Jay Collins lost big — but he did win 16 counties in North Florida and 17 overall

By: Mitch Perry

Outlets: Florida Phoenix

Published: August 20, 2026

Words: 840

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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Byron Donalds enjoyed a relatively stress-free night Tuesday in defeating 10 opponents to capture the Republican nomination for governor and goes into November’s general election as the favorite against Democrat David Jolly.

Donalds defeated Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, 48%-25%. Investment firm CEO James Fishback came in third place at 10% and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner was at 9%.

Collins showed significant strength in the Panhandle. The decorated Army Special Forces combat veteran defeated …

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