Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis teased a potential run for governor to succeed her husband, Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis signaled her interest in mounting a bid for governor during Friday’s National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit. (RELATED: Casey DeSantis Stokes Political Campaign Rumors)
“There is growing speculation you will run for governor. So, have you given that any thought, and can you make these reporters in this room freak out?” asked Jim Geraghty during a moderated discussion with the Republican couple.
“Well, first of all, I mean, this guy’s the GOAT. Like, honestly, everything that he says he’s gonna do, he does, right?” replied DeSantis, referring to her husband. “And, you know, I’m just sitting here listening to him, and he makes it sound really easy. ‘Like, I did this, and I did this, and we did this, and now our voter registration is 1.2 million Republicans, more than Democrats, and we did this, and we turned the vote,’ and all of this stuff. Florida’s the free state of Florida because you’ve got the GOAT in the governor’s office because of one key thing: Having a backbone.”
She continued:
And when you have the opportunity to stand up for what’s right, you’re courageous and you put yourself into the arena, and you fight like heck. And I’ll tell you what, I’ve been around politics, and I’ve seen a lot of people. Not a lot of people have a backbone like him. They get into office because they wanna be somebody. They don’t wanna do good things, they don’t wanna get criticized. They like the cocktail parties. You know, they think about what’s next on the next political rung in their career. Like the founders never thought that politics should ever have been a career, right? You were supposed to go up and serve, and you come home, and you live under the laws that you pass. But it’s really changed. And so I have to just applaud him, because all of what he has done is extremely fragile, right? Like, you could get somebody in, and all of this revert back. And I’ll tell you, Florida, like, in so many instances, it is the free state, and it is an inspiration to a lot of other states across the United States, but having the opportunity to travel around the world, people across the globe know about what he has done, and they are so proud. So it’s the long-winded answer of saying, you know, we’ll see, right? We’ll see.
President Donald Trump has already endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) as his preferred candidate in the race. (RELATED: DeSantis Swipes At Trump-Backed Republican Amid Florida Gubernatorial Rumors)
“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,” wrote Trump on Truth Social last month. “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.
Does Casey DeSantis stand a chance? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
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I have always liked Casey and was hoping she would run for governor when Ron’s term is up. I do not have money but I would be happy to try to raise interest in my Ronald Reagan Republican Association here in “On Top of the World” and elsewhere in central Florida. (My son and his family is considering moving someplace between Tampa and Orlando, where I would join them eventually. My grandson, who will be graduating from Delphi Academy, may choose one of the Florida schools. He placed high and can get a full ride wherever he goes in Florida.)
I guess I should tell you I just turned 83 on March 15 so I no longer can drive. But it would be a great honor for me to help you in any way I can. I am still active in Florida Sunshine Agri-Women, which is in the process of reorganizing, and agriculture groups from coast to coastl I have visited in every state in the U.S. plus World Hereford Conferences in New Zealand and Australia, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and most of western Europe.