Florida's First Lady Casey DeSantis is seriously considering running for governor in 2026, according to a report from NBC .
Gov. Ron DeSantis term limits will restrict him from re-election.
NBC reported that Republican donors discussed the possibility of Casey DeSantis making a run for governor at a gathering last week in Palm Beach County.
Over the years, there has been speculation about whether Casey, a mainstay on the campaign trail for her husband, would one day run for office herself. Those plans seem to be coming to fruition following the discussions.
“I would say this: I have heard donors have been urging her to run and that while it’s not something she has wanted to do, they are causing her to at least stop and listen,” a source familiar with her thinking said.
Before the South Florida donor event last week, the prospect was mostly political conjecture. But even then, the idea had gotten enough traction that Casey DeSantis has had to address it.
“I will tell you this, when people talk about me running for governor, I think it speaks highly about the governor himself,” she told the “ Conservative Review ” podcast in May. “I think when people see me, it is because they are so happy about everything that this governor has done for the state of Florida.
“When people start talking about ‘Oh, you know, you should run,’ that’s because Gov. DeSantis is a rock star and that’s because people are so proud of everything that he’s done for this state,” she added.
Southwest Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, a close Trump ally, also openly said he is considering a run for governor in January.
If Casey DeSantis decided to run, the race would almost certainly be viewed, in part, as a proxy war between Trump and her husband.
The two became close allies after Trump endorsed Ron DeSantis’ 2018 bid for governor, but they had a high-profile falling out when DeSantis ran against Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.
Last month, DeSantis said he would use his state-level political committee, the Florida Freedom Fund, to back a candidate in the 2026 governor’s race.
DeSantis used the committee last year to help defeat ballot measures that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state and another that would have enshrined abortion rights in the Florida Constitution.
“The Florida Freedom Fund was instrumental in raising huge sums of $ to defeat Amendments 3 and 4 in 2024,” he posted on X last month. “For the 2026 cycle, the FFF will raise even more resources (1) to ensure support of a strong gubernatorial candidate and (2) to support strong conservative candidates in legislative primaries.”
It has left many wondering whom DeSantis would end up supporting. The candidate who answers that question may already live in the Governor’s Mansion.
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