Why Byron Donalds Fails the Free Market Test for Florida Governor

As early voting has started in Florida’s August 18, 2026 primary, voters are faced with the illusion of choice in who their next governor will be. If you are a Floridian interested in maximizing your freedom as an individual or your business, the frustration must be painful. The chance of a truly freedom-based candidate earning a win in November to move into Florida’s Governor's Mansion is slim to none.

While yes, others are competing in the Democratic and Republican Party primaries, it is clear Byron Donalds will be Florida’s next governor. Sadly, he and most of his competitors represent expansion of government power rather than expanding individual freedoms for Floridians and tourists visiting our state. This leaves principled voters looking for a genuine alternative—good luck. So, unless the insider trading and other allegations bear fruit, Donalds is the frontrunner to be Florida’s next governor, though I’d prefer to see a more freedom-based Floridian in the governor’s mansion.

Donalds is no free market capitalist, regardless of his rhetoric. He wants and promotes government intervention at nearly every turn. Fortunately, we have Byron Donald’s voting record, which is a long list of increasing federal spending while increasing regulatory intervention, instead of reducing the footprint of the federal government.

Talk about a hoodwink of conservative policy; based on his voting record, he consistently votes for federal dictates on how private businesses manage their operations. Donalds voted to expand government databases to monitor citizens; he consistently uses the force of law to intervene in the private sector.

More than once has voted for the reauthorization of FISA Section 702, the warrantless surveillance collecting Americans’ communications. In April 2026, he voted yes on a proposed 5-year FISA Section 702 extension. He was not among the 12 Republicans who voted no. And he voted YES on S.1318 (3-year FISA Section 702 reauthorization, 119th Congress).

In 2023, he voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. And just last month, he again voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, which effectively merged Israeli defense forces with U.S. Defense, which puts our sovereignty at risk. These bills authorize nearly a trillion dollars in taxpayer money to fund a military bureaucracy.

Earlier this year, Donalds voted in favor of H.R. 8469, FY2027 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations. The bill provides $157 billion in discretionary funding, nearly $4 billion, or 3 percent, above FY2026, plus $323.9 billion in mandatory spending, for $469.49 billion total. This is a direct vote for a year-over-year increase in federal spending.

In 2024, Donalds voted for the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. This added $26.38 billion in emergency federal appropriations, including $4 billion for Iron Dome and David's Sling, $3.5 billion through Foreign Military Financing, $4.4 billion to replenish defense articles and $2.4 billion for U.S. military operations in the region. These were supplemental appropriations, meaning additional spending beyond the regular budget process.

One freedom-based issue that aligned Donalds with conservatives is his voting against marijuana. In April 2022, he voted against H.R. 3617, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE). That is a vote against individual freedom. He could have voted to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, eliminate federal criminal penalties for marijuana, and provide mechanisms for expunging certain federal marijuana convictions. Donalds chose to vote against it, which Floridians are for. And on top of that, he voted against an amendment to prevent people from being denied security clearances over prior marijuana use. More so, on the marijuana issue, he has campaigned AGAINST voters choosing how to legalize marijuana, in favor of Tallahassee bureaucrats and himself. He seems interested in continuing the propaganda from Reefer Madness. Similarly, in 2025, he voted in favor of the HALT Fentanyl Act (H.R. 27), which has done nothing to halt fentanyl. Like most of his votes, they are great for posturing but do little to solve the stated “problem.”

In March 2024, Donalds voted for H.R. 7521, which required ByteDance to divest TikTok or have the application barred from distribution in the United States. Donalds voted for this government-forced divestiture of private property. And while I personally find TikTok a cancer on society as a whole, the Act did nothing to curb TikTok’s popularity or its corruption of our children’s minds, in my view, and in the process interrupted the free market in favor of heavy government intervention.

Donalds’ voting record shows repeated votes for billions in additional federal spending, including explicit 3 percent year-over-year increases in two VA and military-construction bills, plus emergency foreign and military appropriations. So, he’s a strong contender to be one of the best “military industrial complex” puppets in the legislature.

Floridians deserve a representative who actually cuts spending across the board. The government takes every dollar it spends from a productive citizen. Real freedom means I keep the money I earn. It means voluntary cooperation replaces government mandates. I urge Floridians seeking true freedom and true free trade to look past the partisan rhetoric. We must choose candidates who will genuinely dismantle the state apparatus instead of just redirecting its power.

True progress for Florida relies on voluntary cooperation rather than legislative mandates. We need more free trade and less managed trade. The next Florida legislative session and our next governor should shrink the size of our state government so individuals can retain their hard-earned money and personal choices.

Floridians have a choice this November, and while the August 18, 2026 primaries are still underway, I would suggest voters give serious consideration to voting for the most freedom-based candidates rather than who they think will win. It is only through this strategy of voting that things will actually change for the better in Florida and our nation.

Floridians can build a legacy of freedom by championing individual liberty and personal responsibility.