At his weekly press conference, Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves officially endorsed Congressman Byron Donalds for governor, adding another high-profile endorsement to Donalds’ campaign that already enjoys President Donald Trump’s backing.
- Speaking to reporters, Mayor Reeves made his support clear and personal: “I consider Byron and Erika Donalds friends. I’ve gotten to know her a lot this year in Leadership Florida, and she’s doing amazing things in education. I think Byron is a great guy who’s earned everything that he’s gotten. Just an impressive family. And yeah, he has my full support. I think he’s an amazing guy and I think he’ll be a great governor.”
A Personal Connection Beyond Politics
The endorsement from Reeves carries particular weight given his emphasis on the personal relationship he’s developed with both Byron and Erika Donalds.
- “This isn’t just supporting a candidate, supporting friends that I know,” Reeves explained. “And I’m so impressed with everything that Erica had done in their careers.”
Erika Donalds, who serves as chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute, previously won a seat on the local school board in 2014 and founded the Optima Foundation in 2017 to support charter schools and educational choice.
Shared Vision for Long-Term Governance
What appears to resonate most with Mayor Reeves is Donalds’ approach to governance that prioritizes long-term planning over political expediency. The Pensacola mayor drew parallels between his own governing philosophy and what he heard from Donalds during their recent meeting.
- “People ask me all the time, I think it happens, everybody in politics, what are you going to do next? What’s next? I make no plans about what I’m going to do next if I’m the mayor and I never in politics again, that’s okay. Or maybe I will, I don’t know. But I try to make decisions in this job for 20 years from now,” Reeves said.
The mayor continued, “And I think that’s sometimes what is wrong about politics is that we make decisions only in the silo of whether you’re in office or not. And that is healthy for the community as a whole.”
Donalds’ Growing Support
The endorsement from Mayor Reeves adds to the momentum building behind Donalds’ gubernatorial campaign. Donalds announced his candidacy in February 2025 after receiving President Trump’s endorsement, with Trump writing on Truth Social that “Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida, and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
If elected, Donalds would be the first Black governor of the state. The Naples Republican has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District since 2020 and previously served four years in the Florida House of Representatives.
Donalds has outlined his top priorities for the gubernatorial campaign: addressing Florida’s insurance crisis, building new roads, restoring the Everglades, making Florida the “financial capital of the world” and ensuring children in schools “master math, reading, writing and reasoning.”