Byron Donalds Names Running Mate, Completing Both Tickets in Florida’s Governor Race
Byron Donalds named state Sen. Bryan Avila of Miami Springs as his choice for lieutenant governor Tuesday morning at the Freedom Tower in Miami, completing the Republican ticket for Florida governor in a race that will be decided in November.
Erika Donalds, the candidate’s wife, gave a convocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Avila sponsored the legislation that placed Amendment 3, the property tax measure, on November’s ballot. That amendment was the subject of a question Donalds took from The Citrus Tea News during a campaign stop at Haus 820 in Lakeland on Friday, August 14, four days before he won the Republican nomination.
Asked how he would address concerns from Polk County municipal leaders and residents about the local revenue losses that could follow the amendment, Donalds said the decision belongs to voters.
“This is in the hands of the voters,” he said.
He pointed to the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, set to convene next year, as the mechanism for sorting out how any change would land across a state where no two jurisdictions are alike. He said he wants a top-to-bottom analysis, whether the amendment passes or fails.
Donalds also argued that local governments bear responsibility for the pressure homeowners now feel, saying property taxes have doubled in Florida over the past decade while local budgets have grown alongside rising property values.
“Local governments had an opportunity to go to a rollback rate, to keep taxes low for their citizens,” Donalds said. “They didn’t do that.”
The property tax issue is at the top of voters’ minds in Polk County, where Property Appraiser Neil Combee has projected a $98 million annual revenue loss for the county commission at the first exemption level, and where roughly 70 percent of households own their homes with far fewer second homes and vacation properties than in coastal counties. That leaves a larger share of the local tax base in homesteaded property that the exemption increase would reach. Public school funding is protected under the amendment. County and municipal budgets are not.
Avila, 42, represents Florida’s 39th Senate District and serves as a captain in the Florida Army National Guard. Born in Hialeah, he entered the Florida House in 2014 before moving to the state Senate, and has represented Cuban-majority communities in both chambers. Avila told the crowd his parents fled communist Cuba, leaving behind their home and business.
The choice reflects Miami-Dade County’s weight in the November race. Donalds carried 58 percent of Republican voters there in the primary, well above his statewide margin of about 48 percent, while losing 17 mostly rural counties. All 17 went to Collins, most across North Florida, along with Hardee County, which borders Polk to the south.
Avila also used his remarks to claim credit on an issue at the center of several Polk County fights this year.
“In the Florida Senate, I fought to protect Floridians from being forced to pay higher utility bills, because massive data centers want to consume enormous amounts of electricity and water,” Avila said.
Donalds credited him with the same work, saying Avila has “protected families from high utility bills, from data centers.”
Data centers have driven months of local debate in Polk County. Lakeland commissioners approved a moratorium on a 4-3 vote this month. Fort Meade approved the Stonebridge project. In Haines City, a water request has been submitted, though no formal application has been filed, and three commissioners have told The Citrus Tea News they would vote no on a data center.
David Jolly and Gwen Graham on Democratic ticket
Democratic nominee David Jolly named his running mate months ago, with former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham as his lieutenant governor pick on June 10 in Tallahassee. Graham is the daughter of the late Bob Graham, the two-term governor and longtime U.S. senator, and represented Florida’s 2nd Congressional District from 2015 to 2017.
Polk County voters gave Donalds 39.30 percent in the Republican primary, ahead of Lt. Gov. Jay Collins at 30.29 percent. The Jolly and Graham ticket carried Polk’s Democratic primary with 58.59 percent. Countywide turnout reached 20.83 percent.
Information for voting and elections can be found at Polk County Supervisor of Elections.
The general election is Tuesday, November 3.
The Citrus Tea News does not endorse candidates and reports on all races without partisan preference. We accept paid political advertising, which is clearly labeled and offered to every candidate in a race at the same rates. Advertising has no influence on our coverage.
Sources:“Polk County Officials Explain Amendment 3 on Property Taxes at Town Hall,” The Citrus Tea News, thecitrustea.com, July 14, 2026; Byron Donalds, interview with The Citrus Tea News, Haus 820, Lakeland, August 14, 2026; Byron Donalds and Bryan Avila, remarks at Freedom Tower, Miami, August 25, 2026; Polk County Supervisor of Elections, 2026 Primary Election Unofficial Final Results, enr.electionsfl.org, August 18, 2026; “Buzz that Byron Donalds Will Pick Miami Running Mate in Florida Governor’s Race Builds Ahead of Freedom Tower Event,” Miami Herald, August 25, 2026; “Democrat David Jolly Names Gwen Graham as Running Mate in Florida Governor’s Race,” WUSF, wusf.org, June 10, 2026; “Jay Collins Lost Big, but He Did Win 16 Counties in North Florida and 17 Overall. How He Did It.,” Florida Phoenix, floridaphoenix.com, August 20, 2026; Owner-Occupied Housing Units, U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey; Bryan Avila, Florida Senate, flsenate.gov, “Haines City Data Center: New Documents Reveal What Commissioners Were Told Before the Public, and When,” The Citrus Tea News, thecitrustea.com, July 2, 2026
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Byron Donalds named state Sen. Bryan Avila as his running mate Tuesday in Miami, completing both tickets in Florida’s race for governor. Here’s how Polk County voted.
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Both tickets are set. Byron Donalds picked state Sen. Bryan Avila this morning at Miami’s Freedom Tower. Avila sponsored the bill that put the property tax cut amendment on your November ballot, which makes this pick matter for county and city budgets right here in Polk. David Jolly has been running with Gwen Graham since June. Polk backed Donalds with 39 percent and the Jolly and Graham ticket with nearly 59 percent. Here’s who these four people are and what the lieutenant governor’s job actually involves.
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Byron Donalds named state Sen. Bryan Avila his running mate. Both tickets are set for November. Polk County gave Donalds 39.30% and the Jolly-Graham ticket 58.59%. [INSERT ARTICLE URL] #PolkCounty #FloridaGovernor
