Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), currently running in the Republican primary for governor of Florida, spoke to supporters on Monday about his personal background and professional career prior to entering politics.
Speaking at a campaign event eight days before the primary election, Donalds discussed his early years moving to Florida at age 17.
He noted that he arrived in the state with a trunk full of clothes on a Greyhound bus before attending Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and later graduating from Florida State University.
Donalds recounted working in restaurants for four years during college and through his first year of marriage to help make ends meet.
“I’ve been taking stock of the entire journey, not just the speeches, not just the events,” Donalds said during his address.
Describing his transition into adulthood, Donalds shared details regarding his personal life and family. He stated that he became a Christian at age 21, married his wife, Erika, at 23, and raised three sons.
He detailed early financial challenges, explaining that he and his wife worked two jobs each while negotiating payment terms for the security deposit on their first two-bedroom rental apartment in Naples, Florida.
Before holding public office, Donalds worked in the financial and banking sector and served for 12 years as a youth leader in his local church.
Donalds’ remarks come as part of the closing stretch of the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary campaign.
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