ELECTION ALERT: Tea Party Express Endorses Byron Donalds for U.S. Congress in Florida


For Immediate Release: August 13, 2020

SACRAMENTO, CA: Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest Tea Party political action committee, is pleased to announce its endorsement of State Rep. Byron Donalds in the race to replace retiring Congressman Francis Rooney in Florida’s 19th Congressional District.

Tea Party Express Co-Founder and Chief Strategist Sal Russo said, “Byron Donalds is precisely the successful businessman and Tea Party leader we need in Washington fighting to drain the swamp and helping President Trump advance his conservative agenda. We first met Byron when he spoke at our rally in 2014, and we were impressed by his commitment to Tea Party principles. He will be an effective and principled Congressman for Southwest Florida.

Byron Donalds has worked his entire life to achieve the American Dream. Through hard work and faith, he rose from a difficult life of poverty to build a successful career in finance and insurance. His life experience taught him how big government and excessive taxation stifle investment and job creation and ultimately destroy the individual liberty our Founding Fathers fought so hard to guarantee. Byron fought this government overreach during his two terms in the Florida House of Representatives, including cutting the state’s education bureaucracy and returning decision making power to parents and teachers. He will continue fighting for smaller and less intrusive government in Congress by advocating for a Balanced Budget Amendment and a fairer, flatter income tax that does not punish job creators and hardworking families.

“This election is shaping up to be the most critical in our lifetime. The Democrats are using the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic difficulties as excuses to push for more bloated federal programs, higher taxes on job creators, and costly bailouts of blue states that have mismanaged their budgets. If they are successful in gaining control of the White House and both houses of Congress, they will undo all the progress conservatives have made over the past four years and usher in an era of repressive big government that will bankrupt the nation and threaten the American Dream. Our current problems can only be solved through limited government and individual liberty, and that is why we need staunch conservative leaders like Byron Donalds in Congress,” Russo concluded.

The following are statements from local grassroots leaders:

Byron Donalds is the kind of conservative we need in Congress. I’ve gotten to know Byron through the Tea Party movement, which he joined in 2010, and through interaction at local Republican clubs. As a leader in East Lee County Republican circles, I’ve had an opportunity to track Rep. Donalds’ voting record in the Florida Legislature and have no doubts that he is the proven conservative in this race. He was willing to take on leadership and stand for our Second Amendment Rights when it mattered most. Byron Donalds has proven himself as the solid conservative in this race and has my full and enthusiastic endorsement. Let’s send a proven conservative from SWFL to Washington D.C. for a change. Someone like us. Vote Byron Donalds this August 18th.” – Michael Thompson, Conservative Supporter

“As a young Republican and Tea Party patriot, I enthusiastically endorse Byron Donalds for Congress. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Byron through Republican club circles. He’s a dynamic speaker and a tough debater. He will have AOC and “the squad” on their heels if they are foolish enough to even think about coming after him in debate. Byron is what the party needs right now. We need principled conservativism on full display combined with the energy necessary to fight the radical left. Byron Donalds has the proven conservative principles and the energy to fight the left. As a Cape Coral resident and someone who supported Dane Eagle when he ran for State House, many people would expect I would endorse him again in his run for Congress, but his votes to create Unconstitutional Red Flag laws and raise the legal age to purchase a long gun from 18 to 21 disqualify him from serving in Congress. There’s no way I can vote for, let alone endorse, Dane Eagle. Our party needs a future and a Congressman who answers to the voters, not another millionaire buying this seat. I’m #TeamDonalds all the way, and you should be too!” – Andrew Sund, Conservative Supporter

“I’m thrilled to offer my endorsement of Byron Donalds for U.S. Congress. I’ve known Byron since the early days of the Tea Party when my husband Barry helped start the Naples Tea Party movement. Barry and I got to know Byron as a dynamic speaker at our rallies who could fire up a crowd, even from the back of a pickup truck bed as a stage. Byron is a true grassroots candidate who listens to and has the support of conservatives of Southwest Florida. It will be a rare treat to have a proven conservative like Byron Donalds in Congress to stand up to the big spenders in both parties. I live in Ft. Meyers now, so I want to make sure we have a TRUE proven conservative representing Lee County, that’s why I’m backing Byron Donalds.” – Jackie Willoughby, Conservative Supporter

“I urge you to vote for Byron Donalds as our next representative in the US House. Do NOT allow the false, misleading attacks being made against this fine man to defeat him. I have known and highly respected Byron for the past 12 years. We were fellow leaders in the tea party movement launched in 2009. I was part of Byron’s original campaign team. I know him to be a great leader in the Florida House, a true conservative, a wonderful father and husband, a good Christian active in his church, and a treasured friend. Vote Donalds. He will make a positive impact for us in DC.” – Jack Tymann, President & CEO, Westinghouse International (retired)

“Florida’s 19th Congressional District needs a Republican candidate with integrity and authenticity! I am proud to place my full support for Byron Donalds and elect him as Florida Congressman to make a difference in Washington!” – Peter Cracchiolo, Grassroots Activist

To schedule an interview with a representative of Tea Party Express, please contact the Press Office at 916-914-5041.

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