Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) doubts Rep. Byron Donalds' (R-FL) chances in the 2026 gubernatorial race. While Donalds, a rising political figure in the state who has received praise from President Donald Trump, has garnered significant attention, DeSantis questioned whether he could secure a broad enough coalition to win the state's top office. DeSantis, who is term-limited, hinted that Donalds' prospects may be challenging given the competitive nature of Florida's political landscape.
DeSantis was in no rush to support Donalds for the governorship on Monday as the congressman reportedly gears up to announce his candidacy.
“My view is Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda. They haven’t done very much yet,” DeSantis told reporters when asked whether he would endorse Donalds.
Instead, DeSantis encouraged the congressman to focus on accomplishments regarding legislative duties before jumping into the race, expressing concern about the narrow majority in the current political climate.
His comments come as Trump has suggested he would endorse Donalds. Last week, the president said Donalds “would be a great and powerful governor for Florida.”
However, DeSantis argued that those in power shouldn’t campaign elsewhere and miss essential votes.
“They’re not putting his executive orders into place. We’ll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes, I think, is not something that’s advisable at all,” he said. “The reality is we’ve achieved victories in Florida. We need to start achieving those victories up there. I think people look at it and say you’ve got a guy like Byron; he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the leftover these last years. He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that, and that’s fine, but OK, then deliver results up there.”
Donalds told reporters on Friday that he has not spoken to DeSantis about a potential gubernatorial run but said, “I know we will.” However, he added that it is still too early to know if the governor would endorse him.
During the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Donalds endorsed Trump over DeSantis.