The two candidates for Florida governor spent the last Friday before Election Day on opposite coasts of Central Florida, with Republican Byron Donalds appearing alongside President Donald Trump at a rally in Daytona Beach and Democrat David Jolly campaigning in The Villages and St. Petersburg.
The winner will succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis. Polls cited by Bay News 9 show Jolly within the margin of error, though WSVN reported that surveys have consistently had Donalds ahead while the race appears to have tightened in recent weeks. No Democrat has been elected Florida governor since 1994.
Donalds and Trump
Thousands turned out for the Daytona Beach rally, Spectrum News 13 reported. It was Trump's second appearance for Donalds in about a week, after a Fort Myers stop where he told supporters Donalds would make a "great governor," according to WSVN.
"A vision for Florida, where it doesn't matter what color your skin is," Donalds told the crowd, describing a campaign meant to "fight for all of Florida" from Miami to the Panhandle.
Spectrum noted that more than half of Republican primary voters backed someone else, and some rallygoers said as much. One Osteen resident said she still prefers DeSantis but would adjust if Donalds wins. Donalds also carries endorsements from DeSantis and Vice President JD Vance, who has campaigned for him, and his running mate is state Sen. Bryan Ávila, according to Bay News 9.
Jolly's final stretch
Jolly, a former Republican congressman who left the party in 2018 and registered as a Democrat in 2025, spoke Friday night at Bethel Community Baptist Church in St. Petersburg. His running mate is former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham.
