Peter Schorsch
If, as John Nance Garner is credited as saying, the vice presidency of the United States “isn’t worth a pitcher of warm spit,” then what, pray tell, is the value of being Lieutenant Governor of Florida?
In ordinary times — not that anyone can remember them — the LG was an afterthought, a figurehead with little authority and minuscule name recognition beyond political insiders. That’s aside from a couple of notable exceptions: when Gov. Lawton Chiles died and Buddy McKay succeeded him, if only for a few days.
But beyond that and Wayne Nixon’s three days of service, the relevance of Florida’s Lieutenant Governor rarely outlives the Governor’s term.
Yet here we are in 2025, one year before the next gubernatorial election, which will be open as Gov. Ron DeSantis hits term limits. And suddenly, the LG job feels much more significant. Why? Because jockeying for the state’s symbolic No. 2 job has long been afoot.
With former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez’s departure to serve as President of Florida International University, all bets are that whomever DeSantis names as her successor will be DeSantis’ stalking horse for the 2026 GOP gubernatorial Primary. Conventional wisdom holds that DeSantis will select Sen. Jay Collins as LG and, at some future point, Collins will announce a bid for Governor and face off against Byron Donalds.
There has been some speculation, including by me, that the Governor has had second thoughts about Collins for a variety of reasons. None of those reasons have anything to do with Collins’ ability to carry out the duties of LG, which involves little more than putting on a tie and standing next to the Governor.
DeSantis might be hesitant because, among other reasons, it will look like he’s automatically backing Collins against Donalds, a snub to President Donald Trump, who has already endorsed Donalds.
A: DeSantis can’t afford another Trump snub. (See: Blaise Ingoglia’s appointment as CFO.)
B: His wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, is still very much mulling a bid for Governor herself.
Given all that — and certainly not to presume that the Governor takes his cues from me — perhaps DeSantis should go in another direction: declare boldly that he will not appoint anyone as his No. 2 if they have aspirations for higher office in 2026.
That means no Collins. It also means no Paul Renner, who is contemplating a run for Governor regardless of what DeSantis does.
Collins has been a loyal foot soldier for DeSantis, so the urge to reward him is not irrelevant. But DeSantis can still tap someone as LG who fully backs his “Free State of Florida” agenda without compromising his wife’s possible gubernatorial ambitions or pissing off Trump world.
Finding someone who fits that bill — a DeSantis ally who doesn’t want to succeed him — leaves a short list of candidates. Former House Speaker José Oliva is a possibility. But from what I’ve heard, Oliva is content to advance the DeSantis agenda from his variety of high board posts and service in the private sector.
But there is one candidate who immediately comes to mind as checking all of the boxes: Sen. Kathleen Passidomo.
As with Renner, she presided over the Legislative Sessions that most advanced the DeSantis agenda. She, along with other legislative leaders, ushered in billions of dollars in tax relief to Floridians, supported law enforcement, cracked down on “woke” policies, increased parental rights in education, and, as her personal crowning achievement, spearheaded the Live Local Act.
Additionally, Passidomo is highly respected by her legislative colleagues, as well as her predecessor as Senate President, now-Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. She’s also deeply respected in her hometown Southwest Florida community. And despite being a top DeSantis ally, she has somehow also managed not to turn off her counterparts on the Left quite as much as other GOP leaders.
Simply put, she’s a lion, yet poses no threat of eating DeSantis’ face.
Selecting Passidomo as LG instead of Collins comes with so many advantages.
Perhaps one of the biggest is also the most pragmatic: It would keep Collins’ Senate seat in the red during a Midterm Election when Democrats are primed for gains. While the seat skews red, it’s still fairly swingy. If left open by a Collins appointment, it could offer a key pickup opportunity for Dems.
Beyond that, it helps DeSantis avoid another confrontation with Trump World.
While DeSantis made some progress mending his relationship with POTUS, largely through his immigration efforts and the opening of Alligator Alcatraz, he took a few steps backward with the Ingoglia appointment. Trump had backed Joe Gruters. And if that wasn’t enough, DeSantis not only declined to pick Trump’s guy, he also threw in a few insults to boot.
Maybe DeSantis was lulled into complacency by Trump’s visit to Alligator Alcatraz. But make no mistake, Florida’s Governor is a long way from being friends with Team Trump.
Finally, by casting Collins aside for LG, DeSantis keeps Casey DeSantis’ gubernatorial prospects alive and well. Appointing Collins would serve as tacit support for Collins’ higher-office ambitions, and would all but end Casey’s. She has until noon on the final day of qualifying to decide whether to run, and I for one am not counting her completely out until that shot clock expires.
Right now, Casey DeSantis’ path to succeeding her husband in office is rugged, with ongoing critiques about her Hope Florida program.
And while I doubt Donalds will falter (I’m actually more impressed with him now than six months ago after observing his team’s effective ground game), let’s remind all of the figurative Jakes out there that Florida politics is, after all, Chinatown. The GOP could turn on Trump at any moment if the Jeffrey Epstein debacle continues plaguing his tenure, or if his tariffs sour the economy, or any other number of reasons.
I say all that to say, it’s a very real possibility — though I’m in no way suggesting it’s a probability — that Trump’s endorsement in nine months may not be the gold standard it is today. By snubbing Collins, DeSantis paves the way for Casey DeSantis should Trump World crumble, or even just stumble.
All of this is probably academic. DeSantis will likely pick Collins. And Trump will probably remain popular among the President’s MAGA base. Casey DeSantis probably won’t be a candidate next year. And Donalds will probably easily dispatch Collins, even with Ron DeSantis’ support (whatever that looks like in late ’26). Meanwhile, Passidomo is most likely to eventually be succeeded by Rep. Lauren Melo.
But the DeSanti need a game-changer, otherwise Ron will be, what, the next President of Hillsdale College.
And of course there’s another possibility. With Ron DeSantis still not 100% sold on Collins as LG, perhaps he’s ready to do what may very well be the smartest thing: making peace with Team Trump by endorsing Donalds. And maybe, just maybe, if he does that, he really will land some sort of Trump administration gold star in the form of Secretary of Defense or Homeland Security.
But before any of that can shake out, the first thing DeSantis needs to do is just finish off the LG sweepstakes. Why not reward Passidomo’s steadfast loyalty to the Governor and legislative career by asking her to conclude her public service as LG? What a coda that would be to Passidomo. And what a counterintuitive play it would be by DeSantis.
