Byron Donalds is a Republican politician in Florida and a candidate for governor. He represents Florida's 19th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Before entering Congress, he held office in the Florida House and worked in banking and finance.
We have documented statements by Byron Donalds on 2026 Midterm Elections, Government Spending, and Housing Policy, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Case updates
Donalds, Amendment 3 and Florida's county budgets
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Role at the time: U.S. representative for Florida's 19th District and Florida governor-elect, interviewed on CNN
Defended or excused
Statement summary
On election coverage the night after he won Florida's governor race, Donalds tells CNN's Dana Bash he will not vote to impeach Hegseth if the House takes it up before he leaves Congress. Asked whether fellow Republicans would be wrong to vote for it, he says Hegseth is doing his job for the commander in chief and that voters want Congress focused on costs, not impeachments.
“I'm not voting to impeach Pete Hegseth. ... I mean, first of all, Pete Hegseth is the secretary of war. ... So again, these impeachment things that come up, I just don't agree with that.”
Watch the original video (opens in a new tab)Donalds says he won't vote to impeach Hegseth before he leaves Congress · CNN0:04 to 1:14, Dana Bash's question on impeachment and Donalds' answer
Why we used this label
On whether the House should impeach Hegseth, Donalds says he will vote no, says Hegseth is doing his job under the commander in chief, and says he disagrees with the impeachment efforts. He opposes impeachment and defends Hegseth.
Role at the time: Byron Donalds, Republican nominee for Florida governor, in remarks reported October 14; the date of this quotation is not established
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Donalds says property-tax relief must come with funding for critical services. The report also describes his proposal for different tax structures in rural and urban communities.
“We have to make sure that there’s relief in the system while providing the resources we need to fund critical needs and services”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Byron Donalds wants to move beyond one size fits all property tax systemOcala town hall comments on rural and urban counties
Why we used this label
The reference point is Donalds's proposed homestead property-tax relief. He defends relief while saying the state must provide resources for critical services.
Role at the time: Republican U.S. representative and candidate for Florida governor
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Donalds supported Amendment 3, said public safety would be funded first, and proposed a funding formula for fiscally constrained counties.
“Local governments have to live within their means”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)Donalds vs. Jolly: Where Florida's governor candidates stand on AI, data centers and Amendment 3Amendment 3 section: JOLLY and DONALDS paragraphs.
Why we used this label
Donalds defends tax relief and explains how he proposes to protect services.
Role at the time: U.S. representative and Republican candidate for governor of Florida
Defended or excused
Statement summary
At a University of Florida town hall, Byron Donalds defended Amendment 3 as relief from property taxes that he said had outpaced household budgets. WCJB reported that he said he had a plan for the hardest-hit communities.
Role at the time: U.S. representative and Florida gubernatorial candidate
Defended or excused
Statement summary
At a Florida affordability summit, Donalds said local governments had an opportunity to lower their tax rates as property values rose and argued that residents need property-tax relief. His remarks state a policy rationale and do not establish how Amendment 3 would affect local services.
“Local governments had an opportunity over the last six years to go to a rollback rate.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Byron Donalds on making Florida more affordable and his support for Amendment 3Amendment 3 section, paragraph beginning "Local governments had an opportunity"
Why we used this label
Donalds defended the amendment's tax relief by arguing that local governments had a chance to limit rate increases.
Role at the time: U.S. representative and Florida Republican gubernatorial nominee, speaking in Orlando as identified by the article.
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Donalds argued that rejecting Amendment 3 could prompt property owners to leave Florida and leave local governments with deeper budget cuts than a property-tax reduction would cause.
“If people leave and they’re not paying property taxes at all, that’s another.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Byron Donalds says homeowners could leave Florida if Amendment 3 failsFull article; paragraph beginning “Let me take a 100,000-foot view on this entire topic.”
Why we used this label
The case asks whether Donalds's tax-relief approach can protect local services. His statement directly defends the amendment by presenting its defeat as the more damaging alternative for local budgets.
Role at the time: U.S. Representative, Florida 19th district
Explicitly stayed out
Statement summary
Byron Donalds voted Not Voting on H.Con.Res. 93, the House resolution directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.
“On Agreeing to the Resolution: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Role at the time: 2026 Republican candidate for Florida governor
Mixed or conditional
Statement summary
Donalds initially called for a full pause on Flock adoption. By late August he proposed penalties for misuse and working with law-enforcement leaders on limits, without committing to abolish the systems.
“I support the creation of serious financial and criminal penalties if Flock systems are used to spy on Floridians.”
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Donalds said he supports serious financial and criminal penalties if Flock systems are used to spy on Floridians. He earlier called for a pause but now proposes penalties and limits rather than a ban, so Mixed or conditional fits.
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Byron Donalds supports Florida homestead property-tax relief while county officials warn about local-service funding. Compare his interview with revenue estimates for the related ballot measure and the counties' stated concerns.
An issue tracker recording where members of Congress and 2026 midterm candidates stand on the unauthorized Iran war, based on their votes on war-powers resolutions, campaign statements, and public remarks.
Read Hegseth impeachment filings on military operations, oversight and Signal, the inspector general's findings, and his response to the claim he was 'texting war plans.'
