Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds has selected State Sen. Bryan Ávila as his running mate, adding the Hialeah native to the GOP ticket as the race for Florida governor heads toward the November general election.
Donalds made the announcement Tuesday at Miami’s historic Freedom Tower, calling Ávila a “proven warrior” who would stand alongside him in the campaign.
Ávila, 42, is the son of Cuban exiles and has served in the Florida Legislature since 2014, when he was first elected to the state House. He won a seat in the Senate unopposed in 2022 and was reelected in 2024.
He has also served as a captain in the Florida Army National Guard and helped lead Donalds’ “Latinos for Byron” coalition.
Dario Moreno, an associate professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University, said Ávila was a strategic choice that brings more diversity to the Republican ticket.
“It’s balancing the ticket,” Moreno said. “You have an African American running with a Hispanic on the Republican ticket against two non-Latin whites. And in the demographics of Florida, where the Hispanic community is so important… that’s a powerful ticket.”
Ávila also has a conservative legislative record that could help Donalds appeal to Republican voters. He sponsored Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, which restricted how race and gender could be discussed in classrooms and was part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ broader push over classroom instruction. The law has faced legal challenges, and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a lower court ruling striking down part of it as unconstitutional.
More recently, Ávila sponsored legislation putting a constitutional amendment aimed at cutting property taxes on the November ballot. DeSantis initially spearheaded the effort but later backed away from full-throated support after lawmakers removed a provision that would have reduced taxes paid to school districts.
Ávila also leaned into his family’s history as Cuban exiles during the announcement.
“When I hear Democrats casually embracing socialism, I know where that road leads,” he said. “Our families have lived it.”
Donalds is running against Democrat David Jolly, who said Tuesday that the race would not ultimately be decided by Ávila’s relationship with Donalds, but by Donalds’ close ties to President Donald Trump, who endorsed him.
Jolly is running with Gwen Graham, daughter of former Florida governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham. She ran for governor in 2018 but lost in the primary to the more progressive candidate, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
Moreno said the larger question will be what each candidate offers Florida voters beyond national politics.
“I think this election is going to be not only ethnicity and not only demographics, but also who has a vision for Florida beyond DeSantis and beyond Donald Trump,” he said.
Donalds would become Florida’s first Black governor if elected. The general election is November 3, with both major-party tickets now set.
