President Donald Trump held a rally in Daytona Beach on Friday, issuing a last push for Florida Republicans ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections. A number of competitive races are on the ballot in Florida, both at the state level and in local elections.
The venue of choice was the Ocean Center Convention Center, which was reportedly filled with over 9,000 attendees. Reports from the rally indicated some began lining up before sunrise on Friday for the opportunity to sit close to the 47th President of the United States.
Likewise, protestors attended the rally to express their opposition to Trump’s policies and to the candidates the president is endorsing. Multiple times, Trump’s remarks were interrupted by demonstrators who were escorted outside the venue.
The visit marked President Trump’s first visit to Volusia County since he attended the 2025 Daytona 500. He’s visited Daytona International Speedway’s marquee event twice as a sitting president, once each in his first and second terms in office.
Among those in attendance Friday was Byron Donalds, the Republican candidate for Florida governor. Donalds is running to keep the governor’s mansion in Republican control after two terms of Ron DeSantis. He faces Democrat David Jolly, who has at times polled within a few percentage points of Donalds.
Florida could also be a key state in Republicans’ efforts to maintain a majority in the U.S. Senate. Ashley Moody is running to keep the seat she was appointed to by Gov. DeSantis after Marco Rubio’s resignation to become Secretary of State. She faces Angie Nixon, a professed Democratic socialist who prevailed in an upset August primary win over Alexander Vindman.
Donalds and Moody were both present at Friday’s rally. Other attendees included Sen. Ric Scott, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, and Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins among others.
On the local level, Trump’s visit falls within Florida’s 6th congressional district. That’s where Rep. Randy Fine, a firebrand Republican congressman, is attempting to secure his first full term in office by fending off Democrat Eric Yonce. Once considered a safe Republican district which didn’t even draw a Democratic challenger in 2022, FL-6 has drawn renewed attention after Josh Weil far out-raised Fine in a 2025 special election and cleared the 40-percent threshold.
