Florida Governor's Race Is Set

US Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for Florida governor and former Rep. David Jolly picked up the Democratic nod in the state's primary elections Tuesday, setting the stage for a November battle to replace outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis, the AP reports. Tuesday's primaries gave final form to a fall ballot whose races will test President Trump's grip on his adopted state and Democrats' ability to resurrect Florida as a national political battleground. Florida has moved notably to the right since Trump's first election win in 2016, though Democrats hope to regain ground from his slumping popularity ratings.

Donalds banked on Trump 's endorsement to secure his party's nomination and is hoping it will help his chances in November of being elected Florida's first Black governor. He beat opponents Tuesday including a former DeSantis running mate, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, and political newcomer James Fishback. The 47-year-old congressman Donalds told his supporters at a Universal Studios resort hotel that he'd heard from GOP rivals who pledged their help in winning the general election. "The primary is over," he said. "Tonight we put aside our differences. Tonight we are one united Republican Party."

The Democrats' candidate for governor, Jolly, is a former Republican congressman who switched parties last year. He did not shy away from his partisan history—or his straight down the center political beliefs—as he addressed supporters Tuesday night. "To my Democratic friends, thank you for welcoming me into the party," he said, which got a "woo!" from the crowd. Jolly's speech detailed a platform that balances between both political parties: an embrace of capitalism and a lean government, but one that "needs to do its part to fill the gaps," including in education and housing. Then he turned to social issues, where current Gov. Ron DeSantis has become a champion of the conservative cause.

"As an old-school Republican, I talk about ending the culture wars not to celebrate some progressive platform," he said, "but because I still believe in the old school Republican, Libertarian policy that government should simply stay out of your life, and stay out of your bedroom." DeSantis, a leading conservative figure who has clashed and collaborated with Trump over the years, is barred from running for a third consecutive term.