Trump is eager to prove Florida is his kingdom — by anointing DeSantis’ successor

MIAMI — Ron DeSantis has more than two years left as Florida governor. Yet Donald Trump is itching to find his successor.

During a high-dollar fundraiser at the Pierre in Manhattan on Tuesday night, Trump pointedly asked Rep. Byron Donalds if he planned on running for governor. A smiling Donalds told POLITICO he answered Trump: “That’s what I hear.” Trump, apparently toying with the hopeful pol, then noted that he had a lot of friends who were likely to enter the race.

Trump’s exchange with Donalds — which was in front of other people — quickly came out. It was a stark reminder that, even amid a public peace treaty with ex-primary rival DeSantis, Trump is eager to show he has every intention of dominating the state they both call home well past the 2024 election. It also amped up suspense about when, how and whether Trump would endorse and spilled the already active jockeying for 2026 into public view.

“The invisible primary for the GOP nomination for Florida governor for 2026 is already underway,” said Justin Sayfie, a partner at Ballard Partners who was former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s policy adviser. “It's something that doesn't get talked about in the open, but it's classic Donald Trump to bring out into the open what everyone is saying behind closed doors.”

Sayfie surmised that Trump was also sending an unspoken message during the fundraiser: That he knew Republicans would be seeking his endorsement and that he had a big decision to make that would be central in determining the eventual Republican nominee.

Trump’s hyper-early comments suggest he’s eager to reprise his role as kingmaker. It’s one he relishes all over the U.S. — but probably nowhere more famously than in Florida, where he helped DeSantis, once a little-known member of Congress, rocket to the GOP nomination then the governor’s mansion in 2018. It was a decision Trump would later grow to regret.

This time, Donalds is just one of Trump’s friends interested in the job. Two others in Congress who have been loyal to Trump include Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, both of whom joined Trump in court for his criminal trial in New York City on Thursday. Donalds, who’s also reportedly one of many in consideration to be Trump’s running mate this year, witnessed the trial Tuesday.

The quick succession of Floridians to Manhattan shows that they, too, are acutely aware that Trump is keeping score of who showed up to support him in 2024 — and that it could all pay dividends in 2026.

Back in 2018, Trump waited to endorse DeSantis until closer to the August primary, when then-Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam was already the favorite among donors and in public polling. Trump hasn’t said when he’ll decide who to support for 2026, but he already put one marker down early for that election cycle by endorsing state Sen. Joe Gruters, a close ally, to be Florida’s chief financial officer.

The list of prospects interested in Florida’s top job is long on both the Republican and the Democratic sides. DeSantis will be term-limited out in 2026, and the eventual Republican nominee will enter the general election as the favorite as the state has gotten more red.

Others interested in running in two years have also made an effort to cozy up to Trump. For instance, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis didn’t take sides in the GOP presidential primary but endorsed Trump after DeSantis dropped out. Since then, Patronis has made several overtures to Trump. He tried to push a bill — quickly shot down by DeSantis — to create a $5 million pool to help pay Trump’s legal fees. More recently, he alerted Trump to money the former president, his family and businesses are owed from an unclaimed property fund he might be able to use instead.

Still more potential gubernatorial candidates are out there, including those close to the current governor. Both Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez and state Attorney General Ashley Moody are eyeing runs, and both women are considered to be in DeSantis’ most trusted circle of loyalists.

DeSantis’ political representative declined to comment on Trump’s remarks at the fundraiser, but in recent weeks the governor and Trump have reached a public detente after a bitter and highly personal presidential primary. DeSantis has vowed to use his fundraising prowess to help with Trump’s election, but just how close he’ll get to the Trump operation remains to be seen.

DeSantis has said little publicly about who he sees succeeding him as governor, though has ruled out his wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, saying this week that she would have “zero” interest in running for office.

Trump’s latest comments to Donalds are a reminder that by 2026, he and DeSantis may be in another power struggle to shape Florida’s future. Sen. Rick Scott, who was Florida governor for two terms and is a close ally of the former president, told POLITICO that Trump had “built a lot of relationships” in the state.

His advice to the hopefuls was to start meeting donors and voters now and to be ready to articulate why they wanted to run as the time gets nearer. But Scott himself doesn’t plan on wading into the contest.

“I try not to be involved,” Scott said of the forthcoming race. “Think about my experience in 2010 — everybody endorsed against me.”

Donalds has made it clear he’s interested in running for governor and quipped with a smile that Trump singled him out Tuesday night because he “likes me, I guess.” But he also stressed that the race was far off and that the most important task for Republicans was to help Trump get elected this year.

Gaetz was short with POLITICO on Capitol Hill on Wednesday when asked about Trump’s comment that he had a lot of friends interested in running for Florida governor. “So do I,” Gaetz shot back.

The representative, who was getting ready to head to New York, said he didn’t have time for questions so he kept it brief. “Byron’s a great friend,” he said. “I’m sure he’s got a wonderful future.”

Soon after the interview, Gaetz took to X to expand on his thinking, saying it was important for everyone to be focused on electing Trump in November. “If we don’t elect Trump, we won’t have a country, or a Florida or a political ambition left worth a rip,” he wrote.

The comment revealed another truth about the 2026 contest: that the makeup of the Republican primary race for governor would depend on how Trump does in November. Right now, Trump is up in the polls in key swing states, but the general election is still about six months off. That reality means gubernatorial hopefuls can only plan so much.

“Nobody is going to be able to decide what they want to do until after November,” said David Custin, a political adviser to Nuñez. “Everybody is in the same boat. Is Trump sworn in or not? That’s the first question you have to ask. Is it truly a wide open primary, or is it going to be a primary that’s basically picked by the sitting president from Florida?”

Kimberly Leonard contributed to this report from Miami. Mia McCarthy contributed to this report from Washington.