Byron Donalds

Byron Donalds, a Republican candidate for Florida governor, shares a story of his religious conversion in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.

Donalds' story of faith and redemption is seen as an appeal to evangelical voters, a significant political force in Florida.

His "born again" testimony is contrasted with the religious upbringings of opponents like Paul Renner and David Jolly.

For Byron Donalds, his "come-to-Jesus" moment is literal and uniquely Southern: He was saved in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Tallahassee.

Donalds, the Republican congressman from Naples, is running to succeed Ron DeSantis as Florida's next governor and is the only candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump.

As part of the life story he tells voters, he worked his way through Florida State University as a waiter at the chain restaurant, ubiquitous at interstate exits. He'd worked his way to an internal "3-star" rating for top performing servers.

One June afternoon 25 years ago, he was delivering biscuits to a table of church ladies when one told him to "stop running, the Lord is calling you."

By the time the group returned to their bus in the parking lot, Donalds said he was a changed man. He told them the "Lord told me to stop running," and they had prayed over him. And that's when the then-22-year-old Donalds said he gave his life to Jesus Christ.

Donalds first told the parking lot story in 2023, and it was included in media coverage when he launched his campaign for governor in February.

It's a politically resonant story that is becoming part of Donalds’ biography in a closely watched governor’s race. By retelling his conversion story, the married father of three is appealing directly to evangelical voters with a story of faith and redemption.

As a young adult, Donalds had been arrested for marijuana possession and was later charged in a separate bad check case. He spoke of those experiences and his parking lot conversion in X posts last year and again this June 7. That latest post has garnered 55,000 likes and 12,000 reposts.

"To you, it's just a Cracker Barrel parking lot. To me, it's where I gave my life to Jesus Christ,” Donalds wrote, sharing a photo of a Cracker Barrel sign in a parking lot.

Evangelicals as political force in Florida

Evangelicals are a force in Florida politics, according to University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett, particularly "in the Republican primary, but even in a general election they are a large enough number of voters to make sure Florida stays red.”

They make up more than a fifth, or 22%, of Florida's registered voters, according to the Pew Research Center.

Donalds is telling his redemption story in a race with some opponents having their own religious bona fides: Republican attorney and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner is the son of a Methodist minister; Democrat David Jolly, a former congressman when he was Republican, notes his late father was a Baptist preacher.

Jewett suggests Donalds’ “born again” testimony helps level that playing field.

Here's why, he said: It can “neutralize” any advantage tied to being raised in a preacher’s home that Renner and Jolly have with evangelical voters who tend to value personal salvation experiences.

From personal testimony to public message

Donalds first told his conversion story to Media Research Center’s Newsbuster, a conservative media-monitoring website, during its 2023 coverage of the Faith & Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Summit. Media Research Center is a media watchdog founded by L. Brent Bozell IIl, the current U.S. Ambassador to South Africa.

The story resurfaced in a 2025 Christian Broadcasting Network report after Donalds was endorsed by President Donald Trump, whose base is also centered on evangelicals. And it went viral again this month when Donalds reposted it on X.

“I go over to the bus, and I catch the last lady," he said. "… I said, ‘Ma’am, the Lord told me to stop running.’ She goes, ‘Oooh, child! Come on, sisters… we’re gonna pray over this young man right now.’ And I gave my life to Christ on that day,” Donalds told Newsbuster.

Scott Jewett, no relation to UCF’s Jewett, is the Libertarian candidate for governor and an agnostic, the belief the existence of God is unknowable. Evangelicals profess a personal relationship with God.

“That is actually a sweet story,” Jewett said when told of Donalds’ parking lot conversion. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a religious experience like that but have always said if I had that experience then I would become a believer in that particular religion.”

Renner, who trails Donalds by double digits in polls of the GOP primary; doesn't mention a specific conversion moment like Donalds does.

Raised by a Methodist minister and a schoolteacher mom, he said they pointed him “toward the Gospel from the time I was born,” referring to the foundation of Christianity, a message of forgiveness and redemption.

“It's both a very private faith, but also, we're commanded to make it public, to live our lives in a way that reflects the decision we made and to share that redemption opportunity,” Renner said.

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and hedge fund investor James Fishback are the other GOP candidates. They like Renner are polling in single digits. State Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-Miami, is among a group of five Democrats challenging Jolly for the nomination.

But polls and fundraising shows that the most likely primary outcomes will be a Donalds vs. Jolly matchup for the November general election.

The Jolly campaign declined to comment on this story. In a 2025 interview, Jolly said, “I grew up a Southern Baptist preacher's kid in the '70s. You can imagine that environment in rural Florida, right? I'm a person of deep Christian faith.”

Rather than faith rooted in upbringing, Donalds offers a story of personal transformation in a mix of faith, politics, and food aimed at voters who have traditionally favored Republicans.

Donalds was at it again recently with a more secular social media post touting Steak ’n Shake’s beef tallow fries. It's a nod to the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, blended with the kind of political cues one finds at a roadside restaurant after Sunday service.

"Personally I’m a Frisco Melt guy, and extra Frisco Sauce for the fries is non-negotiable," Donalds says in the post. "What’s your order?"