Byron Donalds declared Friday that the general election has effectively begun following Jerry Demings' withdrawal from the Democratic primary for Governor due to a prostate cancer diagnosis. The Naples Republican, positioning himself as the clear frontrunner in the Republican race, called for party unity more than two months before the August 18 primary election.
Donalds has raised $81 million and stated he would rather invest those resources in the general election than the primary, given that Democrats now have a presumptive nominee. He emphasized his complete and total endorsement from President Donald Trump and cited polling showing him leading by more than 40 points as evidence of his strength. In his pitch for Republican consolidation, Donalds contrasted his vision with that of his Democratic opponent, saying the differences could not be more stark. "Jolly would end the Florida Dream and transform our state into another Virginia, Illinois, California, or New York," Donalds said. "Millions of people have come to Florida to escape the craziness of blue state governance and they are not going back." He called on Republicans to unite around defending Governor DeSantis's record and keeping Florida free.
Rather than participate in debates with Republican opponents, Donalds announced he would engage voters through alternative means. He argued that all other candidates poll in single digits and that intra-party conflict only benefits Democrats. "At this point, fighting amongst Republicans only helps the Democrats end the Florida Dream we all love and cherish," Donalds said. His campaign instead plans to conduct town halls, community meetings, business roundtables, and door-to-door outreach to communicate his message of conservatism and common sense directly to Florida voters.
His rivals reject this approach. Jay Collins launched The Collins Callout website Friday, challenging Donalds to participate in debates and questioning whether he would "answer the bell, or keeps running." Former House Speaker Paul Renner posted a video to social media making a similar plea, saying both Collins and Donalds were unwilling to debate him. "Floridians deserve to see the differences between the candidates. Stop ducking and let's get on stage," Renner said. Through the end of March, Renner had raised more than $6 million while Collins raised approximately $1.75 million. Updated fundraising reports covering activity through May are due June 10.