Casey DeSantis added fuel to speculation that she’s aiming to mount a bid to succeed her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis.
On Friday, the couple made remarks at an event at the Florida International University Academic Health Center touting funding for cancer research. The first lady is a breast cancer survivor.
“Well, I would say one thing. To quote the late, great Yogi Berra, ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take,’” the first lady told reporters.
“You guys can read into that what you want,” the governor said. “I’ve had people coming up to me for years, begging to get her in the fray.”
“She’s passionate articulate, smart, she’s got rock solid values,” he continued, recounting a conversation he had with the late conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who told him Casey DeSantis was more conservative than him.
Florida Congressman Byron Donalds (R) was the first to officially announce his plans to run for governor.
The announcement came shortly after President Donald Trump openly endorsed Donalds to run for the office in a Truth Social post.
“I am hearing that Highly Respected Congressman Byron Donalds is considering running for Governor of Florida, a State that I love, and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024,” a Trump social media post said.
“[S]hould he decide to run, [Donalds] will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!”
With the first lady considering a run, there appears to be the potential for a Trump versus DeSantis proxy battle in the gubernatorial primary.
Donalds pushed back on the notion of a proxy battle this week, telling The Hill, “it’s too soon for all of that.”
“Let’s see what happens,” the congressman said. “The response from people in my state has been very, very good. I’m very happy with it.”
“I’m not sure how the whole primary is going to shape up,” he added.
According to a new poll about potential gubernatorial candidates by The University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) 57% of Republicans had a favorable opinion of Casey DeSantis – a higher rating than other names floated as possible candidates.
“Casey DeSantis was the top early pick for potential Republican primary candidates when we asked back in late 2023, albeit with only 22% support,” said Dr. Michael Binder, PORL faculty director and professor of political science.
Overall, 30% of respondents were favorable of the first lady, 22% unfavorable and 33% had never heard of her, according to the poll, which was conducted from Feb. 5–14.
“She likely enjoys some favorability by association as Florida’s first lady,” Binder added, “but most of these potential candidates suffer from a lack of recognition—some suffering more than others. That said, I expect we’ll see a few of them become household names by the time the August 2026 primary rolls around.”
The other speculative gubernatorial candidates included in the poll’s question included former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Sen. Ashley Moody, Rep. Byron Donalds and Florida commissioner of agriculture, Wilton Simpson.
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