Byron Donalds

Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician and financial analyst serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020. His congressional district includes much of Southwest Florida.

Born and raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Donalds attended Florida A&M University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing from Florida State University in 2002. Before entering politics, Donalds worked in the finance, insurance, and banking industries.
Situated in the conservative wing of the Republican Party, Donalds was a member of the Tea Party movement and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. He represented the 80th district in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020.

Donalds was elected to Congress in 2020, defeating Democratic nominee Cindy Banyai. In January 2021, he voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election. Donalds said that he did not "personally" believe that President Joe Biden was a "legitimate" president of the United States, but that Biden was nevertheless the president. In the January 2023 Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives election, Donalds was nominated for the speakership in the fourth through 11th rounds of voting. Several months later, he was a candidate in the third nomination for the October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election.

In Februrary 2025, Donalds announced his candidacy for governor of Florida in 2026.

Early life and education

Donalds was born and raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. One of three children, he was raised by his single mother. In 1996, Donalds graduated from Nazareth Regional High School in East Flatbush. Donalds is of Jamaican and Panamanian heritage.

In 1997, Donalds was charged with marijuana possession, but the charges were dropped as part of a pre-trial diversion program, and he was fined $150 (). In 2000, he pleaded no contest to a felony theft charge for allegedly attempting to defraud a bank (by depositing a bad check), but his record was later sealed and expunged.
According to an attorney consulted by the fact-checking site PolitiFact, "Donalds would not have been able to get his record expunged if the state considered him a convicted felon."

Donalds attended Florida A&M University, subsequently transferring to Florida State University. In 2002, he graduated from FSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing.

Career

Donalds began his professional career in 2003 as a credit analyst at TIB Bank. He was promoted to senior credit analyst in 2004, and later promoted to commercial credit manager, assistant vice president, and credit manager. Donalds left TIB Bank in 2007 and took a position as a portfolio manager at CMG Surety LLC. In 2015, he joined Wells Fargo Advisors as a Financial Advisor.

In 2010, Donalds left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party. After becoming involved in the Tea Party movement, he was encouraged to run for office.

In 2012, Donalds was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida's 19th congressional district. He finished fifth of six candidates. In 2014, he was reported as a likely candidate for the U.S. House in Florida's 19th congressional district after Trey Radel resigned, but did not run.

Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016. During his Florida House tenure, he chaired the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Donalds was the Republican nominee for Florida's 19th congressional district in the 2020 election, running to succeed retiring incumbent Francis Rooney. He won a crowded nine-way Republican primary by 770 votes over state representative Dane Eagle, finishing just over the threshold to avoid a recount. Republicans have a 550,000-voter advantage over Democrats in registration, and Florida Gulf Coast University professor Peter Bergerson noted that the Republican primary is almost always the real contest for most races in the area. In August 2020, anonymous text messages were sent out to constituents in the 19th district claiming that Donalds was dropping out of the race. Donalds later clarified via tweet that he was not dropping out and called the messages "illegal".

During his campaign, Donalds described himself as a "Trump supporting, gun owning, liberty loving, pro-life, politically incorrect Black man." He stated his support for economic freedom, clean water, nuclear power and decreased government involvement in health care. He opposed the Green New Deal.

In the November general election, Donalds defeated Democratic nominee Cindy Banyai. Donalds said he would focus on policy related to water quality in Southwest Florida. Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2021, Donalds became the sixth person to represent this district since its creation in 1983 (it had been the 13th District from 1983 to 1993, the 14th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 19th since 2013).

Tenure in Congress

In late 2020, Donalds was identified as a participant in the "Freedom Force", a group of incoming House Republicans who "say they’re fighting against socialism in America". The following year Donalds was blocked from joining the Congressional Black Caucus.

2020 election

In January 2021, Donalds voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election. Donalds has since claimed that Joe Biden was not the legitimate president of the United States, a claim he repeated in a '' Vanity Fair'' interview in July 2023.

Agriculture

In March 2024, Donalds was one of ten House Republicans who signed a letter to the House Agriculture Committee opposing the inclusion of the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act or similar language in the 2024 farm bill. The EATS Act would have preempted state and local laws regulating agricultural products sold across state lines, including animal welfare laws like California's Proposition 12. However, the law likely would have favored big business over small, local farmers.

Iraq

In June 2021, Donalds was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

January 2023 Speaker of the House election

On January 3, 2023, Donalds received one vote in the 118th Congress's first election for Speaker of the House, from Chip Roy. Donalds voted for Kevin McCarthy on the first two ballots, then for Jim Jordan on the third. On January 4, on the fourth ballot, Roy nominated Donalds for Speaker, and he received 20 votes. This marked the first time two Black lawmakers were nominated for Speaker, the other being Democratic nominee Hakeem Jeffries. He was nominated by Lauren Boebert on the fifth ballot, and again received 20 votes. He was sequentially nominated by Scott Perry, Dan Bishop, Andy Biggs, Matt Rosendale, and Anna Paulina Luna on the sixth to tenth ballots. He was not nominated on the 11th ballot, but still received 12 votes. Donalds switched his vote back to McCarthy after House Republican leadership made many concessions to House Freedom Caucus members.

October 2023 candidacy for Speaker

Donalds was a candidate for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in the October 2023 election.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Donalds was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

Israel

Donalds voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Jim Crow era

In a political outreach event in June 2024, Donalds opined as follows about the Jim Crow era:

You see, during Jim Crow, the black family was together. During Jim Crow, more black people were not just conservative, black people have always been conservative-minded, but more black people voted conservatively. And then, HEW., Lyndon Johnson, and then you go down that road, and now we are where we are. What's happened in America the last ten years, and I say it because it's my contemporaries…you're starting to see more black people be married in homes raising kids.

After some backlash against those remarks, Donalds denied “that Black people were doing better under Jim Crow” or that “Jim Crow is great”, and also denied having been inaccurate when he said that black marriage rates were relatively high during that era.

Immigration and Due Process

On May 5, 2025, Donalds appeared on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker. He stated categorically, “When it comes to due process, that is a privilege reserved for American citizens.”.

Veterans

Donalds voted against the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 which expanded VA benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service.

Democrats

A former Democrat, Donalds has questioned the direction of the " Democrat Party"; saying he believes they're leaving God out of the equation and "I think the issue for Democrats is their political views just differ, in my view, very greatly from what the Bible says."

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:
* Committee on Financial Services
** Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion
** Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy
* Committee on Oversight and Accountability
** Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs
** Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Blockchain Caucus
* Freedom Caucus
* Republican Study Committee

Electoral history

2012

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Personal life

Byron Donalds married Bisa Hall on June 15, 1999. They divorced in 2002.
Donalds married Erika Lees on March 15, 2003. They have three sons and live in Naples, Florida.

See also

* List of African-American United States representatives
* List of African-American Republicans

References

External links

Representative Byron Donalds
official U.S. House website
*

Byron Donalds for Congress

Byron Donalds for Governor
*
*

Florida House of Representatives - Byron Donalds

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Donalds, Byron
1978 births
21st-century African-American politicians
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
21st-century members of the Florida Legislature
African-American Christians
African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
African-American people in Florida politics
African-American state legislators in Florida
American politicians of Jamaican descent
American politicians of Panamanian descent
American Protestants
Black conservatism in the United States
Christians from Florida
Florida A&M University alumni
Florida Republicans
Florida State University alumni
Financial advisors
Living people
People from Naples, Florida
Politicians from Brooklyn
Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
Tea Party movement activists