Jolly’s momentum and endorsements grow- MAGA Fest at the Orange Blossom Classic

By Noni Haynes

Miami—The Orange Blossom Classic was more than a football game between two HBCUs.  It was a meet-up of sorts for Florida A&M University President Marva Johnson and Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds. The two are part of the new political class of Black “MAGA” Republicans who were endorsed by President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis.

In the President’s Box at Hard Rock Stadium, Donalds was celebrating his candidacy, high-fiving guests who were mostly FAMU staff. But while President Johnson has touted Donalds as an asset to FAMU, the controversial firebrand struggles to win Black voters. Despite his huge commercial blitz of over $55 million, only 47% of Republican voters cast ballots for him in the August Primary. That means he’s having trouble with White voters who make up the largest portion of the MAGA base.  Republican strategist and pundit Steve Bannon put it this way,” With all the money he raised and Trumps endorsement, to only get 47% of the vote? That’s a ticking time bomb.”

Jolly is undaunted by Donald’s war chest. “They can’t buy their way in,” he says. What Jolly lacks in money, he makes up for with campaign sprints and endorsements across the state and nation. The Reverend Jamal Bryant, prominent activist minister, and Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Leader of the US House of Representatives, lead a list of prominent players who confirm that Jolly’s broad appeal.  “I proudly and strongly support David Jolly and Gwen Graham. I’m fully behind their candidacy and looking forward to their partnership up and down the ticket.”  Jeffries will become the first Black Speaker of the House if Democrats take control of the chamber.  He will also be second in the line of succession to the presidency.

Byron Donalds has struggled on the campaign trail and is deluded by brutal social media posts attacking his blackness.  He also ignores basic campaign taboos like never being introduced on a football field.  When he and his wife Erica did so at a University of South Florida game, there was no applause, just a long sequence of loud boos. He dodged speaking at the Tampa Tiger Bay Club, a political staple, and is sending his running mate Bryan Avila. The absence of Black support is daunting, and sources say that Donalds is scrambling to pull together Black pastors. Faith Leaders for Florida’s Future, led by Rev. R.B. Holmes, is a group of more than 70 pastors that has served Jolly in an advisory capacity since November 2025. Most recently, the group met in Jacksonville for a day-long conference developing a working document and recommendations for the Jolly administration.