TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis and first lady Casey DeSantis had a message for donors and other important Republican backers over the last few weeks: Don’t throw your support to Rep. Byron Donalds, because Casey DeSantis was seriously considering jumping into the 2026 race for governor.
That message was upended last Thursday night with a single social media post by President Donald Trump emphatically endorsing Donalds. And Trump’s decision may have also derailed an effort to preserve Gov. DeSantis’ conservative legacy ahead of another potential presidential run.
Three Republican operatives and consultants, who were granted anonymity to disclose details of the effort to promote Casey DeSantis, said the governor made calls requesting people hold off on support for the congressmember to donors and potential Donalds boosters — including some who showed up on a social media post in which Trump touted a poll showing Donalds leading among potential GOP candidates. (That poll did not include Casey DeSantis.)
Two of the Republicans said that both the governor and the first lady were planning on meeting with Trump to discuss the governor’s race during a planned visit late last week to Washington with other governors. It is not clear whether the proposed meeting, which was first reported by conservative news website The Floridian, took place, though the two did attend Saturday’s dinner with governors at the White House.
Now DeSantis, who has arguably risen to become the most powerful governor in Florida history, may leave office without an anointed heir dedicated to preserving DeSantis’ efforts in a wide array of legislative and policy battles. During his six years in office, he became a conservative star as he pushed back against Covid-19 protocols and leapt into political fights over gender and racial identity.
But DeSantis on Monday at a Tampa press conference criticized Donalds when asked about the endorsement. He suggested Donalds needed to focus on helping Trump in Congress and that Donalds “just hasn’t been part of any of the victories we have had over the left the last few years.” The governor also predicted that if Casey DeSantis were to run for governor, she would win by a larger margin than he did in 2022.
Some longtime allies of Trump said whoever the president supports is destined to win in a state that is now firmly Republican.
“Trump is going to decide the elections in Florida in 2026,” said state Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota). “He controls the party, he controls the state — and there’s nothing that anybody can do to change that.”
Personal injury lawyer Dan Newlin, a donor who Trump named as ambassador to Colombia, described Donalds as someone who’d shown “unwavering dedication” to the president’s election and predicted a “significant victory.” He didn’t get calls from DeSantis about the 2026 race, but called them a “significant political mistake.”
One of the three GOP operatives said this about Donalds: “I think he’s the nominee until someone comes up with a way to dethrone him.”
Donalds, who once was close to DeSantis, has not officially entered the race but appears likely to do so very soon. During a Friday afternoon appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Donalds lauded both Gov. DeSantis and former Gov. Rick Scott, adding that “Florida is not going to stop leading.” He then said to “stay tuned” about his own future plans.
The Trump endorsement now puts the sitting governor and first lady in an awkward spot — although at least one operative said Casey DeSantis may run anyway.
Lobbyists and donors in Tallahassee had already seen Casey DeSantis as a “beautiful, elegant solution” to the question of who would replace Ron DeSantis as governor, said a Florida Republican consultant, also granted anonymity to relay private conversations. Another GOP consultant argued that Casey DeSantis — who had launched several high-profile initiatives including one called Hope Florida — already had a record rivaling that of other governors.
“She’s one of the rare political spouses,” DeSantis said about his wife recently in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle.” “Even though I’m probably the most conservative governor in the country, she may even be more conservative than me.”
She also could help preserve and amplify the governor’s changes to state government. One lobbyist, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said they’d seen data showing DeSantis and Trump endorsements tended to cancel each other out in statewide primaries.
“I’m entertained by the lobbyists who have convinced themselves that the Trump endorsement ended the race, or that we haven’t all been 18 months out from a primary looking at a front runner who didn’t ultimately win,” the person said.
The governor, during his tenure, has also remade the state Supreme Court and has been able to overhaul the state’s higher education system by installing allies on university boards and as university presidents. Last week, he elevated his chief of staff to the post of attorney general after appointing Ashley Moody to fill Marco Rubio’s spot in the Senate.
Before James Uthmeier was sworn into his new job on Monday, DeSantis noted the new attorney general could wind up serving 10 years because he would still be eligible to run for two terms. DeSantis will soon also get to pick someone to replace Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, due to the CFO’s run for Congress.
At one point, Moody was seen as a potential heir apparent, but DeSantis instead tapped her for the U.S. Senate after Rubio was chosen to be Trump’s secretary of State. One DeSantis supporter contended the governor “had sacrificed a potential torch hand-off for the good of the country.”
Another Republican operative suggested DeSantis can’t have it both ways. The governor has constantly criticized the lack of term limits in Congress.
“This is term limits — fundamentally, you believe in closing the page,” the operative said. “How can he want to have a legacy if he believes in term limits?”
The short list of potential heirs, however, also points to the strained relationship DeSantis has had with other Republicans, including Trump. DeSantis himself was helped into the governor’s mansion with a timely endorsement from Trump back in 2018. But the governor decided to challenge Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, only to come in a distant second during the Iowa caucuses. Some of those working on Trump’s campaign — including Susie Wiles, the current White House chief of staff — had their own falling out with DeSantis.
Donalds was once close enough to DeSantis that he spoke ahead of him on stage during the governor’s reelection victory party. But the relationship cooled after the congressman endorsed Trump over DeSantis for president and after Donalds criticized Florida’s revamped education standards.
Trump’s endorsement of Donalds was seen as a reminder of his sway among Republicans.
“It sends an undeniable message that Trump has a long memory, and anybody who dares challenge his endorsed candidates in Florida will find themselves caught in his crosshairs,” said Max Goodman, a southwest Florida Republican consultant.
The question now: How do the DeSantises move forward? One DeSantis supporter highly doubted the governor would suddenly back Donalds especially since he has close to two years left in office.
“There’s no political benefit for the governor to do anything that leads to a lame duck status,” the person said. “To endorse Byron would lead to a lame duck status.
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