ORLANDO, Fla.— Florida’s primary voters went with the favorites in both parties Tuesday night, setting up a long-expected clash to determine who will serve as the state’s next governor after eight years of Gov.
Ron DeSantis.See live results hereOn the Republican side, Rep.Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, outran a crowded GOP field to win his party’s nomination, NBC News projects, while Republican-turned-Democrat David Jolly, a former member of Congress, won his primary.Both outcomes were expected, but they officially kick off a general election showdown in which Republicans are trying to extend their decadeslong grip on Florida’s governorship, while Jolly and Democrats are out to prove the longtime battleground state has not gotten totally out of reach for their party.Republicans control all levels of state government in Florida and have not lost a race for governor since 1994.Even as Republicans have dominated the state’s gubernatorial contests, Democrats largely remained competitive — until DeSantis, who could not run again due to term limits, won his 2022 re-election bid by more than 20 points.
That historic margin prompted a huge Republican victory lap and claims that Florida had changed since its days as the nation’s largest swing state.Jolly’s candidacy is seen as a test case for whether that is the state’s new, GOP-dominated political identity, or whether Democrats can re-build after the eight-year DeSantis era.Former Republican Rep.David Jolly, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Florida, in New York on April 9.Victor J.
Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileJolly, a former Republican member of Congress, later changed parties and is seen as a more moderate Democrat.That’s something many in the party believed was needed after more progressive nominees, including the Democratic gubernatorial nominee who narrowly lost to DeSantis in 2018, came up short in high-profile governor’s races.Jolly faced on...