Florida governor candidates Byron Donalds and David Jolly discuss policy platforms in final campaign push

The gubernatorial race highlights potential upcoming policy changes for Florida residents regarding local tax revenue under Amendment 3, public school and charter school accountability standards, state funding for fiscally constrained counties, and utility and water protections related to data centers.

• •A poll by the University of North Florida indicates a statistical tie between candidates Byron Donalds and David Jolly in the Florida governor's race.
• •Republican Byron Donalds supports continuing strict immigration enforcement and expanding audits of local and state agencies through Florida's Department of Government Efficiency.
• •Donalds stated he is prepared to provide a funding formula to assist fiscally constrained counties if Amendment 3 passes and reduces local revenue.
• •Democrat David Jolly opposes Amendment 3 mathematically but stated he would support the will of the voters if it passes.
• •Both candidates expressed support for keeping universal school vouchers in place.
• •David Jolly called for increased teacher pay in public schools and additional transparency and service requirements for charter schools accepting vouchers.
• •Byron Donalds emphasized that charter school accountability should focus on academic output measures such as math, reading, ACT, and SAT scores.
• •David Jolly supports a moratorium on data center construction, whereas Byron Donalds believes data center decisions should be left to local governments with state protections for water and utility costs.
• •Neither candidate participated in a traditional gubernatorial debate for this election cycle.