Posted on 02/24/2025 10:01:54 AM PST by Miami Rebel
Gov. Ron DeSantis weighed in on the 2026 governor's race on Monday by lashing out at Donald Trump's candidate, Byron Donalds, for failing to help defeat "the left" in Florida while suggesting his wife, Casey DeSantis, would be the stronger pick in the 2026 race.
Wading into the looming gubernatorial race for the first time since President Trump endorsed Congressman Donalds for the position on Friday, DeSantis blasted the Representative for campaigning in other states and not bringing in results. He then brought up the "wonderful First Lady" who would "do better" than DeSantis had in a Republican primary.
This is the first time DeSantis hasn't brushed off rumors that his wife, a former reporter, could run for Florida's chief executive position.
"You got 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. He's just not been a part of it," DeSantis said at a Monday press conference in Tampa.
"He’s been in other states campaigning, and that's fine, but okay, well then deliver results up there!" He continued, claiming Congress hasn't "done very much" to implement Trump's agenda. DeSantis later pivoted to Casey DeSantis, who led in a prospective Republican primary poll conducted days before Trump threw his weight behind Donalds.
"I won by the biggest margin that any Republican's ever won a governor's race here in Florida—she would do better than me, there's no question about that," DeSantis said, splitting heavily from past comments claiming the governorship is "not something she's seeking out" and has "zero" interest in.
DeSantis and Donalds, once allies, had a falling out in 2023 over new teaching standards requiring middle school students to learn that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit," Politico reported. Donalds, Florida's sole Black Republican Congressman, called the lessons "wrong" and asked that they "be adjusted."
This only resulted in DeSantis' spokespeople, known for their aggressive defense of the governor on social media, accusing Donalds of not being a real conservative.
DeSantis also revealed that he will wait until after the legislative session to appoint a new Chief Financial Officer, which will be empty on March 31, and Lieutenant Governor, an already-vacated seat.
Other rumored Republican candidates for governor include Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo is a likely contender on the Democrat side.
DeSantis is hitting the wall and doesn’t want to be the next Jeb Bush, He is going to try and force his wife into a role of power probably Rubio’s seat. He wants DC.
self important, self serving guy, desantis. never liked him and I will not support him for national position. His wife is same. they may look nice outside but their hearts are about themselves first, not the country, nor it’s people.
If the timing and context are right (hopefully Donalds doesn’t have any significant skeletons in the closet) — then I pray Trump endorse Donalds. :)
DeSantis won’t risk his wife having to win an election. He will appoint her to Rubio’s seat. He wants to annoy PDJT. Ron is a low esteem person.
But doesn’t Ashley Moody already have Rubio’s seat?
Donalds may very well be President one day. DeSantis won’t.
That’s ok. We love him in Florida. I applaud him for supporting his wife. Most politicians cheat on their wives and have a few ex-wives.
Livia Caputo is a senior at Florida State University, working on a major in Criminology, and a triple minor in Psychology, Communications, and German.
No link in the article to DeSantis' speech either. 😬
The primary voters will decide. We don’t do idiotic moves like the democrats just did. If Byron is so great, he’ll win the primary. I actually hope we have a nice group of candidates instead of just the two mentioned.
Oh my god! What a kook you are.
So instead of getting on board with a great candidate his only solution is the George/Lurleen Wallace approach. All the more glad he never got the nomination.
I agree.
This is Florida’s business and I really like DeSantis, but running your wife smacks of the slippery slope of one Party Rule corruption and excess. Like when “Ma” Ferguson succeeded her (impeached for misapplication of public funds so ineligible) husband as governor in Texas in 1924, which left a sense that the Democrats were corrupt in Texas for generations.
That goes for sons and nephews too.
“No link in the article to DeSantis’ speech either.”
Cavuto gave you the three relevant paragraphs quoting the Governor verbatim. The press conference was an hour and two minutes long. If you want the whole shmear, you can find it on YouTube at the First Coast News. The quotations begin at the 50:36 mark,
“I still don’t trust DeSantis I think he was funded by the Lincoln Project. DeSantis and Newsom seem slimey.”
Same here. Back in the Primaries he said something like “Ukraine is a territorial dispute and not a vital national interest of the US”, pretty much mirroring Trump, and then all hell broke loose (since the Neocons wanted to keep Trump, and his position on Ukraine, isolated to just him). BUT, 2 days later, he took the Neocon position calling it a ‘war of aggression’ by Putin.
Also a lot of funny stuff in his past, with people pointing out that he seemed to have been groomed by the Deep State in the way his career progressed. Also, it doesn’t help that his spokeswoman is Ukrainian.
In any case, he may have a long wait before getting a crack at the top job, as we may well have 8 years of Vance next.
Providing a link to the speech quoted in a digital article seems like de minimus journalism/editing if your goal is to truly inform the reader.
I'm sure the triple major college coed is a helluva rookie political reporter though...😬
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