Byron Donalds wins, AP says, after raising far more than David Jolly

Griffin's money and the call

Ken Griffin, the hedge fund billionaire who founded Miami-based Citadel, gave $15 million in two checks this year to the political committee backing Republican Byron Donalds. On Tuesday the Associated Press called the race for governor for Donalds. Once he takes office in January, every bill lawmakers pass will go to him to sign or veto. His committee, Friends of Byron Donalds, is a fund kept apart from his campaign account. Together the two raised more than $173 million through Oct. 29, Florida Politics reported from state records. Democrat David Jolly's side raised nearly $27 million, it reported. Jolly, a former Republican congressman, had bet the mood would count for more than the money, Florida Politics reported.

Why it matters: The governor can also cut any single spending item out of the Florida budget and still sign the rest, the state constitution says. Besides Griffin, billionaire Jeff Yass gave Donalds' side $7.5 million, Florida Politics reported. The Seminole Tribe of Florida gave $6 million in total, and The GEO Group, which runs private prisons, gave $4.5 million, it reported. No record ties any donor's money to a state decision.

The story so far: Griffin wrote the first of his two checks to Donalds' committee, $10 million, on July 17, state records show. On Aug. 18 the AP called the Democratic primary for Jolly and projected Donalds the Republican nominee.

The AP called it, and the count was close

Donalds beat Jolly, according to a race call by the Associated Press, NPR reported in a story stamped 9:10 p.m. Eastern. NBC News projected the same result at 9:09 p.m. Donalds will become Florida's first Black governor when he is sworn in next year, NBC News reported.

As of about 11:20 p.m. ET Tuesday, Nov. 3, the state's unofficial count showed Donalds and his running mate, Bryan Avila, with 4,123,875 votes, or 50.05%. Jolly and his running mate, Gwen Graham, had 4,011,045, or 48.68%. In all, 8,239,288 votes had been counted for governor. That is a gap of about 113,000 votes, or about 1.4 points, by our arithmetic. The state's page shows no update time, so 11:20 p.m. is when we read it.

At that hour 98.97% of precincts statewide had reported, and turnout stood at 60.66%, the state's reporting page showed. Four counties had not finished: Miami-Dade, St. Lucie, Alachua and Broward. Miami-Dade had the most left, with about 93% of its precincts in. Those figures move with each update.

Florida law orders a recount when a candidate loses by one-half of 1% or less of the votes cast for the office, the state's statutes say. The state's election timeline applies that line to the first unofficial returns. As of 11:20 p.m., the governor's margin, about 1.4 points, was well outside it, by our arithmetic.

Whose money was on each side

Donalds' political committee, Friends of Byron Donalds, and his campaign account raised more than $173 million together and spent more than $165 million of it through Oct. 29, Florida Politics reported. The committee and the campaign account are separate accounts; Florida Politics added them up.

Griffin's two checks went to the committee, state records show: $10 million on July 17 and $5 million on Oct. 15. The record lists his occupation as "Hedge Fund Executive" at a Miami business address. Florida Politics puts his giving at $15 million, the same figure.

Florida Politics names other large donors to Donalds' side. Jeff Yass, a billionaire, gave $7.5 million. The Seminole Tribe gave $6 million in total. The GEO Group, a private prison operator, gave $4.5 million.

Jolly's committee, Florida 2026, and his campaign account raised nearly $27 million and spent nearly $25 million through the same date, Florida Politics reported. His biggest donor, hedge fund manager Donald Sussman, gave $1.5 million. The Democratic Governors Association gave $1.2 million.

By our arithmetic, $173 million is about 6.4 times $27 million. Eighteen billionaires have funded the race for governor, and 17 of them gave to Donalds, a Tampa Bay Times headline said Oct. 2.

Griffin also gave $2.5 million in May to Stronger Safer Nation, a super PAC backing Sen. Ashley Moody, Reuters and the Tampa Bay Times reported. The AP called Moody's race at 8:34 p.m. No record we read ties any donor's money in either race to a state decision or a vote.

The two candidates

Donalds, 48, spent most of his career in finance and has served two terms in Congress and two in the Florida House, NPR reports. His congressional district covers Collier County and most of Lee County. He won the race with the backing of President Donald Trump and a large campaign war chest, NPR reported.

Jolly, 54, served in Congress as a Republican for a Pinellas County district before he left the party in 2018. On the trail he called his rival "data center Donalds" for taking money from that industry, NPR reported.

Ken Griffin founded Citadel in Chicago in 1990 and later founded Citadel Securities. In June 2022 he told employees that Citadel was moving its global headquarters to Miami.

Their side

Jolly was "undaunted by the resource gap," Florida Politics reported before the vote, and he compared the mood to 1974, when Republicans distanced themselves from Richard Nixon after Watergate. Jolly conceded on election night in a speech at the Tampa Convention Center, WUSF reported in a story updated at 10:42 p.m. Eastern. "We can build a coalition that can break through the moneyed interest in our politics," he said, WUSF reported. KSNB also posted a Bay News 9 video under the headline "Democratic nominee David Jolly concedes Fla. Governor's race." Donalds gave a victory speech, WUSF reported. We did not read a quote from it.

What's next

What's next: Counties' unofficial returns are due by noon on Saturday, Nov. 7. Official county returns are due by noon on Monday, Nov. 16. The state Elections Canvassing Commission meets at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, to certify the results. Donalds' term begins on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2027.

Sources we read

NPR, Nov. 3, on the AP race call. NBC News, Nov. 3. Florida Division of Elections: Election Watch results for governor and the county reporting page, read 10:11 and 10:17 p.m. and again about 11:20 p.m. Nov. 3; the 2026 general election timeline; the campaign finance database, Griffin to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC, re-read Nov. 3. Florida Politics (A.G. Gancarski), Nov. 2, as republished by The Miami Times. Tampa Bay Times, Oct. 2 (headline only). Reuters via WHBL, Oct. 1, and the Tampa Bay Times, July 16, on Griffin's Senate super PAC gift. The Associated Press via WABI, Nov. 3, on the Senate call. WFTV and Your Sun Coast, Aug. 18 and 19, on the primary calls. Fort Myers Beach Talk, Aug. 18, and WGCU, June 7, 2025, on the candidates' districts. Fortune, June 23, 2022, on Citadel's move to Miami. WUSF (Douglas Soule and Steve Newborn), Nov. 3, updated 10:42 p.m., on Jolly's concession and Donalds' victory speech. KOAA, an E.W. Scripps station (Justin Boggs), Nov. 3, updated 9:48 p.m. ET, on the AP race call and Donalds' fundraising advantage over Jolly. KSNB, Nov. 3, a video credited to Bay News 9, on the concession. Florida Statutes, section 102.141, on recounts. The Florida Constitution, Articles III and IV.