Politics & Government

Is Byron Donalds polling above 50% of the GOP vote in Florida’s governor race?

Florida Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds speaks during the Republican Party of Florida Sunshine State Showdown event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on Saturday, June 27, 2026.
Florida Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds speaks during the Republican Party of Florida Sunshine State Showdown event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on Saturday, June 27, 2026. pportal@miamiherald.com

Is Byron Donalds polling above 50% of the GOP vote in Florida’s governor race? Yes.

Recent polls show U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds with more than 50% of the Republican vote heading into the Aug. 18 primary.

A June Associated Industries of Florida poll shows Donalds has 54% of the Republican vote. Other candidates, including investor James Fishback (8%), Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (5%) and former House Speaker Paul Renner (2%), are far behind in that same poll, while 31% remain undecided.

Some have Donalds below 50%, such as the April Emerson College poll showing him at 46%. But recent polls support Donalds’ July 5 claim during a CBS Miami news segment that he is over that threshold among Florida Republican voters.

Donalds also noted during the segment that his opponents’ low polling is the reason he decided not to debate them.

Donalds’ three opponents participated in an unofficial livestreamed debate on July 2, but he opted not to attend.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Suncoast Searchlight partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Sources

This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.

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