Here's what Casey said about a possible run to succeed Ron DeSantis for Florida governor

Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis leaned on the wisdom of a baseball legend when asked if she plans to run for governor in 2026.

“To quote the late, great Yogi Berra, ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it,’” she told reporters at a press conference in Miami before turning the podium over to her husband.

"You guys can read into that what you want," Gov. Ron DeSantis said, adding "I've had people coming up to me for years, begging to get her into the fray."

Gov. DeSantis, who is term limited and can’t run in 2026, then outlined some of the initiatives she’s helmed during his administration, touting her qualifications if she should jump in the race. He pointed to Hope Florida, the agency that acts as a portal to connect those in need with churches and charities to assist them.

“This was her conception to do this,” DeSantis said, noting the program has helped move 30,000 people off of welfare.

DeSantis has spoken highly of his wife’s potential candidacy in the last two weeks, after President Donald Trump gave his pre-endorsement of U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, for governor if he opted to get in the race. Donalds made it official earlier this week during an appearance on Fox News.

Donalds, 46, is a three-term Congressman who previously served as a representative in the Florida House. He’s a staunch Trump ally who frequently supports the president’s agenda on Fox News – much as DeSantis did when he rode Trump’s endorsement to the governor’s mansion in 2018.

Casey DeSantis, 44, has been a quiet but pivotal force in her husband’s administration, and is his closest advisor.

Donalds and DeSantis were once close allies, with Donalds supporting his runs for governor and even playing the role of Andrew Gillum, DeSantis’ Democratic opponent in 2018, during debate preparations.

But Donalds endorsed Trump, not DeSantis, in the 2024 campaign for the GOP nomination for president, sparking a rift. Donalds also criticized DeSantis during the campaign for insisting that some Black people benefited from slavery, and putting that message in Florida’s curriculum.

Since getting in the race officially, Donalds has embraced something of a front-runner mentality, gushing about DeSantis and telling Fox host Sean Hannity he “has done a tremendous job.”

Meanwhile, DeSantis has criticized Donalds for not enacting Trump’s agenda quickly, and taking his attention away from Congress to get in the race 21 months away from the election.

“Some people are show horses and they babble and nothing ever gets done, and then some people are workhorses,” DeSantis said Friday.

In the month leading up to his announcement, Donalds made hires that hinted at a run, including taking on Tony Fabrizio, a pollster for Trump in 2024.

Other GOP candidates could get in the race as well, including Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who has $30 million in political committees to put towards a campaign.

Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.