Byron Donalds held the Florida governorship by the skin of his teeth, making history as the first black Republican ever elected governor in America.
The 48-year-old congressman secured an excruciatingly close win, defeating Democratic challenger David Jolly, a former Republican congressman and attorney.
The Associated Press called the race just after 9 pm eastern. Donalds had 50 percent to Jolly's 49 percent with 98 percent of the vote counted.
The contest was much closer than anticipated and had Republicans on edge for much of Tuesday night. Trump carried Florida by 13 points just two years ago.
Donalds outspent Jolly roughly 7-to-1, raising more than $140 million, yet watched a once safe contest tighten in the final weeks as voters soured on the economy, rising costs and data centers.
The race to succeed term-limited Ron DeSantis was seen as a test of Trump's grip on his adopted home state, where he votes in Palm Beach County.
DeSantis, who stayed neutral in the primary while his own lieutenant governor ran against Donalds, endorsed him only after he won the nomination.
Trump made Donalds his pick more than a year and a half ago, but Trump's blessing may have turned out to be a weight on Donalds.
Voters in races across the country Tuesday were registering their discontent with Trump policies as Democrats gained seats in both the House and Senate.
Congressman Byron Donalds has defeated his Democratic rival David Jolly to become the first black governor in Florida history
Democrat David Jolly (right) campaigned with former President Bill Clinton before Election Day
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Trump rallied for Donalds at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers on October 23 and returned to Daytona Beach on October 30 for a second rally in a week.
Donalds also had the backing of DeSantis and Senator Rick Scott, uniting a Florida GOP that had often been split between the governor and the president.
Jolly, who represented a Tampa Bay district in Congress as a Republican, left the party and became one of Trump's sharpest critics before running as a Democrat with former congresswoman Gwen Graham as his running mate.
He won the Democratic primary on August 18, the same night Donalds beat Lt Gov. Jay Collins and others for the Republican nomination.
Barack Obama endorsed Jolly in the final stretch, calling him 'independent minded,' while Bill Clinton rallied for him in South Florida.
Donalds buried his rival in cash, raising nearly $150 million against roughly $22 million for Jolly and entering the final weeks with a $33 million cash advantage, according to OpenSecrets.
Donalds ran as a top pick of Donald Trump, who proved to be a weight on his candidacy
Florida Republicans tracked the vote closely as the candidates were separated by just over 1 percentage point
Both men campaigned on affordability, while Jolly also hit Donalds over data centers, vowing a moratorium on new construction.
The final polls had Donalds ahead but far from safe, with New York Times/Siena showing him up 48 to 44 and St. Pete Polls putting him up just 48 to 46.
That was a dramatic tightening from four years ago, when DeSantis crushed Charlie Crist by more than 19 points.
Holding Florida gives Trump a loyal ally running the nation's third-largest state as Republicans look ahead to 2028.
Republicans will point to Florida as proof that the red wall held even as the national map turned against them.
Democrats have not won the Florida governorship since Lawton Chiles in 1994.
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