President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds in Florida's Republican primary for governor. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed Jay Collins as lieutenant governor in August 2025, has remained publicly neutral in the primary contest. Collins has not received an endorsement from DeSantis despite serving as his lieutenant governor. During a Thursday campaign call, Collins positioned himself as the strongest Republican alternative to Donalds, rejected claims of tension between his campaign and staff inside the governor's office, and urged former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner to leave the race. Collins defended his support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and law enforcement.
The available polling shows Collins has considerable ground to make up against Donalds. A Tyson Group survey released this week placed Donalds at 48%, followed by Collins at 9%, businessman James Fishback at 8% and Renner at 4%. About 26% of respondents remained undecided. Donalds also holds a major financial advantage, with his campaign announcing more than $90 million raised across his campaign operation. Recent reports placed Collins' available resources at a fraction of that amount.