Florida’s November ballot took shape Tuesday night as Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly won their parties’ nominations for governor, setting up a general election contest with major implications for South Florida’s three counties.
Donalds, endorsed by President Donald Trump on primary day, took about 48% of the vote in a crowded Republican field that included Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties, won the Democratic primary with roughly 61%. If elected, Donalds would become Florida’s first Black governor.
“The primary is over. Tonight we put aside our differences. Tonight we are one united Republican Party,” Donalds told supporters, according to WLRN. The race to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis will test whether a party-switching Democrat can compete in a state that has trended sharply Republican since 2016.
In the U.S. Senate contest, Republican Ashley Moody and Democrat Angie Nixon emerged as the apparent primary winners and will compete to complete the remainder of the term Marco Rubio vacated, according to Local 10.
New Map, New Battleground
South Florida’s marquee congressional contest will play out in the newly redrawn 25th District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz and former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer won their primaries and will meet in November. Moskowitz turned back a Democratic challenger with more than 60% of the vote, while Singer prevailed in a five-way Republican primary. The redrawn district runs along the southeast coast and links parts of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, including Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Miami Beach.
In District 20, Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won her primary and will face Republican Brent Andersen this fall, Local 10 reported.
Turnout was modest across the region. Broward County recorded 16.24% turnout Tuesday night, with 217,520 ballots cast among roughly 1.35 million registered voters — figures Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott characterized as disappointing. About 35% of Broward voters cast mail ballots, 28% voted early and roughly 37% showed up on Election Day.
The Donalds-Jolly contest now heads to a Nov. 3 general election that will share the ballot with a statewide property tax amendment and local runoffs, giving South Florida voters some of the highest-stakes down-ballot decisions in years.
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