Florida is weeks away from choosing its next governor, and real estate’s big money is largely on the Republican candidate, Byron Donalds.
But the Democratic candidate, David Jolly, is cashing checks from the real estate industry as well.
Donalds, a U.S. representative for Florida’s 19th Congressional District and an ally of President Donald Trump, brought in $40 million from real estate executives, companies and related industries through his Friends of Byron Donalds PAC as of Sept. 25, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
Jolly is a former Republican congressman who represented Florida’s 13th Congressional District and left the GOP last year. He raised $779,500 from the industry through Florida 2026 PAC.
Real estate, large property owners and adjacent industries such as law, engineering, architecture and property insurance accounted for about 33 percent of Donalds’ $120.5 million in total fundraising, compared with 11 percent of Jolly’s $7.3 million, according to an analysis by The Real Deal.
Donalds has spent $82.5 million, or 68 percent of his bankroll, while Jolly has spent about half, at $3.6 million.
The candidates have sharply different agendas on issues that affect our industry, like housing affordability, property taxes and insurance.
Here’s a breakdown of donations received by each candidate from February 2025 through Sept. 25, 2026.
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Donalds has called for allowing smaller housing units and speeding up permitting, arguing that government-related restraints and costs add to construction expenses.
While zoning and permitting falls to counties and municipalities, state lawmakers in recent years have eroded local controls in the name of safety and housing affordability with Florida’s Live Local Act and the Florida Building Safety Act.
Donalds is calling for local governments to remove zoning restraints to boost housing inventory. He wants smaller, more affordable units for younger, first-time buyers and has argued that developers building too big is part of the problem.
“Your first home you buy is never the house of your dreams, unless you’re an NBA player,” he said in September at the WLRN/Fort Lauderdale Alliance Sunshine Economy Summit. “If we tell a young person that the only way in is to buy a four-bedroom, two-bath in the Gables, that’s not how people typically start. Everybody has to work their way up. What the government should do is make sure that the first step is easier to obtain.”
For permitting, he wants the state to seek technology that could modernize systems used by local governments and state agencies. Donalds has suggested the state could help pay for subscription and implementation costs for local governments that adopt approved systems. He also proposed making permitting systems interoperable so that local governments can assist one another during emergencies.
On insurance, he supports eliminating a 25 percent surcharge paid into the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. He also backs Amendment 3, which would increase the homestead exemption, and has proposed changes to property tax portability and business taxes.
At a Congressional hearing earlier this year, Donalds advocated changing Fannie Mae condo lending rules that he said disadvantage Florida buyers by requiring 25 percent down with a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio, compared to 90 percent nationwide.
Donalds’ fundraising picked up sharply this year.
Monthly totals reached $10.4 million in March, $9.4 million in May and $13 million in July. After dipping in April and August, fundraising surged to $17.5 million in September, the strongest month in the data.
His spending ramped up even faster, rising from $3.1 million in May to $7.8 million in June, $19 million in July and $25.7 million in August, before falling to $17.9 million in September.
Donalds had 474 donors in real estate or related industries.
Citadel’s Ken Griffin, one of Florida’s most active real estate investors, who is building a skyscraper headquarters in Brickell and acquired 545wyn for $181 million and Mana Wynwood for $1.1 billion this year, was Donalds’ top donor, giving the Republican gubernatorial candidate $10 million on July 17, close to a month before the primary election.
Real estate billionaires Steve Wynn and Steve Ross each donated $1 million. Ross gave another $100,000 through Related Ross.
Patrick K. Neal, founder of Neal Communities, donated $531,554. Stuart Miller of Lennar and GL Homes’ Itzhak Ezratti each contributed $100,000. And John Paulson, a Wall Street financier who made billions by betting against subprime mortgage securities ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, gave $25,000.
Jorge Mas’ MasTec and Jorge Pérez’s Related Group were among the billionaire-owned real estate companies that donated, with MasTec giving $125,000 and Related Group contributing $50,000.
Other local real estate heavyweights who opened their wallets include:
- Seminole Tribe of Florida: $5.5 million
- The Geo Group: $2.5 million
- The People Versus the Powerful (Airbnb PAC): $1 million
- Foreshore Capital: $800,000
- Slide Insurance: $750,000
- Alex Witkoff: $148,000
- H. Wayne Huizenga Jr.: $100,000
- Greenberg Traurig: $100,000
- Terra Group: $78,000
- Bluenest Development: $75,000
- Property Markets Group: $72,000
- Oak Row Equities: $50,000
- Douglas Elliman: $50,000
- 13th Floor Investments: $35,000
- Michael Stern: $25,000
- Swerdlow Group: $25,000
Bluenest’s Salim Chraibi said he was sold on Donalds’ promises for permitting reform and shorter approval timelines.
Outside of real estate, some of Donalds’ biggest donations came from billionaires in finance, political organizations, law firms, the gambling and casino sector and automotive magnates.
Billionaire businessman and major TikTok investor Jeff Yass gave $7.5 million. Conservative super PAC Club for Growth Action Florida gave $3.8 million. Uline and Schlitz beer heir Richard E. Uihlein donated $2 million. Billionaire Interactive Brokers founder and chair Thomas Peterffy, Betting Alliance Sports and personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan each contributed $1 million. Braman Motors, Craig Zinn, JM Family Automotive and Ed Morse Automotive Group were among the car dealers who donated between $50,000 and $300,000-plus.
Most of Donalds’ expenditures went toward media advertising and contributions to other political organizations, including $40.8 million combined to Del Cielo Media and Push Digital, and more than $22 million to the Republican Party of Florida. The candidate also spent more than $173,000 on events held at President Trump’s 20-acre Mar-a-Lago Club.
Jolly wants the state to invest more in more workforce and affordable housing. His platform calls for greater local control over zoning and development and targeted property-tax relief for first-time homebuyers.
“Twenty-five years into Save Our Homes, we’ve so artificially imbalanced the tax rates between the longtime homeowner and the first-time homebuyer,” he said at the WLRN/Fort Lauderdale Alliance summit. “That new homebuyer has a tax bill that jumps by 400 or 500 percent.”
The 1992 Florida constitutional amendment limited annual increases in the assessed value of a primary residence with a homestead exemption.
“Between that and insurance, there’s a reason first-time homebuying age is now 40 years old compared to about 28,” Jolly said.
Jolly has proposed a state-backed catastrophe fund to move hurricane and wind risk out of the private insurance market, which he says could lower premiums, along with no-interest, state-backed loans to help condo owners spread the costs of major building repairs rather than being forced to sell their units.
The agenda builds in part on Jolly’s time in Congress, where he advocated for insurance-related measures, including a national catastrophic insurance fund and legislation aimed at limiting flood-insurance rate increases.
Jolly’s fundraising was much smaller through most of 2025 and early 2026, generally staying below $1 million a month. It picked up to $846,000 in March 2026, then jumped to $2.1 million in August and $1.5 million in September.
His spending generally was below $300,000 a month, before hitting $931,000 in July and then falling to $307,000 in August and $316,000 in September.
Jolly had 21 donors in the real estate or related industries. Deborah Simon, daughter of billionaire shopping mall magnate Melvin Simon of Simon Property Group, was the top real estate donor, contributing $250,000 on June 24. Compass Realty residential broker Michelle Howland, who is married to hedge fund manager Donald Sussman, followed with a $200,000 contribution on Sept. 18, exactly a month after the primary. The two donations accounted for almost 60 percent of Jolly’s money from the industry.
Attorneys at law firms with major real estate practices also contributed, including Al Dotson, CEO and managing partner of Bilzin Sumberg, who gave $10,000, and Berger Singerman’s Mitchell Berger, who gave $21,500. Swerdlow Group gave Jolly $5,000, in addition to contributing $25,000 to Donalds.
Donald Sussman was Jolly’s top donor, contributing $1.6 million. Barbara A. Stiefel, heiress to the Stiefel Medicinal Soap Co. fortune, also was a major donor, giving $475,000.
Attorneys and people listed as unemployed or retired made up the largest donor demographics for Jolly.
The majority of Jolly’s expenditures went toward political committees, including more than $1.1 million to the Florida Democratic Party.
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