Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician and businessman serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

Florida's 19th congressional district Florida's 19th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Southwest Florida. It includes Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples and Marco Island. The district also includes Southwest Florida International Airport and Florida Gulf Coast ...

since 2021. His district serves most of the heart of Southwest Florida, including

Cape Coral Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census ...

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, Bonita Springs, Estero, and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. A member of the Republican Party, Donalds was the

Florida state representative The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

for the 80th district, which encompasses Hendry County and part of

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Ev ...

, from 2016 to 2020.

Early life and education

Donalds was born and raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. One of three children, he was raised by his single mother. In 1996, Donalds graduated from Nazareth Regional High School in

East Flatbush East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the ...

. He attended

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing from Florida State University in 2002. In 1997, Donalds was arrested for marijuana distribution; the charges were dropped as part of a pre-trial diversion program. In 2000, he pleaded guilty to a felony bribery charge as part of a scheme to defraud a bank, which was expunged after he entered the Florida House.

Career

The 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum (48959680341)

Before entering politics, Donalds worked in the finance, insurance, and banking industries. He has worked at TIB Bank, CMG Life Services, and Moran Wealth in Naples, Florida. After Donalds became involved in the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defi ...

, he was encouraged to run for office. In 2012, Donalds was a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in

. He finished fifth of six candidates. In 2014, Donalds was reported as a likely candidate for the U.S. House in

after the resignation of

Trey Radel Henry Jude Radel III (born April 20, 1976) is an American radio personality, political commentator, author, actor, and former member of the United States House of Representatives. Radel’s show airs on the Florida-based station WFSX-FM, a FOX New ...

, but decided against running. Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016. During his Florida House tenure, he chaired the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Donalds was the Republican nominee for

in the 2020 election, running to succeed retiring incumbent

Francis Rooney Laurence Francis Rooney III (born December 4, 1953) is an American politician and diplomat who was a U.S. Representative for from 2017 to 2021. A Republican, he served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 until 2008. Represe ...

. He won a crowded nine-way Republican primary by 770 votes over State Representative

Dane Eagle Dane Eagle (born May 22, 1983) is an American politician from Florida. A Republican, Eagle was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis as Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in September 2020. Eagle was a member of the Florida ...

, finishing just over the threshold to avoid a recount. Republicans have a 100,000-voter advantage over Democrats in registration, and

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

professor Peter Bergerson noted that the Republican primary is almost always the real contest for most races in the area. In August 2020, anonymous text messages were sent out to constituents in the 19th district claiming that Donalds was dropping out of the race. Donalds later clarified via tweet that he was not dropping out and called the messages "illegal". During his campaign, Donalds stated his support for economic freedom, clean water, nuclear power and decreased government involvement in health care. He opposed the

Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...

. In the November general election, Donalds defeated Democratic nominee Cindy Banyai. Donalds said he would focus on policy related to water quality in

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

. Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2021, Donalds became only the sixth person to represent this district since its creation in 1983 (it had been the 13th District from 1983 to 1993, the 14th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 19th since 2013).

Tenure

In late 2020, 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". In January 2021, Donalds voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

. Donalds was blocked from joining the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

Iraq

In June 2021, Donalds was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the AUMF against Iraq.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ** Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties ** Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy * Committee on Budget * Committee on Small Business ** Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access ** Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations

Caucus memberships

Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and farth ...

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prima ...

Electoral history

2016

2018

2020

2022

Personal life

Donalds and his wife, Erika, have three sons. They live in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

. Donalds became a Christian at age 21.

References

External links

Representative Byron Donalds
official U.S. House website *
Byron Donalds for Congress
*
Florida House of Representatives - Byron Donalds
, - , - --> {{DEFAULTSORT:Donalds, Byron 1978 births 21st-century American politicians African-American Christians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Florida Black conservatism in the United States Candidates in the 2020 United States elections Florida State University alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Naples, Florida Politicians from Brooklyn Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people Tea Party movement activists

Early life and education

Career

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Tenure

Iraq

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history

2016

2018

2020

2022

Personal life

See also

References

External links