As previously reported by AFN, Republicans Josie Tomkow and Jon Maples hope in November to win the respective State Senate and House seats they lost in the recent special elections.
Jenna Ellis, who hosts “Jenna Ellis in the Morning” on AFR is concerned about more depressed GOP turnout in November because of the current frontrunner in the Republican gubernatorial primary. In an average of GOP polls complied by 270-to Win, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds has an 11-point lead over second place Casey DeSantis, the current governor's wife.
"Byron Donalds, who of course is the congressman and current frontrunner because of Trump's endorsement, is actually a very weak candidate. He's a former Democrat who has a lot of Democrat-lite policies," Ellis explains.
Donalds currently serves as the representative for District 19 in Southwest Florida since 2020. He is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, previously speaking at one of his 2016 rallies. In February, he announced that he is running for governor after receiving and endorsement from Trump.
However, Donalds is at odds with Ron DeSantis, the current governor, since he objected to the Desantis’ statewide education standards in 2023 and didn’t endorse DeSantis for president. Donalds is also unpopular among Florida Republicans after not helping DeSantis defeat Florida Amendment 3 (recreational marijuana) and Amendment 4 (abortion rights).
Ellis says the Democrats view Donalds as a very weak Republican.
"They're right, and their candidate — who will likely win the nomination — is actually a former Republican congressman, who is running as a moderate,” Ellis states. “With the likely voter turnout that would be suppressed in the general among Republicans if Byron wins the nomination, it would be incredibly disappointing to see a Democrat succeed Gov. DeSantis, who's been the greatest governor in America over the last eight years."
According to a recent poll by the University of North Florida, Donalds leads Democrat frontrunner David Jolly by six points in a general election matchup.
