Will race matter more than party in Florida’s governor election?
Like it or not, it appears race is playing a major role in Florida’s gubernatorial race.
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Republican candidate and favorite to succeed outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis, is Black. His opponent, Democrat David Jolly is white. And despite the state having 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats there seems to be no clear consensus on who will win this race.
As reported by my colleague John Pacenti, who writes: “On the surface, the Florida gubernatorial match between Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and former Democratic congressman David Jolly is about affordability, taxes, and ideology. Yet race – whether it be the white rural voter in Liberty County, the Black electorate in Gainesville, or Cuban-Americans in Miami – permeates the gubernatorial contest and bleeds down the ballot.”
The questions are fascinating. Will Black Democrats cross party lines to help elect the first black governor in the state’s history? Will white Republicans cross party lines and vote for Jolly?
Will policy and ideology matter more than skin color? It’s hard to know. In the primary, 17 rural Florida counties chose white candidate Lt. Gov. Jay Collins over Donalds.
According to a piece in the Jacksonville Free Press, a weekly paper serving the Black community, “The Donalds-Jolly contest is challenging the assumption that racial identity predicts political allegiance. A Black voter can recognize the significance of Donalds becoming Florida’s first Black governor while opposing Republican policies. A white voter can support Donalds because of conservative ideology rather than his race. Likewise, voters can support Jolly without viewing their choice as a rejection of Black political advancement.”
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Pacenti spoke with Dr. Fergie Reid Jr., a Black Democratic activist, who said “Byron Donalds’ biggest vulnerability is the color of his skin in one of the most racist states in the country, and everybody who overlooks that is overlooking the obvious.”
And that brings us to the Question of the Week.
Will race play a major role in determining Florida’s next governor?
Yes, this is till the south
No, voters will be colorblind. It is 2026 afterall.
You can scan the QR code that is on the print edition page or go to https://www.floridatoday.com/opinions-columns/. Please leave a comment telling us why you voted the way you did. In order for your comment or email to be published on our website and in next week’s print edition, you must include your first and last name and please include your town/city of residence in the body of your comment. You can also shoot me an email with “RACE” in the subject line. I look forward to reading your responses.
And, as always, thanks for participating.
Contact Torres at [email protected]. You can follow him on X @johnalbertorres. Florida video editor Rob Landers contributed to this report. Support local journalism and become a subscriber. Visit floridatoday.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Will race matter more than party in Florida’s governor election?
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Reporting by John A. Torres, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
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