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RepublicanTampa / Hillsborough County

Jay Collins

Lt. Governor of Florida

Lieutenant Governor of Florida; combat veteran

Sitting Lt. Governor and Green Beret veteran. DeSantis-appointed executive running as a tested conservative.

Photo: Wikipedia: Jay Collins

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Party

Republican

Hometown

Tampa / Hillsborough County

Occupation

Lieutenant Governor of Florida; combat veteran

On ballot

Governor

Raised

$1.47M

Full biography

Jay Collins is Florida’s lieutenant governor (appointed August 2025) and a decorated U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) combat veteran. Elected to the Florida Senate in 2022 from the Tampa area, he entered the 2026 governor’s race emphasizing military service, law enforcement support, and affordability—including property-tax messaging. He trails Donalds in most public polls but has polled second in several surveys and is running a more confrontational late primary, including ads and statements questioning Donalds’ fitness and a legal challenge (rejected) to James Fishback’s residency eligibility. He is not seeking re-election as lieutenant governor; his current LG term ends January 2027.

Offices & experience

Lieutenant Governor of Florida (2025–present)
Florida Senate — District 14 area (2022–2025)

Education

U.S. Army Special Forces background (Green Beret)

Issues & themes

Property taxes and cost of livingVeterans and military familiesPublic safety / law enforcementExperience in TallahasseePrimary accountability and debates

Notable endorsements

Florida Police Benevolent AssociationVeterans for America First

What they're up to lately

2026-08-08Campaign social

Closing message: make a plan to vote Aug 18

Posted statewide travel and GOTV messaging urging Republicans to vote in the primary.

2026-08-03WUSF

Affordability & property tax interview

Discussed property taxes and household costs on WUSF’s Florida Roundup after a failed court bid to remove Fishback from the ballot.

Links

Compare candidates Money tracker

Money, donators & connections

Full money tracker →

GovernorFL state filings

Jay Collins

Lt. Governor of Florida

Raised

$1.47M

Spent

$331K

The money story

State filings show ~$1.47M raised / ~$331K spent (aggregate includes prior statewide accounts). Largest slice is RPOF (~$988K) plus state matching funds — less megadonor-driven than Donalds or Renner.

Florida state filings?

Total contributions$1.47M

Total expenditures$331K

Aggregate state profile (includes Lt. Governor–era activity). Governor-specific totals may be lower on the race page.

Top donators

Republican Party of FloridaParty$988K
State of Florida Matching FundsEntity$118K
Public matching
A & J Entertainment Group CorpEntity$3.0K
Alessandra HernandezIndividual$3.0K
Benjamin ShkopIndividual$3.0K
Bradford BantaIndividual$3.0K

Connections

Party-centered fundraising
RPOF is ~67% of listed top-line support — institutional, not megadonor.
Public matching
~$118K state matching funds appears in top contributors.

Committees

Jay Collins (state committees)state

FL state filings (Lt Gov / Senate / Gov related) ↗Full profile →

Snapshot as of 2026-08-08 · coverage through 2026-06-30. Numbers are public filings — always verify on FEC / FL DOS.

Races & numbers

Rank #2Poll: 13.3%Market: <1%

Statewide·GOP primaryFeatured

Governor

Tue, Aug 18, 2026

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Open seat — Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited. Winner is the Republican nominee for November 3, 2026. Eleven Republicans qualified. Byron Donalds leads public polls and prediction markets.

Others in the same primary

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Profiles summarize public sources (Ballotpedia, Wikipedia, campaign sites, Florida press). Not affiliated with any campaign. Polls and markets refresh about every minute when data exists.