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After primary wins, two pro-Israel candidates will battle for Florida's governor's office

The Jerusalem Post · back to the audit
The Associated Press called both the Republican and Democratic primary races for governor at 8 p.m., about an hour after polls closed on Tuesday, with around 85% of the votes counted in both races.

Sunshine State voters will need to choose between two pro-Israel candidates for governor in November's general election to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, after Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly won their respective primaries on Tuesday night.

By that time, Donalds had secured 48.6% of the GOP primary votes and Jolly had amassed 61.5% of Democratic primary votes.

Jolly had been a Republican Representative for Florida in the US House from 2014-2017, representing the South-Central coastal zone, but gradually abandoned the party for the Democrats as he distanced himself from US President Donald Trump. Byron Donalds has served as Florida's Representative in Washington since 2019.

DeSantis, Florida's governor since 2019, is term-limited by state law and therefore isn't able to run for reelection. His replacement will be filling the shoes of a governor known for his unwavering stance on Israel and his intolerance for the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement.

Donalds, who would be Florida's first Black governor if elected, earned the endorsement of President Trump and has similarly expressed support for decisive action against Iran.

"Peace is achieved through strength, not weakness," Donalds said in a post on X/Twitter at the beginning of the war. "I stand with President Trump, our military, and the hope this leads to lasting security in the Middle East."

The same day that Donalds declared his support for Trump's decision, Jolly posted an opposing viewpoint.

"This president enters war without the broad confidence of the American people and with a cabinet largely unqualified," Jolly warned in a February post on X.

While stressing that Trump lacks support from Congress, Jolly also said that he would pray for the safety of US troops and "a swift end to conflict" now that it had begun.