Ashley Moody is already prepping for 2026 contest, with a committee ready to raise cash

Aaron Bean calls Ashley Moody's appointment a 'home run.'

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody hasn’t been sworn into the Senate yet, but she’s already eyeing her first federal election next year.

Moody, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis announced as the replacement for future Secretary of State Marco Rubio once the exiting Senator is confirmed by his soon-to-be-former colleagues next week, will be buoyed by the eponymous Moody for Florida committee, according to Federal Election Commission records.

This is a different committee than her state-level Friends of Ashley Moody committee, which had nearly $4 million cash on hand at last accounting. As was shown when DeSantis ran for President in 2023, transferring $82.5 million into a super PAC behind that effort, there is precedent for that state-level money to be moved to a federal committee backing her Senate run, though not necessarily this one formed Thursday.

The principals behind Moody’s state level committee (Chairperson Melanie Bonanno, Treasurer Rich Heitmeyer and Registered Agent Richard E. Coates) are not involved in the nascent federal account.

Kirsten Quick of Tampa serves as custodian of records and as treasurer. Chain Bridge Bank of McLean, a city in northern Virginia, is the depository associated with the Moody for Florida account.

In her re-election bid in 2022, Moody surfed the red wave in the state, demolishing her Democratic opponent with more than 60% of the vote. Republicans maintained strong momentum in 2024’s statewide elections as well, and there is little indication that she would be particularly vulnerable from an opposition party challenge in 2026 or 2028 (the seat will be on the ballot both cycles, then won’t be contested until 2034).

However, Moody may face a Primary, at least if talk from U.S. Rep. Cory Mills is to be believed. He says his “hat is going to be thrown into the ring” next year.

The Governor has discouraged this rhetoric already, however, saying he doubts that any challenger to the appointee could “successfully challenge in a Republican Primary.”