President Donald Trump has made it very clear who he will support in the 2026 governor race for the success of term-limited Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“I’ve heard that the highly respected Rep. Byron Donald is considering running for governor of Florida, who I love and won a huge victory in 2020 and 2024.”
The president also emphasized that longtime Trump friend and supporter Donald “will be a truly great and powerful governor for Florida.”
Trump added that Donald “If he decides to run, I’ll have my full and full support. Run, Byron, run!”
What Byron Donald said on Fox News Sunday
Byron Donald will speak in one of the arenas in the capital at President Donald Trump’s event on January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC, on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term. Reuters/Mike Segar (Reuters/Mike Segar)
Donald, a conservative former state legislator who has represented part of the 19th district in southwestern Florida for four years, has focused on potential governor bids for almost a year.
“I thought about it. I’m not really excluding anything,” Donald said in a digital interview with Fox News when asked about the governor’s potential run last spring.
Sources confirmed last month to Fox News that Donald had told potential donors and Florida political players he intended to run for governor.
Why is Trump praised DeSantis, the leading rival of the once president?
Another signal came last month when Donald hired a research firm for prominent Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio. Fabrizio was the top pollster in Trump’s 2016 and 2024 presidential elections.
A Florida source told Fox News that Donald continues to move behind the scenes towards launching a governor’s campaign.
Rep. Byron Donald of Florida will speak on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 15, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
And sources on Donald’s political trajectory told Fox News Thursday that lawmakers were pushing Trump’s support to crowd potential rivals for the GOP’s governor nomination.
Another prominent Florida Republican who is seriously considering the governor’s run is Wilton Simpson, former president of state Agriculture Secretary Wilton Simpson.
There was also speculation that DeSantis’ wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, may be considering running to take over her husband in Tallahassee. A poll released earlier this week attracted much attention, suggesting Casey DeSantis would be a favorite in the race.
Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first choice in his second administration before dropping out amid a controversy, and how much could he be governor late last year? made a noise. However, in recent weeks there has been much talk about the possibility of the Gaetz campaign.
Dan Everhart, a Florida-based oil drilling chief executive and a well-known Republican donor who has been on Donald’s political trajectory in recent years, has raised a lot of money for Trump and DeSantis, says if Donald runs. , Donald “provides a fresh, conservative vision of Florida’s future that it’s difficult to beat.”
A social media post by Trump was his second to boost Donald this week.
On Monday, Trump featured a screen of a poll conducted by a group alongside Donald, led by lawmakers leading the 2026 Florida governor’s hypothesis.
Trump has been discussing Donald for over a year regarding the governor’s potential run. In a fundraiser that closed in New York City last spring, Trump suggested that if Donald runs for governor of Florida, he will have “a lot of friends in the race.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital shortly after Trump commented, Donald said, “It’s really cool that people returning home in Florida think I can become the next governor of the state. It’s really honorable. “My journey into M 45 and politics was truly fruitful.”
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In Florida, once a battlefield state for general elections, the now solidly red and slowly emergent battle for governoral nominations of the GOP is heavily influenced by Trump’s support in his adopted hometown.
But the possibility of DeSantis approval in the race to take over the governor is not discounted.
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
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