EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Byron Donalds’s (R-FL) campaign for Florida governor received a boost on Monday with the endorsements of law enforcement leaders across the Sunshine State.
Over a dozen sheriffs backed Donalds, one of two Republicans who have announced bids to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). Donalds received one of his first high-profile endorsements in February when President Donald Trump endorsed his candidacy.
The endorsements “cement Donalds as the MAGA candidate and the law and order candidate for Florida,” the Donalds campaign said. Five of the sheriffs representing the state’s top 10 counties by population were among the authorities to back Donalds this week. They include Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, Hillsborough’s Chad Chronister, Duval’s T.K. Waters, Lee’s Carmine Marceno, and Pasco’s Chris Nocco.
“Congressman Byron Donalds is the leader that Florida needs in this moment, as we work and stand with President Trump to implement the mandate he received from the American people and the citizens of our great state of Florida,” said Nocco, the first sheriff to endorse Donalds, in a statement touting the congressman’s ties to Trump.
Nocco cast Donalds as DeSantis’s natural heir. The governor has yet to endorse a successor, as his wife, Casey DeSantis, is rumored to be weighing her own bid for the office.
“I know Congressman Donalds will stand with law enforcement as we work to keep Florida safe and will be innovative in his ideas to create jobs, improve education, and make our economy more competitive. Florida has been blessed to have a fantastic legacy of Governors with Governor Rick Scott and Governor Ron DeSantis. I know future Governor Byron Donalds will continue that legacy, and he will keep making Florida great,” Nocco said.
Other sheriffs who supported Donalds’s bid for office this week included Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith, Brevard’s Wayne Ivey, Collier’s Kevin Rambosk, Hendry’s Steve Whidden, Indian River’s Eric Flowers, Jackson’s Donnie Edenfield, Martin’s John Budensiek, Monroe’s Rick Ramsay, St. Lucie’s Richard Del Toro, and Wakulla’s Jared Miller.
Donalds is one of multiple leading House Republicans declining to run for reelection in the midterm elections. Instead, they are choosing to back away from national politics by mounting bids for offices in their home states.
Donalds and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who entered the race earlier this month, are the two Republicans challenging Democrat David Jolly to become Florida’s next governor.
The Donalds campaign has highlighted recent polling giving the congressman a commanding lead in the Republican primary. A survey by the American Promise gave Donalds 40% of the vote outright. Renner and another rumored GOP candidate would each take 2%, with another 54% of voters remaining unsure of which Republican to support ahead of the 2026 election.
A poll looking at where voters place Donalds in relation to Democratic candidates ahead of the general election gave the congressman an 8-point lead over Jolly, 49% to 41%. Of those surveyed in the poll, conducted in late August by the AIF Center for Political Strategy, 11% of Floridians remained undecided about their candidate.
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Jolly’s campaign has touted a poll it commissioned in early September showing the Democrat in a statistical tie with Donalds and Renner, with nearly 20% of voters undecided.
Jolly’s internal polling also indicated that with over 13 months to go until the general election, the leading candidates lack name recognition. More than half the respondents reported they do not know who Donalds, Jolly, or Renner are, with Donalds receiving the highest name recognition rate.
