MIAMI — U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds campaigned in Hialeah, where he highlighted public safety, housing affordability and responded to a newly filed civil lawsuit.
Read more Crews are draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again as part of Trump’s troubled revamp
“We are defending the Florida dream, and that starts with supporting our men and women in law enforcement,” Donalds said. “People feel safe in Florida.”
With the August primary approaching, fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates James Fishback, Jay Collins and Paul Renner have continued to call on Donalds to join them on the debate stage.
Asked why he continues to decline, Donalds pointed to his standing in the race.
“Where it stands right now, 39 days to go, our poll numbers have us around 50 percent,” Donalds said. “Their poll numbers are in single digits, and they’re grasping at straws, and I’m not going to help them.”
Donalds is the front-runner in the race, with a major endorsement and tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds.
During the campaign stop, Donalds also outlined his plan to make homeownership more affordable.
Read more English newlyweds cross the Atlantic for World Cup honeymoon at Miami Stadium
“Government has to shrink permitting timelines to push down the cost of construction,” Donalds said. “Thirty percent of the cost of a new home in America is government permitting costs. We need to shrink that down.”
Donalds also responded to allegations in a newly filed civil lawsuit accusing him of threatening and intimidating a Collier County school official in 2022.
“It’s frivolous, it’s baseless,” Donalds said.
Among the supporters attending the event was Miriam Campos, who praised Donalds’ campaign.
“He has very good ideas, and he’s proven he’s a good person,” Campos said.
Campos said she supports Donalds because she wants “to live in a free country that nobody wants to interfere with my religion or the way I speak or the way I think.”
Read more Platner formally withdraws from Maine Senate race and Democrats announce process to name new nominee
