1. Byron Lowell Donalds was born on October 28,1978 and is an American politician and financial analyst who has served as the US representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021.
32 Facts About Byron Donalds
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Byron Donalds represented the 80th district in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020.
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Byron Donalds was elected to Congress in 2020, defeating Democratic nominee Cindy Banyai.
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Several months later, Byron Donalds was a candidate in the third nomination for the October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election.
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In January 2021, Byron Donalds voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election.
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Byron Donalds said that he did not "personally" believe that President Joe Biden was a "legitimate" president of the United States, but that Biden was nevertheless the president.
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On February 25,2025, Byron Donalds announced his intention to run for governor of Florida in 2026 during his appearance as a guest on Hannity.
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Byron Donalds was born and raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
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In 1996, Byron Donalds graduated from Nazareth Regional High School in East Flatbush.
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In 1997, Byron Donalds was charged with marijuana possession, but the charges were dropped as part of a pre-trial diversion program, and he was fined $150.
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Byron Donalds began his professional career in 2003 as a credit analyst at TIB Bank.
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Byron Donalds was promoted to senior credit analyst in 2004, and later promoted to commercial credit manager, assistant vice president, and credit manager.
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Byron Donalds left TIB Bank in 2007 and took a position as a portfolio manager at CMG Surety LLC In 2015, he joined Wells Fargo Advisors as a Financial Advisor.
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In 2012, Byron Donalds was a candidate for the US House of Representatives in Florida's 19th congressional district.
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Byron Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016.
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Byron Donalds was the Republican nominee for Florida's 19th congressional district in the 2020 election, running to succeed retiring incumbent Francis Rooney.
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Byron Donalds won a crowded nine-way Republican primary by 770 votes over state representative Dane Eagle, finishing just over the threshold to avoid a recount.
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Byron Donalds later clarified via tweet that he was not dropping out and called the messages "illegal".
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Byron Donalds said he would focus on policy related to water quality in Southwest Florida.
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In late 2020, Byron Donalds was identified as a participant in the "Freedom Force", a group of incoming House Republicans who "say they're fighting against socialism in America".
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In January 2021, Byron Donalds voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election.
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Byron Donalds has since claimed that Joe Biden was not the legitimate president of the United States, a claim he repeated in a Vanity Fair interview in July 2023.
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In June 2021, Byron Donalds was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
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On January 3,2023, Byron Donalds received one vote in the 118th Congress's first election for Speaker of the House, from Chip Roy.
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Byron Donalds voted for Kevin McCarthy on the first two ballots, then for Jim Jordan on the third.
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Byron Donalds was nominated by Lauren Boebert on the fifth ballot, and again received 20 votes.
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Byron Donalds was sequentially nominated by Scott Perry, Dan Bishop, Andy Biggs, Matt Rosendale, and Anna Paulina Luna on the sixth to tenth ballots.
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Byron Donalds was not nominated on the 11th ballot, but still received 12 votes.
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Byron Donalds switched his vote back to McCarthy after House Republican leadership made many concessions to House Freedom Caucus members.
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Byron Donalds was a candidate for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in the October 2023 election.
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Byron Donalds was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.
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Byron Donalds voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.