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Two pro-Israel candidates will vie to succeed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

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JTA — Sunshine State voters will need to choose between two pro-Israel candidates for governor in November’s general election to replace Governor Ron DeSantis, after Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly won their respective primaries on Tuesday night.

The Associated Press called both the Republican and Democratic primary races for governor at 8 p.m., about an hour after polls closed on Tuesday, with around 85% of the votes counted in both races. By that time, Donalds had secured 48.6% of the GOP primary votes and Jolly had amassed 61.5% of Democratic primary votes.

Jolly had been a Republican Representative for Florida in the US House from 2014-2017, representing the South-Central coastal zone, but gradually abandoned the party for the Democrats as he distanced himself from President Donald Trump. Byron Donalds has served as Florida’s Representative in Washington since 2019.

DeSantis, Florida’s governor since 2019, is term-limited by state law and therefore isn’t able to run for reelection. His replacement will be filling the shoes of a governor known for his unwavering stance on Israel and his intolerance for the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement.

A strong supporter of Israel, DeSantis was the first Florida governor to visit the West Bank, stopping in an Israeli industrial park in Gush Etzion in 2019. Amid pressure from DeSantis that same year, Airbnb reversed a policy that had removed apartment listings in West Bank settlements.

DeSantis has signed off on multiple bills that focused on protecting Florida’s Jewish community from antisemitic attacks, as........

© The Times of Israel