Republican Byron Donalds attacks Democrat David Jolly over trans rights in Florida governor’s race

As Rep. Byron Donalds runs for Florida governor, he’s already making opposition to transgender rights a central part of his platform.The leading candidate in Tuesday’s GOP primary, Donalds has already begun attacking David Jolly, the Democratic front-runner for governor, singling out his support for transgender youths’ access to medical care and participation in sports.“David Jolly is somebody who thinks it's still okay for boys to be in girl sports. Somebody who thinks it's still okay for boys to be in girl sports. It's only him and the WNBA who thinks this,” Donalds said at a rally ahead of the primary.Related: Florida Republicans Ron DeSantis & Byron Donalds continue attacking Naples Pride's family-friendly drag showsHe praised controversial comments from Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who said in a recent ESPN profile that she wanted “to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men.” Donalds also praised Riley Gaines, an anti-trans activist who parlayed a fifth-place tie with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas into a lucrative career as an anti-LGBTQ speaker.Jolly, a former Republican congressman, broke with the party years ago over social issues. Notably, his position on transgender participation in sports is more nuanced than Donalds suggested. He told NPR station WLRN that he does not believe athletes assigned male at birth should compete in sports designated for female athletes, but he also doesn’t want the government to impose sweeping restrictions.“Look, if a 10- or 12-year-old soccer league in the community has a coed team, I don’t think the governor should be throwing a flag on the field,” Jolly said.But Jolly has defended parents’ right to make decisions about gender-affirming care for their children, a position that helped earn him the endorsement of the Equality Florida Action PAC. Donalds took issue with that position as well.“David Jolly still thinks it's