Byron Donalds

Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician and financial professional serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021.

His district, which was once represented by former senator Connie Mack III and former CIA Director Porter Goss, serves most of the heart of Southwest Florida, including Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, and Naples.

In 1996, Donalds graduated from Nazareth Regional High School in East Flatbush.

In 1997, Donalds was arrested for marijuana distribution; the charges were dropped as part of a pre-trial diversion program.

In 2000, he pleaded no contest to a felony bribery charge as part of a scheme to defraud a bank.

His record was later sealed and expunged.

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.

He attended Florida A&M University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing from Florida State University in 2002.

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.

He was a member of the Tea Party movement and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012.

In January 2021, Donalds voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election.

Donalds says that he does not “personally” believe Joe Biden is a “legitimate” president of the United States, but he says Biden is nevertheless the president, albeit the worst one in his opinion.

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 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.

In 2015, he joined Wells Fargo Advisors as a Financial Advisor.

After Donalds became involved in the Tea Party movement, he was encouraged to run for office.

Donalds represented the 80th district in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020.

Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016.

During his Florida House tenure, he chaired the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.

Donalds was elected to Congress in 2020, defeating Democratic nominee Cindy Banyai.

In the January 2023 Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives election, Donalds received enough Republican votes to deny Kevin McCarthy the speakership in the fourth through 11th rounds of voting.

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

Donalds is ideologically positioned in the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

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).