MIAMI, Fla. — Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds selected Miami-Dade state Sen. Bryan Avila as his running mate Tuesday, adding a Cuban-American lawmaker, educator and Florida Army National Guard captain to the GOP ticket.
Donalds announced the pick at Miami’s Freedom Tower, a landmark closely tied to South Florida’s Cuban exile community. He framed the partnership around their families’ pursuit of opportunity and a shared commitment to conservative policies.
“I came to Florida at 17 years old with a trunk full of clothes, chasing a dream. Bryan Avila is the son of Cuban exiles who fled communism so their children could live in freedom,” Donalds said. “We didn’t inherit political names. We didn’t inherit political birthrights, but what we inherited was the responsibility to fight for the state that gave our families everything.”
Avila was born and raised in Hialeah after his parents, Adrian and Rosa Maria Avila, fled Cuba. He now lives in Miami Springs with his wife, Cindy, his high school sweetheart, and their two children.
The selection gives Donalds, a Southwest Florida congressman, a running mate with deep political and personal ties to Miami-Dade and its influential Cuban-American community.
Avila was first elected to the Florida House in 2014 and eventually rose to speaker pro tempore. He won election to the Senate in 2022 and currently chairs the Finance and Tax Committee.
Donalds praised Avila as a “proven warrior,” pointing to his work on property taxes, toll relief, human trafficking, conservation and a new law intended to protect utility customers and water supplies as large-scale data centers expand in Florida.
Avila also sponsored the Stop WOKE Act, one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature culture-war measures. The law restricts certain instruction and training involving race, discrimination and privilege in schools and workplaces. Critics called it an attack on free speech, and parts of the law have been blocked by federal courts.
Avila used his first speech as Donalds’ running mate to focus on his parents’ experience under communism and draw a contrast with Democrats he accused of embracing socialism.
“My parents fled communist Cuba and left behind their home and their business because they knew what happens when government takes over, when freedom disappears and when socialism turns opportunity into misery,” Avila said.
“So when I hear Democrats casually embracing socialism, I know where that road leads,” he added. “Our families have lived it. I can assure you this: with Byron Donalds as governor and me as your lieutenant governor, socialism will never find a home in the great state of Florida.”
Democratic nominee David Jolly congratulated Avila on the selection but argued the race will remain centered on Donalds’ close political alliance with President Donald Trump.
“I wish him well,” Jolly said. “But, let’s be honest: this race won’t come down to Byron Donalds’ relationship with Avila, it will come down to Byron’s relationship with Donald Trump.”
Beyond politics, Avila serves as a captain in the Florida Army National Guard. His service has included hurricane response missions, command of military units and support for Florida’s COVID-19 response. He also works as an academic dean at the Doral College School of Criminal Justice.
Donalds and Avila will campaign on affordability, lower taxes, public safety, parental rights and school choice. They face Jolly and his running mate, former Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham, in the November general election.
