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.