Fox Downgrades Florida Governor Race—Byron Donalds Says Its Hispanic Shift Is Wrong– wltreport.com

Florida is still red. But if Republicans treat that fact like a permission slip to sleep through the final two weeks, they may wake up to the biggest political shock of 2026.

Fox News has moved the governor’s race between Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly from Likely Republican to Lean Republican.

Fox still favors Donalds. The new rating warns that the race in President Trump’s home state has become competitive enough that a serious upset can no longer be dismissed.

The reason Fox highlighted should command every Republican’s attention: Hispanic support for the GOP appears to be sliding after becoming a central part of Trump’s winning Florida coalition.

Donalds went on Fox and rejected the premise. He said his campaign’s internal numbers show Hispanic support growing, not shrinking, and that support among voters overall is moving his way.

One of those assessments will be proven right on November 3. The margin between them is the entire story.

BARIS: I think @ByronDonalds is in REAL TROUBLE.

FL is a very distinct animal. You have to know ALL of FL, not just PB, not just MAL.

Unless I poll it myself, I’m considering it close.

We saw some of the biggest drop-offs in primary voting in R suburban strongholds around… pic.twitter.com/ks9K87tX0c

— Grace Chong, MBI (@gc22gc) October 15, 2026