Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump may butt heads once again, this time over the 2026 election for governor in the solidly Republican state.
DeSantis, whose gubernatorial term ends next year and is a potential contender for the 2028 presidential race, declined to back Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., for the race on Monday as Trump did last week. Instead, he pitched his wife Casey DeSantis as a potential successor who would build on his achievements.
“Anything we’ve accomplished, she’d be able to take to the next level,” he told reporters in Tampa. DeSantis predicted that his wife, a former newscaster who has never held elected office, would outperform him if she ran for governor.
“She’s never angled for anything,” DeSantis said. “But I will tell you this: You’re talking about somebody like her — I won by the biggest margin that any Republican’s won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me.”
DeSantis also took aim at Donalds’ priorities. “We’ve achieved victories in Florida,” he said. “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’ remarks on Monday were a striking departure from Trump’s enthusiastic backing of Donalds for governor, and they threaten to upend the fragile truce between the men. In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump encouraged Donalds to run, calling the congressman “a TOTAL WINNER.”
“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. “RUN, BYRON, RUN!” Trump and the Florida governor have had a contentious relationship. Trump endorsed DeSantis for the job in 2019, and the two remained on friendly terms in the subsequent years as DeSantis’ conservative star rose. But their relationship soured amid DeSantis’ disastrous presidential primary campaign last year, though relations between both men later improved after DeSantis dropped his campaign and endorsed Trump. The Republican nominee in the 2026 governor’s race is likely to be elected governor of Florida, a reliably red state. Although neither Casey DeSantis nor Donalds has officially jumped in the race, both are seen as likely candidates. Another Republican who has teased a potential run is former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who most recently saw his political career flame out after a scandal involving a U.S. House ethics investigation into his alleged behavior.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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