DeSantis doesn’t back Byron Donalds despite Trump endorsement in governor’s race

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he would not necessarily support President Donald Trump’s pick to replace him, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and acknowledged the rumor of his wife, Casey DeSantis, potentially running next year.

Donalds has not formally announced plans to run for governor of Florida in the 2026 race, but Trump said in a TRUTH Social post Thursday that Donalds had his “complete and total endorsement” if he so chooses. DeSantis, meanwhile, has been rumored to be floating the idea of his wife running for governor to donors. 

At a press conference in Tampa on Monday in which he discussed the creation of Florida’s own Department of Government Efficiency, DeSantis declined to back a Donalds gubernatorial bid at this stage.

“Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda,” DeSantis said. “They haven’t done very much yet. 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.”

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declined to back Byron Donalds at this stage. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

“We’ve achieved victories in Florida. We need to start achieving those victories up there, so I think people look at it and say, you know you got a guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over these last years,” DeSantis continued. “He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that, and that’s fine, but OK, well then deliver results up there. That’s what I want to see. I want to see them delivering results for the people of Florida. We deliver it here all the time for the people of Florida, and that’s what we need to be doing.”

DeSantis said he’s going to be raising money for the 2026 race and is looking for someone “that’s going to be able to continue and build off that success that we’ve had here in Florida.”

“I think a lot of people think somehow the battle’s been won, and you don’t have to worry about it. We could revert very quickly. That could happen. 100%,” DeSantis, who Trump endorsed in the 2018 gubernatorial race, said. “And so it really needs to be, ‘OK, are you going to be somebody that’s going to fight for people, especially when it’s not easy? Have you been willing to get in and get involved in these big battles that we’ve had and have won over these many years?’ And if you’re not willing to do that, then I think we are going to see this state revert, so I would not take anything for granted.” 

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.  (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We’ve had hundreds of thousands of people move here specifically because of the policies that we have, and I think that’s something that you should not take for granted,” DeSantis said. “This is not necessarily something that just goes on auto pilot.” 

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Asked about his wife potentially running, DeSantis gave no confirmation Monday but spoke highly of her political acumen and conservatism. 

“People ask me all the time about our wonderful first lady, who has done a fantastic job as first lady of Florida,” DeSantis said of the first lady. “I will tell you this, you’re talking about somebody like her. I won by the biggest margin that any Republican has ever won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me.” 

“She’s somebody that has the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles that, you know, anything that we’ve accomplished she’d be able to take to the next level,” DeSantis said. 

Then-Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis and wife Casey DeSantis arrive for a campaign event at Eternity Church on May 30, 2023 in Clive, Iowa.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

He added that the late legendary American broadcaster Rush Limbaugh once told him at a dinner in Palm Beach during his first year as governor, “The only person I would rather have as my governor than you, is her.” 

On Thursday, Trump wrote on his social media platform in part, “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. RUN, BYRON, RUN!” 

In response, Donalds shared a screenshot of the president’s message. “President Trump is Making America Great Again. I’m committed to working with him to Keep Florida Great. Announcement coming soon!” the congressman said. 

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At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) afterward, Donalds did not formally announce a gubernatorial bid but said it had been an “interesting 12 hours” and to “stay tuned.”