Republican Congressman Byron Donalds has secured the Republican nomination for Florida governor on Tuesday and has strengthened his position ahead of November’s general election. His growing national profile has also put his family in the spotlight, especially his wife, Erica Donalds, who has a significant imprint on Florida’s education ground.
Erica Donalds is an education entrepreneur and longtime school choice advocate. Byron and Erika have appeared together at rallies throughout the campaign period.
Donalds, 47, emerged as the clear Republican frontrunner after he received an early endorsement from President and is now the Republican nominee to succeed term-limited Governor Ron DeSantis. If elected in November, he would become Florida’s first Black governor.
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Who is Erika Donalds?
Erika Donalds is an accountant by training and an education policy expert. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Florida State University and a master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA), according to Ballotpedia.
Erilka spent nearly two decades in the financial services industry before she stepped foot into education policy. She served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Partner at an investment management firm, overseeing finance, compliance and operations.
She later shifted her focus to education reform. Erika founded OptimaEd, an education technology company, and The Optima Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the creation and operation of charter schools. Both organisations promote school choice and alternative education models across Florida and other states.
Erika has also held several public appointments. She served on the Collier County School Board after winning the election in 2014. She was later appointed to Florida’s 2017-18 Constitution Revision Commission, which reviews and recommends constitutional amendments.
Today, she serves as Chair of Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute and advises several education-focused organisations, including the Heritage Foundation and Moms for Liberty.
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Family life and Byron Donalds’ political rise
The Republican lawmaker met Erika while attending Florida State University, and the couple later settled in Naples, Florida. They have lived there since 2002 and are raising three sons, Damon, Darin, and Mason, together.
Bisa Hall, Byron Donalds’ first wife, claimed that while he and Hall were still married, Byron started dating Erika. Hall told WGCU News that their marriage was not passionate and that they simply got married to fix what she called a “residency issue” that prevented her from going to Florida for college.
According to The New York Times, Byron moved from Brooklyn to Florida for college. In Florida, Byron initially worked in financial services and later entered politics through the Tea Party movement. He lost his first congressional race in 2012 but won the election to the Florida House in 2016, which led to him entering Congress in 2020.
