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Posted on 01/12/2026 10:36:52 AM PST by DFG
Republican Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins launched his bid Monday for Florida governor to replace Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to a report.
Collins cited his military experience while announcing his run for the governor’s house in a post on X. DeSantis will be leaving the governor’s mansion at the end of his second term next year. Collins, a former state senator and Army Green Beret, was appointed lieutenant governor by DeSantis to replace Jeanette Nuñez after she stepped down to become president of Florida International University.
“I’m running for Governor because leadership is forged under pressure, not in soundbites. I served over 23 years in the United States military, mainly as a Green Beret, where accountability is real, decisions have consequences, and service comes before self. That experience shaped how I lead and why I believe public office is a public trust,” Collins wrote.
The announcement from Collins comes after months of speculation as to when he would enter the Republican field after Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds received President Donald Trump’s endorsement prior to announcing his gubernatorial bid.
While Donalds currently appears to be in a strong position, attention remains focused on Tallahassee, where Governor Ron DeSantis has not indicated whom he will support as his successor. Speculation has grown that Collins — appointed to the post by DeSantis in August — could enter the race with the governor’s backing.
The Sunshine state now is now ready for a second Republican inter-party battleground just two and a half years after DeSantis challenged Trump in his bid to retake the White House.
A Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll, conducted between Jan. 4–6 of 600 likely Republican primary voters shows Donalds leading a hypothetical four-way race with 39%, ahead of Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis at 26%, while James Fishback and Paul Renner, the former speaker of the Florida House trail in the low single digits and nearly a third of voters remain undecided.
In a separate four-way scenario that swaps DeSantis for Collins, Donalds’ lead expands significantly. In that matchup, Donalds pulled 45% support, with Collins, Fishback, and Renner each drawing single-digit backing.
The possibility of Collins joining the contest has heightened interest in who DeSantis may ultimately choose to endorse, and whether that decision will be driven by political strategy rather than personal considerations. The Daily Caller has previously reported that underlying tensions remain, with some observers arguing that if DeSantis declines to back Donalds, it may reflect the governor’s desire to chart an independent political path.
Strains between Donalds and DeSantis date back to 2023, when the two clashed over Florida’s African American history standards, and were further exacerbated after Donalds endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential race — a move Donalds has acknowledged damaged their relationship.
Those tensions intensified as Donalds emerged as the race’s leading contender following Trump’s endorsement and encouragement to run in February, which Donalds acted on within days.
Several sources said the dynamics could set the stage for another proxy battle echoing past DeSantis — Trump conflicts, noting that the governor has signaled an interest in shaping his own succession while publicly questioning whether Donalds would be his preferred choice.
Insiders said any challenge from the DeSantis camp to Donalds would likely come from Collins, who has delayed his gubernatorial announcement amid efforts to secure the governor’s endorsement. Many expected him to enter the race in the fall, but a slow fundraising cycle and uncertainty over DeSantis’ backing have pushed the timeline back for months.
Many close to Collins’ camp rejected the idea that the endorsement was in jeopardy, pointing out that DeSantis has been hosting joint tele-town halls to highlight Collins’ leadership. Meanwhile, Fishback has quietly entered the race, drawing some anti-Donalds attention and adding a new wrinkle to the contest.
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Nope... the hell with him.
https://youtu.be/bcbqHMw8xrE?t=19
He opposes free speech. Another leftist military officer that wants the childlike life of living on a military base for all of America.
]In his attack on free speech, he said “you do not have a right to hurt people with your words”. And his example was speaking against Israel, not America mind you... Israel.
Don’t know what to make of Donalds. The GOP has a problem voting in blacks for statewide offices. Good guy to have around but can he win? House members get antsy unless they enjoy homesteading. He could be gambling on being unemployed or his plan B could be away from politics.
“you don’t have the right to say things, that have really negative, really horrible meanings. When you want people to destroy Israel, that matters”.
I do NOT want Israel destroyed, and I do not like immigrants such as Palestinians or Ukrainians here pushing ANY foreign causes. BUT no American should be forbidden by law to say that they think Israel should be ended. Organizing a direct effort, shipping money or supplies to Hamas, off limits and go to prison. But to say you hope Israel is crooked, or they need to be punished, or even not agreeing that they should exist...totally legal. They are a foreign country. The actions of Americans are one thing, rhetoric is not.
His mentality is that all Americans should be forbidden from opposing Ukraine, NATO, etc.
Sounds like a decent soldier, but he is utterly unqualified to stand in defense of the rights of Americans... he does not even have a basic understanding of them.
And mark my words, he thinks he is riding to the defense of Israel, but his destruction of our rights, should he succeed would absolutely be turned against Conservatives the minute the Dems return. His principle would lead directly to censorship on social media again, and hate speech laws we conservatives wouldn’t believe.
No thanks on this guy.
I have my doubts about Donalds also. And I think it would be tough for him to win statewide. I saw he was a big advocate of AI centers so he’s gonna be in their pocket.
But Florida... so who knows?
You gotta make all the New Yorkers happy, you gotta make the Cubans happy, and you can’t just flip the finger to whitey. You can also get a Blondie out of there.
I generally like the way they run the state, but there is a certain mentality in Florida politicians that is a poor fit for most of America.
“His mother immigrated from Colombia, and his father owned a landscaping business before becoming a bus driver. Fishback attributes the failure of his father’s business on the arrival of Haitian migrants under temporary protected status following the 2010 earthquake”
That seems to put him in a sweet spot about immigrants.
Also he was supportive of removing Maduro.
He’s interesting. Wants a complete moratorium on immigration and won’t take AIPAC money (that’s gonna hurt him in the Palm Beach area)
I’m having a hard time predicting this one. This Sergeant major Collins will probably get the Governors seat I think, because he will sew up the Jewish vote, and the military vote and he was an early supporter of Trump, so he’ll get funding.
Guess we’ll see. Any of them would be better than ANY Dem.
I don’t like the idea that he just recently became DeSantis’s Lieutenant governor or that not so long ago DeSantis, who is a terrific governor, said that his wife should be the next governor. I think DeSantis just wants to stay around.
I like Donalds a lot.
Seems to be a valid excuse for certain things said by another Republican, including in the free speech context.
I just looked at his poll numbers for governor, and he’s in first place.
Donald’s is at 47%. He’s way ahead of everyone else.
Your comments are fine—but be very clear.
Regardless of what any Republican does—when the Democrats get in the White House they will clamp down on Internet speech in ways that will boggle the mind.
If you do not affirmatively kiss their feet you will be banned.
Collins identifies as Christian, does anyone know what denomination?
He is anti free speech and therefore, a non-starter.
He’d be the best choice to continue the success that the Free State of Florida has had over the past eight years.
Those claims ar enot true.
You keep repeating that comment over and over again, always when challenged citing races where the GOP candidate, no matter who it was, would have faced an uphill battle to secure victory, or instances where scandals / issues emerged that had nothing to do with race which contributed to their defeat, all while ignoring the reality of successful black GOP candidates among the same electorate - including the candidates you claimed could not win statewide in prior races.
Byron Donalds failed to timely disclose more than 100 stock transactions valued at as much as roughly $1.6 million made by him and his spouse, Erika Donalds, in violation of federal law (the STOCK Act). Donalds and his wife made 108 trades between 2022–2023 without proper disclosures and some were in companies that could pose conflicts of interest with his committee work.
Byron Donalds has a criminal record from his youth. In 2000, when he was about 21, Donalds pleaded no contest to a felony theft-related charge for trying to defraud a bank by depositing a bad check. He served probation.
He also hs very bad personnel judgment. His close friend and aide Larry Wilcoxson, who appeared frequently with him and was paid with campaign funds for consulting work, has a controversial and extensive history with law enforcement.
According to investigative reporting, Wilcoxson’s past includes multiple incidents involving law enforcement and allegations, though not all resulted in convictions:
Child molestation charge (2006) — He was arrested on molestation charges in Indianapolis while working as a substitute teacher.
Alleged improper conduct in school setting — He was reported to have been dismissed from a substitute teaching role after allegedly exposing himself to another adult.
Grand theft auto conviction (2013) — He was convicted for driving a car he did not legally have, and sentenced to six months.
Published accounts mention physical altercations, protective orders, and battery allegations from personal disputes (some without convictions), and publicized inflammatory comments he made about race and crime when discussing past allegations.
Wilcoxson is Donalds’s right-hand man. This reflects extermely poor judgment on Donalds’s part.
Donalds is a big supporter of H1-B visas, to teh point that he’s nicknamed H1-Byron.
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