Miami- Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., rarely made race a part of his politics during most of his nine years in Congress. He did it carefully, his way, during a series of black voter outreach events in the Miami area last weekend.
The Republican candidate for Florida governor told CBS News that he is now aiming to get “more than 20 percent” of the black vote.
“I think there’s a lot of black voters who are watching my campaign because they’re just trying to find out who’s going to be the best person to lead Florida into the future,” Donalds said. “I think the other thing with black voters is: they’re starting to become less closely aligned with the Democratic Party.”
By comparison, about 13% of black voters supported Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election bid in 2022, according to a CBS News exit poll. President Trump won about 15% of Florida’s black vote during the 2024 presidential campaign.
In 2024, Donald was one of Trump’s most visible surrogates among black voters nationwide, co-hosting a multi-city tour with Texas Rep. Wesley Hunter that was billed as “Congress, Cigars and Cognac” — informal, sit-down conversations designed to defend Trump in rooms where he wasn’t always welcome. Now, he runs the same script for himself as principal rather than agent.
A potential win for Donald would put him into an exclusive club of black state elites. Only three elected governors in U.S. history have been black. Donald is one of three nominees this year to become the first black Republican governor ever elected.
When asked what making history means to him, Donald paused, smiled to himself, and let his guard down for a moment. “Honestly, it’s crazy,” he told CBS News, a rare admission from a candidate who has shunned identity-based appeals during the campaign.
“I’m not going to talk about my race in this campaign,” Donalds told the crowd at the Black Professionals Summit Legacy conference on Saturday, one of several stops targeting key voting blocs. “Florida is a meritocratic society. In Florida, we have employees from all over the country. What they really care about now is: Can you get the job done?”
Legacy Con organizers told CBS News they also invited Democratic candidate David Jolly to speak at the summit, but he did not attend, citing a scheduling conflict.
With less than a month left in the campaign, Donald also pushed back against criticism that his minority outreach is new or narrow. “We’re actually targeting every voter,” he said, noting that his team has made door-to-door visits to black voters in North Miami and Broward counties, Hispanic voters in Doral and Hialeah, and others.
But some voters he met during his swing through South Florida said his loyalty to the president affected how they viewed him. Jermaine Woodside, 54, in a retail space at the black-owned Lorna’s Caribbean Restaurant in Miami Gardens, said he came in skeptical but after an hour-long dinner conversation became more open to the congressman, even though he shouldn’t be associated with Mr. Trump. “It’s going to hurt him, and that’s why I’m not willing to be involved in his campaign,” Woodside told CBS News.
Mr. Donalds told CBS News that voters should not judge him solely on his history with Mr. Trump.
“Look at the issues I’m pushing for. Look at the ideas I’m talking about. Yes, the president supports me. Yes, I supported him for president a few years ago. But I’m running for governor of Florida,” he said.
Not everyone is swayed. Miami resident Kalyn James attended the Donalds’ meet-and-greet alone at an outdoor event venue in the predominantly black Uptown neighborhood. James quietly protested the event by holding a sign that read “Vote Blue” and crossing out Donald’s name while talking to other attendees in the room.
“I just don’t think he has the support that he thinks he has,” James told CBS News. “And to be honest, [his win] Will make history, but I think he’ll be on the wrong side of history. “
Jasmine Burney-Clark, founder of the nonpartisan voting rights group Equal Status, offered more pointed criticism. She noted that Donald refused to sign her organization’s candidate pledge affirming an intention to sign a Democratic-backed state voting rights bill into law (Jolly did sign the bill), and argued that his weekend events were inauthentic.
“Byron Donald was Black at the beginning of this election and he will be Black at the end of this election,” Bernie Clark told CBS News. “Black voters will not be fooled by his targeting and manipulation tactics to cater to their votes.”
Recent polls show that the race is extremely tight for a Democrat who has not won office since the 1990s. For Donald, even if the politics are complicated, the math is clear: Close the gap with black voters and the Democratic path back to the governor’s mansion becomes more difficult.