TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approaches the end of his second term in office, he’s talking up one potential heir to succeed him in 2026: his wife, Casey DeSantis. And he’s taking a shot at President Donald Trump ‘s pick to be the next governor.
Questioned by reporters in Tampa on Monday, DeSantis touted his wife as a staunch conservative who would build on his legacy and argued that the state’s first lady could pull in even more voters than he did. DeSantis won a dominant reelection victory in 2022 with a nearly 20-point margin.
“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 comments came days after the president threw his support behind U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who has been a prominent surrogate for Trump on the campaign trail and 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 create a potential faceoff between the Republican governor and the president who soundly defeated him last year for the Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis, who is term-limited, may run for president again in 2028 and has worked to rebuild his relationship with Trump.
The aspirations of the state’s first lady have long been the subject of Tallahassee parlor talk. That chatter has grown louder in recent weeks as tensions have bubbled 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!”
Donalds’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference last week after Trump’s post and told the audience to “stay tuned” about his future plans.
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, another staunch Trump ally, criticized DeSantis’ comments in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Man it hurts me to see this,” Gaetz said. “Governor DeSantis, don’t you remember when you, (Donalds) and I were working collaboratively to get you elected in 2018? We literally were your debate prep team.”
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.