As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis nears the end of his second term, he’s spotlighting a possible successor for the 2026 election: his wife, Casey DeSantis.
He also took a jab at President Donald Trump’s potential pick for the next governor, the Associated Press reported this week.
Speaking to reporters in Tampa on Monday, DeSantis highlighted his wife as a strong conservative who would carry on his legacy. He suggested that Casey DeSantis could attract even more voters than he did, citing his own decisive reelection victory in 2022, where he won by nearly 20 points.
“She’s somebody that has, I think, the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles,” DeSantis said of his wife. “Anything we’ve accomplished, she’d be able to take to the next level.”
The remarks came just days after President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who has been a strong supporter of Trump on the campaign trail and frequently appears on cable news.
“We’ve achieved victories in Florida,” DeSantis said Monday. “A guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the left over these last years.”
DeSantis’ comments set up a potential showdown between the Republican governor and the president who decisively beat him in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race. DeSantis, who is term-limited, could run for president again in 2028, and he has been working to mend his relationship with Trump, the AP noted further.
The ambitions of Florida’s first lady have been the subject of speculation in Tallahassee for some time. Recently, however, that speculation has intensified, particularly as tensions rise between the governor and Trump’s allies in the Florida Legislature.
“Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote Thursday on social media. “RUN, BYRON, RUN!”
In a statement shared by a spokesperson on Tuesday, Donalds said “I am honored to have President Trump’s complete and total endorsement.”
Later in the day, Donalds formally launched his bid.
“After a lot of prayer, a lot of thoughts with my family and my friends, I’m here to announce my candidacy to be the next governor of the great state of Florida,” Donalds told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday night.
Politico noted: “Casey DeSantis hasn’t made a run official but she and her husband have been calling donors about the possibility.”
Donalds avoided commenting on Casey DeSantis during his Fox News interview, emphasizing that he was the only candidate in the race. He praised Ron DeSantis as a “great governor” who had done a “tremendous job” and stated that it was time to focus on the future.
“Now, the job is to keep the best state in the country as the best state in the country,” he said, “and so that’s going to be the mission at hand.”
Donalds then pointed to the state’s high property insurance costs — mostly as a result of an increase in the frequency of destructive storms and hurricanes — as a focus and said he wanted to make Florida the “most business friendly state in the country” and to “take the lead on cryptocurrency and digital assets.”
Donalds, 46, is a three-term congressman and a member of the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative group that includes DeSantis as a founding member. He frequently served as a surrogate during Trump’s presidential campaign, holding events in battleground states to engage with Black voters.
A former state legislator, Donalds played a key role in expanding the state’s school voucher program. He and his wife, Erika Donalds, have long been advocates for policies that provide families with more options for education outside of traditional public schools, Politico added.