Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Explains Why So Many People Are Moving To His State

An assortment of maps, studies, and surveys in recent years have put Florida at or near the top of the list of US states with the highest population growth from other states.

Those gains disproportionately come at the expense of deep-blue states like California and New York.

For Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is currently running to be the Sunshine State’s next governor, the secret to Florida’s success is no secret at all.

Here’s a relevant segment of his recent Fox News interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, per Gateway Pundit:

“How do you pay for everything when you don’t have all of those taxes?” Bartiromo asked.

“The first thing, Maria, is that you spend your money efficiently and smartly. We don’t waste many resources in Florida. We don’t get bogged down in a lot of bureaucratic mess the way California, New York, and Illinois do,” Donalds explained.

“And then the second thing is making sure that you prioritize a quality business environment with low regulation, low taxes, and allowing people to be free,” Donalds continued.

“Have you noticed the influx of wealth in Florida?” Bartiromo asked.

“Oh, absolutely. You travel this state, you’re seeing people from New York, from California, from Illinois. Starting to get some from Washington state,” Donalds said.

That fact isn’t lost on the Democrat leaders of those states:

Kathy Hochul begs for rich people to come back to New York and pay taxes,

"I need people who are high net worth to support the generous social programs that we want to have in our state. Now, there are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up…"pic.twitter.com/2G81N0s8nl

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) March 18, 2026

SECOND THOUGHTS?

After going viral for saying "like, bye" to wealth leaving Seattle & demonizing big business, including boycotting Starbucks, Seattle Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson is now PRAISING Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft & big donors for partnerships after many announced… pic.twitter.com/SD4wzVbbF4

— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) May 8, 2026

More than 500,000 Californians have left the state and moved to Florida. Two of those 500,000 are GAVIN NEWSOMS in laws. Take a look. pic.twitter.com/EtIJOBro6P

— Frank Furter (@FrankFurter420a) May 18, 2026

Florida’s population boom has been holding steady for years, as this WUSF report from 2024 explained:

As of April 1 of this year, Florida had 23,002,597 residents, according to estimates released earlier this month by the state Demographic Estimating Conference.

Florida is the third most populous state in the U.S., trailing only California’s 39.5 million residents and Texas’ 30.5 million inhabitants.

Florida added almost 359,000 people last year and has been adding about 350,000 to 375,000 people each year this decade, according to the estimates.

Here’s a clip of his remarks to Bartiromo: