Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) brushed off criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on Wednesday, arguing his record “speaks for itself” in why he should be Florida’s next governor.
Ahead of Donalds’s announcement to join the 2026 gubernatorial election, DeSantis expressed concern over congressional lawmakers being able to achieve President Donald Trump’s agenda, suggesting that Donalds has not been part of “the victories” that have been accomplished. When asked about DeSantis’s remarks, the congressman said he did “not really” want to respond to the Florida governor, instead pointing to his political record.
“I would say in terms of what I’ve been able to accomplish in my time in elected politics when I was a freshman in the state legislature, I passed the first bill of its kind in the country that gave parents and community members an ability to actually examine what was in the textbook materials of students, so we could actually find out what was actually going on in the indoctrination of our kids,” Donalds said on Fox Business’s Varney & Co. “I passed that bill into law in the state legislature of Florida, then-governor Rick Scott signed it.”
Donalds added that he expanded school choice by paving the way for bullied children to choose to attend different schools. As such, Donalds said that his record and focus on school choice in the state of Florida “speaks for itself.”
“I’m very happy to have President Trump’s support, and so right now, this is about the future of Florida, the voters of Florida, and doing everything possible to make sure that not only do we continue to be the best state in the country, but that we take it to new heights,” Donalds said.
When announcing his bid for the governor’s mansion on Tuesday night, Donalds said that Florida currently has “a great governor” in DeSantis and that the goal of his campaign is to ensure the Sunshine State is still “the best state in the country.” The Florida lawmaker dropped hints about his run while attending the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference, telling attendees to “stay tuned” about his future.
Last month, Donalds acknowledged that his friendship with DeSantis “frayed” a bit after the congressman endorsed Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Donalds endorsed Trump in April 2023, about a month before DeSantis launched his own bid for the presidency.
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One possible candidate who could launch a 2026 gubernatorial bid is DeSantis’s wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis. The governor was asked about these rumors earlier this month and called them “flattering.”
Donalds’s bid for the Florida governor’s mansion was announced just a day after businessman Vivek Ramaswamy launched his campaign for the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial race. Ramaswamy, a former 2024 presidential candidate, took a jab at both Florida and Texas when he talked about his vision to make Ohio the state people “flock” to live in and explained later that “friendly competition” among the states is good.