Byron Donalds says it’s a ‘matter of pride’ to be Florida’s first Black governor

Byron Donalds says it’s a ‘matter of pride’ to be Florida’s first Black governor Days after his historic win in the midterms, Byron Donalds (R) on Sunday said it is a “high honor” to have been elected as Florida’s first Black governor. “It’s really a matter of personal pride. I think it’s a matter of pride for Black Americans all through the country,” Donalds said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” A record five states will soon have a Black governor. Donalds in Florida will join four Democrats: the newly elected Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, David Crowley in Wisconsin and Aaron Ford in Nevada, along with Wes Moore, who was reelected in Maryland. Until Tuesday’s elections, only three Black politicians had ever been elected by voters to serve as governors of U.S. states, all in different election cycles. Several others have been appointed to the post. Donalds, an ally of President Donald Trump who succeeds term-limited Republican Ron DeSantis, said that his win over Democrat David Jolly demonstrates that “despite all the vitriol around race in America and in politics, people just want to have leadership that’s going to get the job done. … For the people of Florida, it demonstrates that they don’t really care about skin color. They care about meritocracy. They care about getting a job done.”