick for U.S. attorney general but withdrew his name after the House Ethics Committee released a report which found evidence that he paid for sex with a minor and engaged in drug abuse during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives.

If Gaetz and Simpson run, each will seek support for the GOP nomination, but the two don’t rival Donald’s ties with Trump, whose endorsement can boost his chances in the race.

Donalds, who was born in New York, and first elected to Congress in 2020, was nominated for the House speakership in 2023.

Donalds was on the list of vice-presidential candidates before Trump chose former Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.

In addition, Donalds campaigned for Trump in Florida, helping him pick up more Black votes than any other Republican presidential candidate.

Donalds also publicly denounced Trump’s conviction in his hush money trial, and his sentencing to unconditional discharge without punishment “No conditions, no prison time, no probation time, no fine or punishment,” Donalds said on social media. “This travesty of justice was overt lawfare, election interference and a complete waste of time and money.”

Donalds also voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 Presidential Election when Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Donalds said that he did not “personally” believe that Biden was a “legitimate” president of the United States, but that Biden was nevertheless the president.

Donalds received backlash from the Black community when he said the Black family was together during Jim Crow.

“During Jim Crow, more black people were not just conservative, black people have always been conservative-minded, but more black people voted conservatively,” he said during a 2024 political outreach event.

“And then, HEW., Lyndon Johnson, and then you go down that road, and now we are where we are. What’s happened in America the last ten years, and I say it because it’s my contemporaries … you’re starting to see more Black people be married in homes raising kids.”

But after being criticized for his speech, Donalds denied that “Black people were doing better under Jim Crow” or that “Jim Crow is great,” and also denied having been inaccurate when he said that Black marriage rates were relatively high during that era.

Donalds also refused to sign a letter denouncing white supremacy.