BONITA SPRINGS, FL. – EXCLUSIVE – Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, as he kicked off his 2026 campaign for Florida governor, touted that “this is going to take off.”

Donalds’ prediction came in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of his rally in front of a hometown crowd, at his first campaign event in his 2026 bid.

The conservative lawmaker, who has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District in the southwest part of the state for four years, is currently the only major Republican to date to jump into the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Donalds, a staunch supporter and ally of President Donald Trump, announced his candidacy during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” late last month, days after landing the president’s endorsement.

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“We’re going to campaign hard and we’re going to take this to every part of Florida,” Donalds pledged in his interview.

And pointing to the support from Trump, whose immense grip over the GOP is stronger than ever, he emphasized “having his endorsement, it’s a great thing to have, I’m glad I have it.”

“And when he makes these choices, they tend to turn out well for his candidates,” Donalds noted. 

Donalds, in his speech, told the large crowd of supporters that “this is the free state of Florida, and as your next governor, it will remain the free state of Florida,” 

In his address, he spotlighted Florida’s insurance crisis, vowed to make the state the “financial capital of the world,” pledged to improve public education, and to build new roads and restore the Everglades.

And the 46-year-old Donalds pledged that “Florida will continue to be the best state in America and show the other 49 how to get the job done,”

The campaign event, in Bonita Springs, comes as Florida first lady Casey DeSantis has acknowledged she is considering a 2026 Republican gubernatorial run of her own, to succeed her husband in Tallahassee.

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DeSantis has repeatedly touted his wife’s accomplishments as Florida first lady and framed her as a worthy successor.

Additionally, Casey DeSantis, late last month, stoked speculation when asked by reporters if she would run.

“To quote the late Yogi Berra,” DeSantis said as she reiterated a famous line from the late baseball legend. “If you see a fork in the road, take it.”

The governor then quipped to reporters that “you guys can read into that what you will.”

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When asked this month at the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, if she might launch a campaign, Casey DeSantis said “we’ll see.”

Sources last month confirmed to Fox News that the governor has been reaching out to donors on behalf of his wife.

Asked about a possible face-off with Casey DeSantis, Donalds told Fox News that “races take on a shape of their own, so we’ll see what actually happens.”

“My mission is going to be focused on our future and the things that are necessary for Florida to go and to thrive and be prosperous for everybody. So that’s going to be my mission. We’ll see how the race shapes up,” he added.

And Donalds said he aims to convey to voters that “I have a vision for their future and I think that when they hear it, they’re going to choose me.”

The next campaign cash filing deadline in the Florida governor’s race comes at midnight Monday, and a source in the congressman’s political orbit predicted to Fox News that Donalds would “easily eclipse” the $1 million DeSantis raised in his first month as a gubernatorial candidate in his successful 2018 campaign to succeed Scott as governor.

“I think he’s going to show a really strong fundraising number,” added another Florida-based Republican strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.

Outside of the rally, which was held at a restaurant and music venue in downtown Bonita Springs, dozens of demonstrators protested Donalds and the Trump administration’s sweeping and controversial agenda.

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Donalds’ rally was held amid concerns by the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill over next week’s special congressional elections in Florida.

Voters in two congressional districts in Florida will head to the polls on Tuesday, as Republicans aim to keep control of both solidly red seats and give themselves slightly more breathing room in the House.

The elections are in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, which Trump carried by 37 and 30 points in last year’s presidential election. 

But the Democratic candidates have vastly outraised the Republican nominees, and polling in recent days suggested that the race in the 6th District was within the margin of error.

The GOP currently holds a 218-213 majority in the House, with two vacant seats where Republicans stepped down and two where Democratic lawmakers died in March.

“When it comes to Florida, you have two races, and they seem to be good,” Trump told reporters on Friday.

But pointing to the massive fundraising advantage by the Democrat candidates over the GOP contenders, Trump raised concerns, saying “You never know what happens in a case like that.”

Donalds, in his Fox News Digital interview, predicted “it would be difficult” for the GOP House majority if the party lost one of Tuesday’s elections.

But he added, “I’m not looking forward to that. I think we’re going to win both those seats on Tuesday. I think Republican voters in those districts are going to turn out because, at the end of the day, the choice is clear.”

Jimmy Patronis, the Florida Chief Financial Officer, is favored over Democrat Gay Valimont in a multi-candidate field in the race to fill the vacant seat in the 1st CD, which is located in the far northwestern corner of Florida in the Panhandle region.

Republican Matt Gaetz, who won re-election in the district in last November’s elections, resigned from office weeks later after Trump selected him to be his nominee for attorney general in his second administration.

Gaetz later withdrew himself from cabinet consideration amid controversy.

But it’s the race in the 6th CD, which is located on Florida’s Atlantic coast from Daytona Beach to just south of Saint Augustine and inland to the outskirts of Ocala, that is really raising concerns among some in the GOP.

The race is to succeed Republican Michael Waltz, who stepped down from the seat on Jan. 20 after Trump named him his national security adviser.

Republican state Sen. Randy Fine is facing off against teacher Josh Weil, a Democrat, in a multi-candidate field.

Weil grabbed plenty of national attention in recent weeks by topping Fine in the campaign cash battle by roughly a ten-to-one margin.

The cash discrepancy in the 6th CD race spurred GOP-aligned outside groups to make last-minute contributions in support of Fine in the closing days of the campaign, with conservative super PACs launching ads spotlighting Trump’s support of Fine.

“I would have preferred if our candidate had raised money at a faster rate and gotten on TV quicker,” Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told reporters earlier this week.

But Hudson added that Fine is “doing what he needs to do. He’s on TV now.”

And he emphasized, “We’re going to win the seat. I’m not concerned at all.”

Trump, pointing to Fine, on Friday acknowledged that “our candidate doesn’t have that kind of money.”

In the 1st District, where there is less concern by Republicans about losing the seat, Valimont topped Patronis in fundraising by roughly a five-to-one margin.