The post Byron Donalds committee to flood Florida airwaves with $20M ad blitz appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
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Byron Donalds is about to make sure Florida can’t change the channel.
Friends of Byron Donalds is launching a $20 million statewide advertising buy beginning Tuesday, June 30, and running through Primary Day on Aug. 18, the committee told Florida Politics exclusively. The blitz spans cable, broadcast, streaming and radio across every major media market in the state — the largest single media investment the committee has made.
The buy is built to blanket the airwaves with Donalds’ pitch to protect the Florida dream by making the state safer, healthier and more affordable straight through the Republican Primary.
“We are kicking off our statewide media buy with the same level of dominance we have had since day one,” said Ryan Smith, Chair of Friends of Byron Donalds PAC.
“This unmatched statewide media buy is just the beginning of our strategy to tell Floridians how Byron Donalds is the only governor candidate of either party who will fight to lower the cost of living, hold government accountable for how it spends your money, and protect the health and safety of our families.”
The size of the buy tracks the size of Donalds’ lead. The Naples Republican, who represents Florida’s 19th Congressional District, has spent the cycle lapping the GOP field, with surveys showing him ahead of Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, investor James Fishback and former House Speaker Paul Renner by margins as wide as 40-plus points. One poll pegged his support among likely Primary voters at 54%.
“Byron Donalds is the proven conservative leader with the vision, resources, and grassroots energy to defeat the Democrats and their radical agenda,” Smith said.
Donalds’ political operation has surpassed $81 million raised from more than 35,000 donors and carried roughly $65 million in the bank into mid-June, a war chest that dwarfs the rest of the field and bankrolls a ground game the committee says has knocked more than 150,000 doors.
Donalds also holds the cycle’s most commanding conservative coalition. He became the clear front-runner after President Donald Trump backed him in February 2025 — an early nod that effectively cleared his path to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis — and has since added Donald Trump Jr., Elon Musk, the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, the majority of Florida’s Sheriffs and dozens of legislators and conservative leaders across the state.
With the Primary increasingly looking like a formality, the ad campaign also lets Donalds train his fire on the General Election, where former U.S. Rep. David Jolly — who recently tapped former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham as his running mate — is the likely Democratic nominee. Banking $20 million of airtime now gives Donalds a head start on defining that fight on his terms.
The Primary Election is Aug. 18, with the General Election Nov. 3.
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Ed. note: This story was drafted with assistance from AI. Editorial judgment, sourcing, and final review were performed by Peter Schorsch and the Florida Politics editorial team.
The post Byron Donalds committee to flood Florida airwaves with $20M ad blitz appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
