Republican Byron Donalds will be the next governor of Florida, and its first Black leader, after defeating Democrat David Jolly in one of the country’s most-watched midterm races.

Donalds was endorsed by Donald Trump and appeared twice with the president at rallies in the campaign’s closing days despite previously appearing to distance himself. He will succeed Ron DeSantis, the former presidential candidate who will be termed out of office in January.

Both parties portrayed the race as pivotal after eight years of DeSantis’s leadership, and sent heavyweight names to Florida to bolster their candidates.

Trump shared a platform with Donalds at rallies in Fort Myers and Daytona Beach, despite the president’s nationwide unpopularity over the Iran war and the cost of living threatening to cut into previously solid Republican support that saw him win the state three times.

Those campaigning for Jolly included Bill Clinton, the former president who also headlined a fundraiser that brought in $3m for his campaign. Barack Obama also gave Jolly his endorsement.

Central to both parties’ argument to voters was the legacy of DeSantis, who spent good chunks of his governorship on culture war issues, including assaults on the LGBTQ+ community, reshaping higher education, and enforcing Trump’s harsh second-term immigration crackdown.

Donalds touted the outgoing governor’s endorsement and billed his campaign as “a continuation of the DeSantis-era of success”, while warning that Jolly was seeking “to undo what Ron DeSantis built”.

Jolly, pointing to the high cost of living in Florida, including soaring housing and property insurance costs, did not disagree.

The new governor inherits a divided state where a booming economy and population growth has driven up costs and forced many people to leave. Almost 70% of respondents in a September poll cited economic pressures and housing affordability as their top concern.

Another significant factor in the direction Florida will take under its new leadership will be the makeup of the state legislature, where a Republican supermajority in recent years acted as an effective rubber stamp for almost every DeSantis initiative.

The Republican House and Senate leaders have, however, signaled a desire to become more independent.