The group also endorsed Donalds in the Republican Primary.
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AFC Victory Fund, the political arm of the American Federation for Children, is endorsing Byron Donalds in the General Election for Governor. The group also endorsed him in the Republican Primary.
The American Federation for Children is the school choice group Betsy DeVos chaired before she became U.S. Education Secretary.
Wednesday’s statement names Democratic nominee David Jolly. The August statement did not.
“His opponent, David Jolly, has called to limit education freedom in the state and deny thousands of Floridian students access to the education that best meets their needs,” the group said.
Jolly, who uses state scholarships for his own two children at a faith-based private school, told the Florida Phoenix’s Christine Sexton last September that “choice is here to stay” and that he is “a Democrat who’s not going to stand up and tell you we’re going to do away with choice.” He said private schools that take the money should have to meet the same standards as public schools, should not be allowed to raise tuition above the scholarship amount, and should not be allowed to turn away students with disabilities.
His running mate, Gwen Graham, said at a Tallahassee education forum Friday: “There is no transparency. There’s no accountability in the choice program.”
A Donalds campaign spokesman told the Tampa Free Press this month that Jolly and Graham “want to rip school choice opportunity away from hundreds of thousands of Florida families while keeping it for themselves.”
Donalds was an original co-sponsor of the Educational Choice for Children Act, the House bill that became the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Starting Jan. 1, taxpayers can take up to $1,700 a year off their federal taxes for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations such as Step Up For Students.
Gov. Ron DeSantis opted Florida into the program in January. AFC Victory Fund says the credit could reach nearly 3.2 million Florida students. Before Congress, Donalds spent two terms in the Florida House, where he sponsored charter school and scholarship legislation.
His wife, Erika Donalds, who runs a charter school company, stood in for him at Friday’s forum. She described a “Launchpad Initiative” that would repurpose tax credit scholarships to fund internships and apprenticeships for high school juniors and seniors, and said about 40,000 families received scholarships last year they could not use because the school they wanted had no seat.
More than 525,000 students were funded on Florida’s K-12 scholarship programs in 2025-26, according to Step Up For Students, and applications for this school year passed 500,000 by the end of March.
“Florida has become a national model for school choice, and Congressman Donalds has been a reliable champion of the policies that have helped make that progress possible,” AFC Victory Fund CEO Tommy Schultz said.
“As Governor, Byron Donalds will have the opportunity to build on Florida’s leadership and ensure even more families can choose the educational setting that works best for their children. AFC Victory Fund is proud to support a proven school choice champion with a record of delivering greater opportunities for students and families.”
St. Pete Polls’ survey for Florida Politics had the race at 44% to 43% for Donalds two weeks ago. Stetson University’s poll the following week had Donalds up 12 points, 51% to 39%. Jolly adviser Mark Riddle called it a “garbage poll.” Decision Desk HQ moved the race to “Toss Up” last week, with Donalds at a 60% win probability, down from 68% at the start of September. Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections have it at Lean Republican.
As of Sept. 11, Donalds had nearly $44 million on hand. Jolly had about $6.3 million between his campaign and his Florida 2026 political committee. He has said he can win with $15 million if national Democrats send it.
Donalds won the Aug. 18 Primary with nearly 48% over Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, James Fishback and former House Speaker Paul Renner. Jolly took 61% on the Democratic side.
The Florida Police Benevolent Association and the NRA Political Victory Fund endorsed Donalds this month. AFP Action, Florida FarmPAC, and President Donald Trump, who backed him in February 2025, endorsed earlier.
AFC Victory Fund did not announce spending with the endorsement. The DeVos family gave $1 million to Friends of Byron Donalds, Donalds’ political committee, earlier this month.
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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.
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