40 Florida Rabbis Endorse Byron Donalds for Governor
Forty Florida Rabbis Sign Open Letter Endorsing Byron Donalds for Governor
“Byron Donalds has stood with the Jewish community and with Israel when it mattered most,” declared a coalition of forty Florida rabbis who released an open letter endorsing Republican U.S. Forty Florida rabbis have signed an open letter endorsing Byron Donalds for Governor, floridapolitics.com reported. The campaign announced the endorsement on Friday, October 16, 2026, highlighting that the signers lead congregations and communities across 17 cities and seven counties, ranging from Miami Beach, Boca Raton, and Palm Beach to Tampa, Tallahassee, and Okeechobee.
Geographic Reach and Signatories Across Seven Florida Counties
The vast majority of the signers—thirty-six out of the forty—hold leadership roles within Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Specifically, Aventura and Hollywood account for six signatories each. Additional leaders represent communities in Tampa, Tallahassee, Okeechobee, and Ponte Vedra Beach. Breitbart.com noted that the letter is dated October 13 and was released to the public on Friday.
Bryan E. Leib, a campaign surrogate, emphasized the rarity of the consensus among the religious leaders. “It’s hard to get two rabbis to agree on anything, and 40 of them just agreed on Byron Donalds,” Leib said. Lisa Spies, the campaign’s Director of Jewish Outreach, added that the group represents some of the most respected rabbinic authorities in the state.
Policy Record on Antisemitism and School Choice
In their open letter, the rabbis praised Florida as a place where Jewish families can practice their faith and educate their children without constant fear. They pointed directly to Donalds’ legislative record and public commitments, such as his assertion during a Delray Beach town hall addressing Florida Atlantic University students that antisemitism will never be tolerated on college campuses. The rabbis also credited Donalds’ work in the Florida Legislature to expand scholarship programs, which they noted provides Jewish families with broader access to faith-based education.
The letter also highlighted Donalds' vocal support for Israel during the 2021 Hamas rocket attacks and his public statements reaffirming that backing on the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks. Breitbart.com further detailed that the rabbis praised Donalds for championing school choice initiatives.
3 years ago on this solemn day, Hamas terrorists unleashed an barbaric, cruel, and cowardly attack on Israel. More than 1,200 Israelis — most of them civilians — were murdered simply for being Jewish, shattering families across the country. Hamas’s depraved violence shocked the… pic.twitter.com/Hw2nppgaef
Donalds and Jolly Tie in Recent Polling
Donalds secured the Republican primary nomination in August with nearly half of the vote. That primary field included James Fishback, whose campaign drew an “openly bigoted” condemnation from the Republican Jewish Coalition when they congratulated Donalds on his victory. Donalds now faces David Jolly, a former Republican Congressman running as the Democratic nominee who captured roughly 61% of the vote in his own primary.
Recent polling presents a tight contest as the November 3 general election approaches. St. Pete Polls surveyed the matchup for Florida Politics and found the candidates tied at 45% apiece. A Mason-Dixon poll conducted for NBC6 and Telemundo 51 showed Donalds up 7, while Stetson University recorded an 11-point lead for the Republican nominee. Change Research also captured a dead heat at 47% each. Amid these shifting numbers, Decision Desk HQ adjusted its race rating from a toss-up to leaning Republican.
Voters Must Request Mail Ballots by October 22
Election Day is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, placing the vote just 18 days away from the announcement. Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters wishing to cast a ballot by mail must submit their requests to the Supervisor of Elections by 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 22. Mandatory early voting runs from October 24 through October 31, with select counties opening early voting sites as early as October 19. Completed mail ballots must reach the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, and voters may also drop them off at any early voting site within their home county during designated early voting hours.