Another poll shows Byron Donalds dominating GOP field in Governor’s race

Tech Titan Elon Musk isn’t alone when it comes to backing Byron Donalds in the race for Florida Governor.

A new survey from Victory Insights shows the Congressman far ahead of his Republican opponents, both those who have officially entered the fray and those who are teasing a formal announcement.

“Donalds has the support of 45% of the electorate. The other potentially relevant candidates – Paul Renner, Jay Collins, and James Fishback – all fail to garner even 3% of the vote,” a memo accompanying the results shows.

Renner, a former Speaker of the House, has been running for months, but has just under 3% support, good for second place.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Collins has been saying he would announce soon for just as long, with 1% of respondents supporting him pre-launch.

And Fishback, a CEO by trade who promises to run on an anti-immigration platform, is suggesting he could announce as soon as next week. He too is at 1% support.

Nearly 50% of respondents are undecided, leaving an opening that trailing candidates would have to fill to make up ground.

But according to Victory Insights, all of the candidates and potential candidates not named Donalds face an uphill battle due to a key backer of the Naples Republican.

“Donalds is endorsed by President Donald Trump, and he’s approaching the crucial 50% mark very early on in the race. Understandably, many people are considering Donalds the presumptive Republican nominee,” the pollster says, noting that one road exists to cut into Donalds’ current advantage.

“An endorsement from Governor Ron DeSantis could propel another candidate to a competitive position. Indeed, 28% of voters say they would be more likely to support the DeSantis-endorsed candidate if the Governor and President end up endorsing different candidates.”

DeSantis has not embraced Donalds as a potential successor, even as Donalds has suggested he would continue along the incumbent’s conservative path.

However, DeSantis has stopped short of endorsing Collins to succeed him, and speculation that First Lady Casey DeSantis is looking at the race hasn’t been officially squashed yet, leaving the incumbent’s preference as a wildcard still.

Donalds is alone among the field polled when it comes to having significant positive name identification, with 44% favorability against 7% unfavorability.

Fishback and Renner are slightly underwater, and mostly unknown, with 5% of respondents approving of Fishback against 7% disapproving, and 7% approving of Renner against 9% regarding him unfavorably.

Meanwhile, months of earned media haven’t helped Collins much according to this survey.

Of the 600 respondents polled, 9% approve of the LG, while 8% disapprove.

This survey is the latest to show Donalds well-positioned against GOP opposition.

A recent St. Pete Polls survey shows Donalds with 39% support against Renner and Collins, each with less than 4% support, Florida Politics previously reported.