A.G. Gancarski
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds doesn’t think President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the race for Governor will clear the field for him.
Donalds told Fox News host Bill Hemmer that he expects competition
“I do. I mean, look, I would love for things to be easy. But nothing’s ever easy, especially in politics,” Donalds said.
“It’s very, very early. We’ll see what happens, but I’m just happy to have the support of President Trump, glad to have his endorsement and his faith in me. And my job now is going to the people of Florida, not just earning their vote but earning their endorsement. And so I’m just going to be working hard at that while also making sure we get the President’s agenda done on Capitol Hill.”
Donalds sat impassively as Hemmer reminded him that Gov. Ron DeSantis is touting First Lady Casey DeSantis as his preferred successor.
Donalds, a Congressman from Naples, hasn’t had much to say about the DeSantis family positioning itself for a third term in Tallahassee. He has preferred to let the endorsement from Trump, who won by double digits over Kamala Harris in November, do the talking for him.
Gov. DeSantis has reined in his rhetoric promoting his wife for the job since Donalds formally entered the race this week.
“You have so much time between now and, heck, the filing is what, in 16 months? And the Primaries after that, and then a General Election,” DeSantis said Thursday, as he lumped the 2026 cycle in with things that are a “lifetime away in politics.”
Yet the Governor has previously let his real feeling be known, saying of Donalds that “he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the Left over these last years,” while saying the First Lady could take his administration’s accomplishments “to the next level.”
