Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) has emerged as a prominent contender to join former President Donald Trump on the Republican presidential ticket this November.
Donalds has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District in the House since 2021.
Age
Donalds was born on October 28, 1978. He is 45 years old.
Career
In 2016, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, representing the state’s 80th district for two terms before he won a U.S. House seat.
During his time in the Florida state body, he also served as the chairman of the Pre K-12 Quality Subcommittee and the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.
Donalds graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing.
Prior to his political career, he worked as a credit analyst at TIB Bank in 2003 and was later promoted to credit manager. In 2007, he joined CMG Surety as a portfolio manager.
In 2012, he unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2015, he took a position at Wells Fargo as a financial adviser.
Donalds is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
Family
Donalds grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He is one of three children raised by his single mother.
He lives in Naples, Florida, with his wife, Erika, and their three sons: Damon, Darin, and Mason.
Religion
Donalds is a Christian and a staunch opponent of abortion. He has expressed his belief in the value of every individual’s life, advocating the protection of unborn children from conception until their natural death.
Net worth
Donalds’s net worth is between $5 and $20 million, according to various reports.
Major policy initiatives
He has primarily focused on matters such as education reform, criminal justice reform, and economic policy. He advocates a simplified tax code aimed at boosting private sector investments and fostering individual wealth generation and employment opportunities.
In terms of education, he supports school choice initiatives, which he says empower parents and allow every child to have access to a world-class education
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Relationship with Trump
Donalds has also been a strong supporter of the former president in Congress. For instance, he supported Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election outcome. In January 2021, he voted against certifying the electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Additionally, he has recently defended Trump during the hush money trial, traveling to New York to stand outside the courtroom with the former president and dozens of other supporters.
