It’s official. I will remain on your ballot. The disgraceful lawfare brought by Jay Collins and fueled by Byron Donalds has failed. This is a victory for our campaign, for the Constitution, and for every Floridian who believes elections should be decided by the voters.

On November 24, I entered the race for Florida Governor because I love my state, but I hate that too many people in it are hurting. The young couple in Fort Myers who can't afford to buy a home, the Korean War veteran from Niceville who can't get timely access to VA healthcare, the senior in Lake Placid wondering how she'll afford skyrocketing property tax and insurance. Florida is the greatest state in the country, but that means little when the people who made it great can no longer afford to live here. Over the past four months, I have crisscrossed this state and listened. Not just to what keeps people up at night, but to what gets them out of bed in the morning, from the excitement of a small business owner opening a community bookstore in Arcadia to the joy of a newlywed couple expecting their first child. This race was never about Congressman Donalds versus me. We are not enemies, we are rivals with competing visions for our state. His vision is to make Florida the financial capital of the world, speed up the construction of AI data centers, and reduce permitting to allow billionaire homebuilders to build hundreds of thousands of new homes on our precious land. That is his Florida. It is not mine. This race is not about the "who," it's about the "what." Byron Donalds is running for New Florida. I am running for Old Florida. New Florida means AI data centers, a financial capital, and rapid development that communities are desperate to slow down. Old Florida is the Florida of my childhood and my father's childhood, slow-paced yet prosperous, developed yet ever-conscious of conservation, and economically dignified so that young couples can buy a home before 30, raise a family on a single income, work 40 hours a week without living in poverty, save for retirement, and when it's all said and done, retire with dignity. That is Old Florida, and that is what I'm running to revive. Last month I announced that we had begun our search for a running mate, not someone who would merely sit on the ticket, but someone who would crisscross this state and hear the stories of fear, hope, and faith, someone who would meet with U.S. Sugar workers in Clewiston and truck drivers in Crestview. Today, I'm proud to share that we have narrowed that search to 3 extraordinary individuals. I've had the privilege of meeting with all 3, and we will make our announcement soon. James