Maybe Jay Collins. But he is way back but ahead of Fishface.
On the Dim side David Jolly is in the lead.
Byron Donalds is smart. He is talented. He knows how to command a room, handle a camera, and deliver a conservative message with confidence.
That matters.
But politics is not cable television. Congress is not a debate stage. Governing is not measured by applause lines.
It is measured by what you build, what you negotiate, what you get across the finish line when the cameras are gone.
Donalds’ rise has been impressive. Maybe too impressive. His national reputation has sprinted ahead of his legislative résumé.
That does not make him incompetent. It makes him unproven at the level some people now want to place him.
And that is where I part company.
If the choice is between a rising star and someone with a deeper record of doing the hard, boring work of government, I lean toward the person who has already shown they can move the machinery.
That is why I would look at Collins or Fishback first.
Not because Donalds is the villain. He is not.
Not because he lacks ability. He does not.
But because leadership is not just about being the person everyone notices. It is about being the person who can deliver when the spotlight moves on.
Washington has enough performers.
What it needs are builders.
