Byron Donalds led David Jolly 48-41 in an NBC poll. Will Donalds win Florida's governor race on Nov 3?
50% of users predicted YES — the community got this one right. 0 predictions cast.
Republican Byron Donalds won Florida's governor's race, defeating Democrat David Jolly in results called on the night of November 3, 2026. With nearly all precincts reporting, outlets put Donalds's share at roughly 50% to 50.1% of the vote against Jolly's 48.7%, a margin of under two points, considerably closer than an earlier NBC News poll that had shown Donalds leading Jolly 48% to 41%.
Donalds, a U.S. representative and close ally of President Trump, campaigned on continuing the policies of term-limited Governor Ron DeSantis, while Jolly, a former Republican congressman who became a Democrat, argued for a change in direction on affordability and governance. Jolly called Donalds to concede after the race was called.
The win keeps Florida's governorship in Republican hands for a 28th consecutive year and makes Donalds the state's first Black governor and, according to multiple outlets, the first elected Black Republican governor in U.S. history. No community consensus was recorded for this particular question before it resolved, so there is no market call to measure against the outcome. Donalds is scheduled to be sworn in to succeed DeSantis in early January 2027.