NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — Though a relative newcomer to Washington, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is already situating himself as a rising leader in the Republican Party and very likely beyond the House chamber.
The second-term lawmaker challenged Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for the No. 3 position in House GOP leadership in November and then mounted a bid against Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for House speaker just weeks later. Though he lost both contests, the moves illustrate where Donalds’s sights are set as he raises his profile nationally.
He impressed attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he delivered a speech filled with aspirational rhetoric about political tolerance and his vision of a country “where all thoughts and all viewpoints” are allowed to flourish. He also demonstrated an ease in front of the crowd, breaking the ice as he walked onstage and riffing with the audience about his favorite football team.
His speech on Friday touted the House’s plans for the next two years now that Republicans have assumed the majority and dismissed concerns that Republicans could not govern after the turmoil of the speaker’s race. “We’re just getting warmed up. But what you have seen so far is House Republicans holding this administration accountable,” he told the crowd.
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But Donalds’s ambitions appear to extend outside of Washington as the congressman fuels speculation that he will at some point launch a bid to become Ron DeSantis’s (R) successor as governor of Florida.
Donalds confirmed earlier this week that he’s open to running for governor of a state that emerged from the pandemic as the shining city of Republican politics. As the party looks ahead to 2024, the top two candidates for the GOP nomination could very well reside in Florida, and the state has become a destination for GOP conferences and donor retreats.
But it’s a new face from Florida that could fuel the next generation of party leadership.
“I actually like campaigns. They’re fun — a lot of work, but they’re fun,” Donalds slipped into his CPAC address.
DeSantis hasn’t announced if he’s running in 2024, but his chief rival, former President Donald Trump, is certainly treating him like he is. Should DeSantis run and win the Republican nomination in 2024, Donalds could be in prime position to take over the Florida governorship. Otherwise, DeSantis is termed out in 2026.
Donalds hasn’t thrown his weight behind either DeSantis or Trump, who, though he’s from New York, lives at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Donalds is straddling a crack in the Republican Party that could irreparably widen soon if DeSantis announces a bid, as factions are already forming around the former president and the governor.
Donalds is “definitely someone [DeSantis] looks favorably to,” Florida Republican strategist Ford O’Connell told the Washington Examiner.
“He’s a strong candidate, one because he has tremendous talent and political power, but he’s also someone who has good media skills and someone who has, in a short time, made some strong relationships both at the state and the national level,” he added.
Donalds has made several apparent moves to raise his profile. The contentious speaker’s race catapulted him into the limelight when conservatives opposed to McCarthy nominated him for the gavel. Donalds started out supporting McCarthy but wound up voting for himself several times. He was in the 14-member subfaction of 20 holdouts who eventually supported McCarthy after he made enough concessions to limit his own power.
Donalds has proven himself adept at earning media attention. He’s gotten into spats with members of the progressive “Squad,” including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) over her defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) as well as Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who made racially charged remarks about his nomination for speaker.
He’s also a frequent guest on cable networks, even appearing on MSNBC.
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For voters, Donalds is a fresh face in the GOP with an inspiring story. At 44, he’s young and was raised by a single mother in New York City until he attended college in Florida.
“I like Byron Donalds because I feel like he is a man of his word. I feel like he’s given the Republican Party an edge,” CPAC attendee Ron J. Spike told the Washington Examiner. “I’m not from Florida. I’m from Maryland. But where he’s from and where I’m from, the culture is the same. I appreciate him standing up for his conservative values and speaking for people like me. So, I tell him, ‘Keep doing your thing, bro. We’re watching, we’re proud of you, and we support you.'”
Speaking before the conservative conference, Donalds introduced himself as a fighter for conservative values. But he said it wasn’t enough to talk to others in the conservative camp. He emphasized the need to offer parents, city dwellers, and churchgoers “another viewpoint of what politics actually means and what policy actually stands for.”
Implicit in that argument is that Donalds is someone with cross-party appeal, a politician who can speak the language of the base while courting centrist voters on the other side of the aisle.
“So, CPAC, that’s my mission, that’s what I’m about, that’s what I’m going to be doing. And if you catch me on other networks, you know, talking to Joy Reid or somebody else,” he said, “the whole reason is to spread the message of conservatism.”
