The two campaigns of Byron Donalds and why he appears to be violating state law

By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org

Congressman Byron Donalds wants it both ways.

As most everyone knows by now, the third-term Naples Republican is running to become Florida’s next governor. But guess what? He’s also seeking re-election to Congress.

Donalds’s duality of purpose appears to put him in violation of Florida election law, which states, “no person may qualify as a candidate for more than one public office, whether federal, state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other.”

The paperwork Donalds filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) last November qualified him to run for re-election. Similar papers filed by Donalds campaign in February with Florida’s Division of Elections qualified him to run for governor.

When Donalds declared his candidacy for governor on Feb. 25 with the backing of President Donald Trump, most folks, apparently  including employees of the FEC, figured that was the end of his bid for re-election.

But that’s not the position staked out by Donalds campaign treasurer Bradley Crate after the FEC ordered Donalds on Aug. 5 to refund what could be as much as $400,000 in contributions made in support of his federal candidacy by individuals and corporate political action committees (PACs) since he declared for governor.

According to FEC analyst Bradley Austin’s notification letter, Donalds’s “status as a candidate” for re-election ended Feb. 25 and “contributions made after the date of the announcement must be refunded.”

Refunds would put a crimp in Donalds’s political style. His federal war chest is a well of funding that continues to swell. Donalds previously transferred $1.2 million to Friends of Byron Donalds, the state PAC formed by Crate the day after Donalds announced for governor.

So Crate fired back the next day. “While Congressman Donalds has announced his candidacy for Florida governor, he has not ended his Congressional re-election campaign and he has made no announcements to that effect. As Congressman Donalds is still an active candidate for the 2025-2026 Election Cycle, no primary election contributions are required to be refunded at this time. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.”

DONALDS AND THE BILLIONAIRES

The FEC has yet to respond. But Crate’s statement appears to put Donalds, 46, in hot water with the state he hopes one day to lead.

Donalds is the only Republican to declare for governor so far. There’s been much speculation that Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, 45, intends to run to succeed her term-limited husband, Ron, in 2026. So far, though, she’s not sought to qualify or raise campaign funds.

The only Democrat in the race for governor so far is David Jolly, who as a Republican represented Florida’s 13^th congressional district on the Gulf Coast from 2014-2017.

Donalds’s fundraising total through the end of June dwarfs what Jolly has managed to scrape together. Through June 30, Donalds reported raising a total of $22.36 million through both his campaign account and its affiliated PAC. Jolly, who lost his seat to Charlie Crist in the 2016 general election, has raised slightly over $1 million.

While Donalds is the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination and to become the Red State of Florida’s next governor, and has raised an impressive sum, he’s yet to demonstrate widespread voter support. Much of the money now fueling his campaign – nearly $10 million – hs come from a handful of billionaires, state election records show:

• $5 million, Pennsylvania billionaire Jeffrey Yass, 69, co-founder of the privately held global trading and technology company Susquehanna International Group. Forbes net worth estimate: $65.7 billion.
• $2 million, Richard Uihlein, billionaire owner of the Illinois-based business supply company Uline. Forbes estimate: $5.7 billion
• $1 million, Palm Beach billionaire Thomas Peterffy, 80, digital trading pioneer and owner of Interactive Brokers. Forbes estimate: $73.3 billion.
• $1,000,000, or $500,000 each from billionaire identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, 44, who co-founded and run the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. Forbes estimate: $4.3 billion each.
• $975,000, Club for Growth Action, a conservative super PAC whose largest funders are billionaires Yass and Uihlein.