Donalds urges Sarasota supporters to keep Republicans in power

Republican nominee for governor Byron Donalds urged supporters in Sarasota on Thursday, Oct. 22, to vote on Nov. 3 and preserve Republican control of Florida. About 100 people gathered at Yoder's Restaurant, where several attendees interviewed by WUSF expressed support for the party despite knowing little about Donalds' policy positions and acknowledging some dissatisfaction.

The restaurant sits in a Sarasota neighborhood with a large Amish and Mennonite population. Evan Richland, drinking coffee before the candidate arrived, said he had never heard of Donalds. Nevertheless, he said that if he voted, he would probably choose Republicans because of his negative view of the Democratic Party.

Other attendees raised concerns while expressing confidence in Republican leadership. Allan Weinstein said he worried about the economy but believed the country was moving in the right direction; he also emphasized border security. Paula Steinert pointed to Sarasota's traffic, saying development had outpaced road capacity. She said she had paid little attention to Democratic nominee David Jolly and hoped Donalds would continue Gov. Ron DeSantis' approach.

After stepping off his campaign bus, Donalds made turnout a central message. Florida has approximately 5.7 million registered Republicans and 4.1 million registered Democrats. He disparaged Democrats and argued that conservative principles had made Florida more attractive than states some supporters had left. “We're going to keep Florida red,” he told the crowd.

Donalds posed for photographs with supporters afterward but did not enter the restaurant to speak with diners or answer reporters' questions. He instead went to a back room for a podcast interview. His staff said the discussion concerned school choice and that the interviewer was from New College of Florida.

School policy also intersects with questions surrounding his wife's businesses. Erika Donalds owns two for-profit companies that have received millions of dollars through charter-school contracts. The Tampa Bay Times reported that those arrangements could present ethics issues if Donalds becomes governor.

Donalds has reportedly removed numerous references to President Donald Trump from his campaign website in recent weeks in an apparent effort to distance himself from the president. His staff nevertheless said he would attend a Trump rally Friday at Florida Gulf Coast University. Spokesman Gates McAvick said Trump remained on the website multiple times and that Donalds was excited to speak at the rally. McAvick also pointed to endorsements from Trump and DeSantis as evidence of Republican unity.

For Charlie Mooney, a small-business owner facing pressure from rising prices, Trump's endorsement was a drawback. Mooney said he had voted for Trump but disagreed with some of his actions. Still undecided in the governor's race, he was leaning toward Donalds, whom he viewed as a family man familiar with financial struggles. Donalds was raised in Brooklyn by a single mother. Mooney hoped he would reduce taxes and strengthen the economy, but said honesty mattered more to him than party affiliation and that he would readily vote for a Democrat.