FORT LAUDERDALE — Republican candidates in Florida have held off several high-profile challenges from Democrats, as results also saw the state elect its first black governor.Rep. Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to become Florida’s next governor, extending the GOP’s nearly three-decade run in the Governor’s Mansion, while Republican Ashley Moody was projected to have held her seat in the Senate.Donalds, who was endorsed early by President Donald Trump, was widely considered the favorite. He will become Florida’s first Black governor when he is sworn in next year.“Even if you didn’t vote for me, you have my word that I will be your governor, too,” Donalds told a crowd of some of Florida’s biggest Republican names gathered at the Hard Rock hotel on Tuesday night.Moody was up against Democrat Angie Nixon in the special election for Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s old Senate seat.The two wins came amid countless gains by Democrats that gave them full control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate for the last years of Trump’s presidency.Nixon scored a surprise win in the Democratic primary to become her party’s standard-bearer, although her campaign funding could not match Moody’s.Donalds had served in Congress since 2021 before running for governor, to replace long-serving Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who was term limited and could not run again.A big supporter of Trump, Donalds was at one point on the short list to be his running mate in 2024.Born in Brooklyn, he moved to Florida for university and became a fixture in local politics before running for Congress.Democrats in the state had some surprise wins, too. Republicans in Florida had helped redraw political voting maps as part of a national redistricting push to boost each political party’s chances of taking seats in the House.But in all three districts that were redrawn to help Republicans, Democrats held onto their seats.FORT LAUDERDALE — Republican candidates in Florida have held off several high-profile challenges from Democrats, as results also saw the state elect its first black governor.Rep. Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to become Florida’s next governor, extending the GOP’s nearly three-decade run in the Governor’s Mansion, while Republican Ashley Moody was projected to have held her seat in the Senate.Donalds, who was endorsed early by President Donald Trump, was widely considered the favorite. He will become Florida’s first Black governor when he is sworn in next year.“Even if you didn’t vote for me, you have my word that I will be your governor, too,” Donalds told a crowd of some of Florida’s biggest Republican names gathered at the Hard Rock hotel on Tuesday night.Moody was up against Democrat Angie Nixon in the special election for Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s old Senate seat.The two wins came amid countless gains by Democrats that gave them full control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate for the last years of Trump’s presidency.Nixon scored a surprise win in the Democratic primary to become her party’s standard-bearer, although her campaign funding could not match Moody’s.Donalds had served in Congress since 2021 before running for governor, to replace long-serving Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who was term limited and could not run again.A big supporter of Trump, Donalds was at one point on the short list to be his running mate in 2024.Born in Brooklyn, he moved to Florida for university and became a fixture in local politics before running for Congress.Democrats in the state had some surprise wins, too. Republicans in Florida had helped redraw political voting maps as part of a national redistricting push to boost each political party’s chances of taking seats in the House.But in all three districts that were redrawn to help Republicans, Democrats held onto their seats.
Florida Republicans fend off Democrats as state elects first black governor
