Danny Alvarez backs Byron Donalds for Governor

State Rep. Danny Alvarez is endorsing Byron Donalds for Governor, passing over the current Lieutenant Governor and a former House Speaker Alvarez served under as a freshman.

With Alvarez’s backing, Donalds now has support from more than 75% of the Republicans serving in the Florida House.

“Florida became the greatest state in the country because conservatives stood their ground and fought for a blueprint that puts freedom, families, and opportunity first,” Alvarez said.

“Those are the principles we defend every single day in the Florida House, and they are the same principles Byron Donalds has fought for throughout his career. I look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with Byron as our next Governor as we keep Florida strong, free, and leading the nation.”

In addition to the massive support he’s earned from the Florida House, Donalds also has support from President Donald Trump — his most significant endorsement — and from the late Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last year during a speaking engagement at a Utah college campus.

Tech magnate and former Trump administration advisor Elon Musk, 17 members of Florida’s congressional delegation, a majority of Florida Sheriffs and other leading national conservatives have also backed Donalds.

The Alvarez endorsement also follows a trove of others Donalds rolled out earlier this month from Pinellas County, the state’s most densely populated county. Those endorsers include constitutional officers, local City Council and Commission members, County Commissioners and School Board members.

Donalds is the far and away front-runner in the GOP Primary. A poll in early May, from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, showed Donalds with 54% support among likely GOP Primary voters. No other major candidate even reached double-digit support in the poll, with investor and conservative firebrand James Fishback coming in the closest to Donalds at just 9% support. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins only earned 7% support in the poll, while former House Speaker Paul Renner came in at just 2% support.

Republicans have a major voter registration advantage in Florida, with 1.5 million more registered voters than Democrats.

Some polling has suggested Democrats might enjoy an overperformance this year, buoyed by historic voter sentiment that favors the party out of power in the White House and recent federal government action that has proven unpopular, including the ongoing Iran war and resulting high gas prices.

But a recent poll showing Democratic front-runner David Jolly leading Donalds by 4 percentage points was largely dismissed by those with knowledge of campaigning as deeply flawed. It relied on voters self-reporting whether they planned to vote and reached voters, at least in part, through targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram. Both methodologies are known to produce inaccurate voter sentiment.

Meanwhile, Donalds has a significant resource advantage over all candidates, regardless of party affiliation. His fundraising has now reached more than $67 million, including $22 million in the first quarter of 2026 alone.