Byron Donalds
American politician (born 1978)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021. His congressional district includes much of Southwest Florida. Previously, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020. He is a member of the Republican Party.
October 28, 1978
Byron Donalds | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 19th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Rooney |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 80th district | |
| In office November 8, 2016 – November 3, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Matt Hudson |
| Succeeded by | Lauren Melo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Byron Lowell Donalds October 28, 1978 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Party | Republican (since 2010) |
Other political affiliations | Democratic (before 2010) |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Florida State University (BA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Born and raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Donalds attended Florida A&M University before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance and marketing from Florida State University in 2002. Prior to entering politics, Donalds worked in the finance, insurance, and banking industries. Situated in the conservative or MAGA wing of the Republican Party, Donalds was a member of the Tea Party movement and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. He represented the 80th district in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020.
Donalds was elected to Congress in 2020. He was a nominee for Speaker of the House in the January 2023 and October 2023 elections. He is a candidate for the Republican nomination in Florida's 2026 gubernatorial election, having announced his campaign shortly after Trump had endorsed Donalds on Truth Social.
Early life and education
Donalds was born and raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.[1][2] One of three children, he was raised by his single mother.[1] In 1996, Donalds graduated from Nazareth Regional High School in East Flatbush.[3] Donalds is of Jamaican and Panamanian heritage.[4][5]
In 1997, Donalds was charged with marijuana possession, but the charges were dropped as part of a pre-trial diversion program, and he was fined $150 (equivalent to $300 in 2025).[6][7] In 2000, he pleaded no contest to a felony theft charge for allegedly attempting to defraud a bank (by depositing a bad check), but his record was later sealed and expunged.[6][7][8][9] According to an attorney consulted by the fact-checking site PolitiFact, "Donalds would not have been able to get his record expunged if the state considered him a convicted felon."[10]
Donalds attended Florida A&M University, subsequently transferring to Florida State University. In 2002, he graduated from FSU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance and marketing.[1][11][12]
Career
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Donalds began his professional career in 2003 as a credit analyst at TIB Bank. He was promoted to senior credit analyst in 2004, and later promoted to commercial credit manager, assistant vice president, and credit manager.[13] Donalds left TIB Bank in 2007 and took a position as a portfolio manager at CMG Surety LLC. In 2015, he joined Wells Fargo Advisors as a Financial Advisor.[14]
In 2010, Donalds left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party.[15] After becoming involved in the Tea Party movement, he was encouraged to run for office.[1] Over time, he became part of the MAGA wing of the Republican Party.[16][17][18][19]
In 2012, Donalds was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida's 19th congressional district. He finished fifth of six candidates.[20] In 2014, he was reported as a likely candidate for the U.S. House in Florida's 19th congressional district after Trey Radel resigned, but did not run.[20]
Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for District 80 in 2016. During his Florida House tenure, he chaired the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.[21]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2020
Donalds was the Republican nominee for Florida's 19th congressional district in the 2020 election, running to succeed retiring incumbent Francis Rooney.[22][23][24] He won a crowded nine-way Republican primary by 770 votes over state representative Dane Eagle, finishing just over the threshold to avoid a recount.[25][26] Republicans have a 550,000-voter advantage over Democrats in registration, and Florida Gulf Coast University professor Peter Bergerson noted that the Republican primary is almost always the real contest for most races in the area.[25][27] In August 2020, anonymous text messages were sent out to constituents in the 19th district claiming that Donalds was dropping out of the race. Donalds later clarified via tweet that he was not dropping out and called the messages "illegal".[28][29]
During his campaign, Donalds described himself as a "Trump supporting, gun owning, liberty loving, pro-life, politically incorrect Black man."[30] He stated his support for economic freedom, clean water, nuclear power and decreased government involvement in healthcare. He opposed the Green New Deal.[1]
In the November general election, Donalds defeated Democratic nominee Cindy Banyai. Donalds said he would focus on policy related to water quality in Southwest Florida.[31][32][33] Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2021, Donalds became the sixth person to represent this district since its creation in 1983 (it had been the 13th District from 1983 to 1993, the 14th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 19th since 2013).
Tenure in Congress
In late 2020, Donalds was identified as a participant in the "Freedom Force", a group of incoming House Republicans who "say they’re fighting against socialism in America".[34][35][36] The following year Donalds was blocked from joining the Congressional Black Caucus.[37][38]
2020 election
In January 2021, Donalds voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election.[39] Donalds has since claimed that Joe Biden was not the legitimate president of the United States, a claim he repeated in a Vanity Fair interview in July 2023.[40]
January 2023 Speaker of the House election
On January 3, 2023, Donalds received one vote in the 118th Congress's first election for Speaker of the House, from Chip Roy.[41] Donalds voted for Kevin McCarthy on the first two ballots, then for Jim Jordan on the third.[42] On January 4, on the fourth ballot, Roy nominated Donalds for Speaker, and he received 20 votes.[41] This marked the first time two Black lawmakers were nominated for Speaker, the other being Democratic nominee Hakeem Jeffries.[43] He was nominated by Lauren Boebert on the fifth ballot, and again received 20 votes.[44] He was sequentially nominated by Scott Perry,[45] Dan Bishop, Andy Biggs, Matt Rosendale, and Anna Paulina Luna on the sixth to tenth ballots. He was not nominated on the 11th ballot,[46] but still received 12 votes. Donalds switched[47] his vote back to McCarthy after House Republican leadership made many concessions to House Freedom Caucus members.
Subcommittee hearing on Hurricane Ian
On August 10, 2023, Donalds was one of the main questioners during the United States House Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce's televised investigative hearing on the federal government's response to and overall recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian in 2022. Questions from Donalds led to Congress discovering various government agencies had "regulatory hurdles, miscommunication, and burdensome administrative requirements", which made recovery efforts difficult and that FEMA did not "tap into the expertise on the local level and pre-certify people from the city".[48][49][50][51]
October 2023 candidacy for Speaker
Donalds was a candidate for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in the October 2023 election.[52][53]
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Comments on Jim Crow era
In a political outreach event in June 2024, Donalds opined as follows about the Jim Crow era:[54][55]
You see, during Jim Crow, the black family was together. During Jim Crow, more black people were not just conservative, black people have always been conservative-minded, but more black people voted conservatively. And then, HEW, Lyndon Johnson, and then you go down that road, and now we are where we are. What's happened in America the last ten years, and I say it because it's my contemporaries…you're starting to see more black people be married in homes raising kids.
After some backlash against those remarks, Donalds denied “that Black people were doing better under Jim Crow” or that “Jim Crow is great”, and also denied having been inaccurate when he said that black marriage rates were relatively high during that era.[56]
In February of 2024, Donald Trump said that Donalds was among those he was considering as a running mate, and media outlets subsequently listed him as a potential vice-presidential nominee.[57][58]
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress, Donalds has been assigned on Committee on Financial Services, which includes Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence and Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, as well as Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which includes Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs and Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs.[59] He has Caucus memberships of Congressional Blockchain Caucus,[60] Freedom Caucus,[61], the Sharia-Free America Caucus[62] and the Republican Study Committee.[63]
CLC stock trades complaint
On September 5, 2024, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed an ethics complaint accusing Donalds of violating the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act by failing to disclose over 100 stock trades, totaling up to $1.6 million, made between 2022 and 2023.[64][65]
2026 Florida gubernatorial campaign
In February 2025, Donalds announced his candidacy for Governor of Florida in the 2026 election. Days earlier, Trump had posted on Truth Social that Donalds would have his "Complete and Total Endorsement."[66][67]
Political positions
Agriculture
In March 2024, Donalds was one of ten House Republicans who signed a letter to the House Agriculture Committee opposing the inclusion of the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act or similar language in the 2024 farm bill.[68] The EATS Act would have preempted state and local laws regulating agricultural products sold across state lines, including animal welfare laws like California's Proposition 12.[69]
Democrats
A former Democrat, Donalds has questioned the direction of the "Democrat Party"; saying he believes they're leaving God out of the equation and "I think the issue for Democrats is their political views just differ, in my view, very greatly from what the Bible says."[70][15]
Education
Donalds is a supporter of charter schools and school voucher programs. In 2017, Donalds sponsored legislation that allocated millions of dollars of Florida state funding towards management fees for charter school companies.[71] Donalds' wife, Erika, operates OptimaEd, a business operating multiple charter schools in Florida. A financial audit of OptimaEd's budget from 2020-2023 found that Optima schools had funneled taxpayer dollars to companies in which Erika Donalds owned a stake. A planned Optima school in Fort Myers, Florida, the Optima Classical Academy, enrolled 279 students for the 2024 school year, but later announced they would not be opening. Three charter schools operated by OptimaEd later cancelled their contract with the company following complaints the company was putting too little money into their schools. During his tenure in the Florida State Legislature, Donalds co-sponsored a bill which allowed charter schools to collect additional funding via tax initiatives. Donalds additionally established a state school voucher program that allowed for students to “get a biblical worldview education.” Donalds' support for charter schools in the State Legislature overlapped with the advocacy of his wife.[72][73]
Byron and Erika Donalds were founding members of Florida Citizens Alliance, an organization that has sought to remove books from schools it claims indoctrinates students. The Donalds' are also affiliated with Moms for Liberty, which has also advocated for book removals.[72] In 2017, Donalds introduced legislation that made it easier for Florida residents to challenge school library books and textbooks that were allegedly inappropriate.[74]
Environment
Donalds does not believe that climate change is caused by humans, saying that "the science is not settled on that".[75][76] Donalds blamed European insurance companies for inflating insurance costs for homeowners in Florida by factoring climate change into their risk analysis for Florida properties. Donalds suggested that climate change risk should not matter in assessing insurance costs in Florida.[77]
Foreign policy
In 2023, The Hill characterized Donalds as "part of a Republican minority wing that has consistently opposed Ukraine funding." Donalds opposed U.S. funding to defend Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war, citing the U.S. federal deficit as justification. "To be blunt, we’re running a $2 trillion deficit. Any money we give to Ukraine, we’re borrowing from our future." Donalds said.[78] Donalds supports U.S. funding for Israel in the Gaza War, stating “We should stand behind Israel 100%."[79][80] Donalds supported the Trump administration starting the 2026 Iran War. He predicted a "succinct" resolution to the conflict, stating "We don’t do six-year engagements. We go over with our men and women, the best military in the world. We blow up all your stuff. And then we go home.”[81] In July 2026, Donalds defended Trump administration's conduct in Iran, stating that the United States could not let Iran obtain a nuclear weapon; and that Trump would be "derelict in his duty" if he acted otherwise.[82] In an interview with Meet the Press in April 2026, Donalds said he supports "full-scale regime change" in Cuba.[83]
Immigration
In 2023, Donalds introduced the Reform Immigration Through Biometrics Act, which would require the collection of fingerprints, facial images, and iris scan for all travelers to the United States. The legislation did not advance past committee. Donalds reintroduced the legislation in 2026[update] as H.R. 8371.[84][85]
On May 5, 2025, Donalds appeared on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker. He stated, “When it comes to due process, that is a privilege reserved for American citizens”.[86]
Donalds opposes the "current interpretation" of birthright citizenship in the United States. He has said that birthright citizenship has been "has been abused beyond recognition." When the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated President Trump's executive order limited birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, Donalds called the ruling "a terrible decision."[87][88]
Islam
In January 2026, Donalds was named a founding member of the Sharia-Free America Caucus in Congress, which seeks to ban Sharia law. He said, "Sharia has no place in America. We will not surrender our freedoms."[89] The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights organization, named Donalds and other House members in a statement designating the Sharia Free America Caucus an anti-Muslim hate group and saying the caucus's agenda "would effectively ban the practice of the world's second largest religion in the United States."[90]
LGBTQ rights
In 2020, Donalds, along with six other Republicans in the Florida State Legislature, introduced several anti-LGBTQ bills that would repeal local ordinances that protect LGBTQ employees, legalize conversion therapy, and imprison doctors who provide transition-related medical care to minors.[91]
In 2021, Donalds spoke at an event hosted by the Truth and Liberty Coalition, which has described homosexuality as "Satan's work". The organization was honoring Donalds' support for charter schools. At a Conservative Political Action Conference event, Donalds described heterosexual relationships as “the natural order that keeps society progressing.”[72]
Veterans
Donalds voted against the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 which expanded VA benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service.[92]
Electoral history
2012
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Trey Radel | 22,304 | 30.0 | |
| Republican | Chauncey Porter Goss | 16,005 | 21.5 | |
| Republican | Paige Kreegel | 13,167 | 17.7 | |
| Republican | Gary Aubuchon | 11,498 | 15.5 | |
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 10,389 | 14.0 | |
| Republican | Joe Davidow | 1,028 | 1.4 | |
| Total votes | 74,391 | 100.0 | ||
2016
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 9,115 | 64.4% | |
| Republican | Joe Davidow | 5,041 | 35.6% | |
| Total votes | 14,156 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 51,031 | 100.0% | |
| Independent | Anthony Joseph Cetrangelo (write-in) | 7 | 0.0% | |
| Total votes | 51,038 | 100.0 | ||
2018
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 37,881 | 62.1% | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Boddicker | 22,207 | 36.4% | |
| Independent | Dustin Alexander Lapolla | 931 | 1.5% | |
| Total votes | 61,019 | 100.0 | ||
2020
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 23,492 | 22.6% | |
| Republican | Dane Eagle | 22,715 | 21.9% | |
| Republican | Casey Askar | 20,774 | 20.0% | |
| Republican | William Figlesthaler | 19,075 | 18.3% | |
| Republican | Randy Henderson | 7,858 | 7.6% | |
| Republican | Christy McLaughlin | 4,245 | 4.1% | |
| Republican | Dan Severson | 3,197 | 3.1% | |
| Republican | Darren Aquino | 1,466 | 1.4% | |
| Republican | Daniel Kowal | 1,135 | 1.1% | |
| Total votes | 103,957 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 272,440 | 61.27% | |
| Democratic | Cindy Banyai | 172,146 | 38.72% | |
| Independent | Patrick Post (write-in) | 3 | 0.01% | |
| Total votes | 444,589 | 100.0 | ||
2022
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 76,192 | 83.7 | |
| Republican | Jim Huff | 14,795 | 16.3 | |
| Total votes | 90,987 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds | 213,035 | 68.01% | |
| Democratic | Cindy Banyai | 100,226 | 31.99% | |
| Independent | Patrick Post (write-in) | 13 | 0% | |
| Total votes | 313,274 | 100.0% | ||
2024
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Byron Donalds (incumbent) | 275,708 | 66.32 | ||
| Democratic | Kari Lerner | 140,038 | 33.68 | ||
| Total votes | 415,746 | 100.00 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Personal life
Byron Donalds married Bisa Hall on June 15, 1999. The purpose of the marriage was to allow Hall, his ex-girlfriend at the time, to qualify for in-state tuition based on Byron's Florida residency. According to Hall, the marriage was not a romantic relationship and she and Donalds did not live together as a married couple.[99] They divorced in 2002.[100][101]
Donalds met and started dating his future wife, Erika Lees, in the fall of 1999 at Florida State University. Donalds married Lees on March 15, 2003. They have three sons and live in Naples, Florida.[102] Donalds is a Born again Christian. Donalds says he became born again after communicating with the Holy Spirit at age 21 while working at Cracker Barrel.[103]
Assault allegation
In August 2022, Donalds and Kelly Mason (also referred to as Kelly Lichter), a member of the Collier County School Board, were recorded in a heated exchange,[104] while inside of a Naples grocery store.[105] Footage of the incident was published online by NBC-2; while much of the video is inaudible, Donalds can be heard yelling at Mason, "You want to end it? Stop the lawsuits, Kelly. Stop that. How about that?" At the time, Mason told media outlets that Donalds was "threatening me, saying he is going to crush me".[104]
In July 2026, Mason filed a second civil lawsuit against Donalds. In a statement, Mason said that in 2022, Donalds "assaulted me. He must answer for his crimes".[106] Mason also stated that she had been intimidated by Donalds and his wife Erika, a former business partner of Mason, into dropping a previous lawsuit.[107] In response, Donalds denied the allegations, and accused the second lawsuit of being a "politically motivated attack".[106]
