Byron Donalds Removes Trump Photos From Website as David Jolly Gains Ground - Newsweek

Republican Byron Donalds, who is running for governor in Florida, has removed several references to President Donald Trump from his campaign website as polls show a tightening race against Democrat David Jolly.

Donalds has aligned himself closely with Trump throughout his career and received Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary, but now faces a potentially competitive race against Jolly, a former Republican who left the party over its embrace of Trump.

Although Florida has become a more conservative state in recent election cycles, a flurry of recent polls pointed to a closer-than-expected race. Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024, but Democrats believe his falling national approval rating could give them an opportunity to expand the electoral battleground in November to compete in more traditionally Republican states like Florida.

Donalds' campaign has changed his website to remove several references to the president’s support for the Republican.

As of September 22, the website leads with the slogan, “Fighting to defend the Florida dream,” showing a video of Donalds with his family at a campaign event. It describes him as a “proven conservative fighter for Florida,” while also going into some of his positions on matters like affordability, healthcare and education.

However, a September 3 screen grab of his homepage showed a different message.

A banner across the top of the page asked his supporters to “Chip in to Support Trump Endorsed Byron Donalds,” with the phrase “Trump Endorsed” even being highlighted in red.

The page includes a photograph of Donalds with his wife, Erika Donalds, with the phrase “Trump-Endorsed Proven Conservative Fighter.” It also included a photograph of Trump with a quote from Trump’s endorsement of Donalds.

In total, the webpage had five references to Trump’s endorsement.

The updated page includes no photograph of Trump. References to the president are still present, but not as dominant. Trump’s endorsement is touted alongside a banner of several endorsements from other prominent conservatives, including Elon Musk and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

He also highlighted that he was a surrogate for Trump in the 2024 election in a section outlining his previous experience, but those were the only two references to the president.

The Miami Herald was the first to report the change.

The Donalds campaign wrote in a statement to Newsweek that the “website reflects Byron’s focus on the issues that matter most to Floridians — affordability, insurance costs, and government transparency.”

The statement said he “is proud to have President Trump’s endorsement, and has real policy proposals to tackle those issues.”

“This angle of reporting is FAKE NEWS – but, while everyone is focused on our website, check out our policy proposals to make life more affordable for Floridians. You’ll note our robust plans while Jolly has NONE - all MSNBC talking points and zero substance,” the statement reads.

Jolly responded to the change in a statement to Newsweek.

“It wasn't too long ago Byron called Trump his 'daddy' and gave Trump an A rating on the economy. I'm sure he still stands by that and fully expect the two will campaign together in Florida. I certainly hope they do,” he said.

A White House spokesperson wrote in a statement to Newsweek that Trump is the “unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress.”

“The choice has never been more clear: doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction,” the spokesperson said.

Several recent polls have suggested the race between Donalds and Jolly is competitive.

A St. Pete Polls survey, sponsored by Florida Politics, pointed to a statistical tie. Donalds received support from 44 percent of respondents, while 43 percent said they would vote for Jolly. It surveyed 913 likely voters from September 15 to September 17 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Jolly held a 3-point lead in a Change Research poll of the race, 47 percent to 44 percent. It surveyed 1,107 likely voters from September 7 to September 9.

However, Donalds was up in a poll from the James Madison Institute, 45 percent to 38 percent. It surveyed 1,026 likely voters from July 20 to July 26. A recent University of North Florida poll showed the Republican candidate up 5 points, 46 percent to 41 percent. It surveyed 848 likely voters from July 8 to July 17.

Some Republicans have begun to distance themselves from Trump ahead of the midterms.

Representative Andy Barr, who is running in the Kentucky Senate race, also removed references to Trump from his website, according to a report from Louisville Public Media. Barr’s spokesperson Alex Bellizzi told the outlet that Barr “can't wait to keep fighting for Kentucky alongside President Trump as our next U.S. Senator.”

Representative Young Kim, who is running for reelection in a Southern California-based district, also removed references to Trump from her website, reported The Sacramento Bee.

In Florida, Representative María Elvira Salazar has become increasingly critical of Trump as she runs for reelection in a Miami-Dade County-based district. She said in a video last week that Trump has gone too far on some of his immigration policies.

"Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far," she said. "In July, 50 percent of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy.”

Representative Ashley Hinson, who is running for Senate in Iowa with Trump’s endorsement, broke with Trump on Monday, calling for an immediate end to the Iran war amid rising fuel prices due to disruptions in the global oil supply amid the conflict.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran. We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices,” she wrote.

Trump’s approval rating reached new lows in some recent polls. A survey from American Research Poll published on Monday found his lowest approval rating yet, with only 29 percent of respondents giving him positive marks, compared to 68 percent disapproving of his job performance.

It surveyed 1,100 adults from September 16 to September 20, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

A poll from YouGov and The Economist found 35 percent of Americans approved of Trump, while 62 percent disapproved. It surveyed 1,401 registered voters from September 18 to September 21, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Trump’s approval stood at 32 percent in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, which found that 66 percent of voters disapprove of him. It surveyed 1,277 voters from September 17 to September 20, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

Forecasters continue to give Donalds an advantage. The Cook Political Report considers the race to be Likely Republican, while Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates it as Lean Republican. Jolly has declined to debate Donalds. More information about voting is set to be released after October 4, according to the Florida Secretary of State's office.

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon, Edward T. Cummins and Gray R. Thomas