The coronation is underway for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) to become Florida’s 48th governor on Jan. 5, 2027.

Too soon? Not for President Trump, who on Feb. 20 endorsed and anointed Donalds with usual Trumpian flare. “Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump wrote. "RUN, BYRON, RUN!”

Donalds, a three-term congressman from the southwest “Gulf of America” district, announced his intention to run five days later.

Given that the calendar reads March 2025, and Florida’s gubernatorial primary will not be held until Aug. 18, 2026, Donalds may be riding a bit too high a bit too soon. At the very least, Trump’s ultra-early endorsement is eerily abnormal — a blatant attempt to ensure that Donalds will have no serious primary opposition.

Moreover, the need for a Republican victory does not seem to have been part of the calculus in Trump's super-early endorsement. Florida Democrats' lack of leaders and potential candidates, combined with the state’s increasingly red tilt, means the Republican nominee should win easily.

Donalds, a New York City-born Black conservative congressman, was unknown to 66 percent of Florida voters before receiving Trump's endorsement. His most significant political accomplishment by age 46 has been to stay in Trump’s good graces through blind loyalty.

There are three main reasons Donalds has quickly emerged as the GOP’s leading 2026 gubernatorial candidate.

The first is that the governor's race is about Trump, not Donalds. If Donalds wins, expect Trump to exercise control over his adopted home state, with its third-largest population and immense concentration of wealth.

Starting in 2020, Donalds, then a state representative, launched his successful congressional primary campaign. He

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