Amid Byron Donalds momentum, Ron DeSantis dodges question about the 2026 Election

Ahead of the Florida Governor’s appearance in South Florida Wednesday, the sound system played Lara Trump’s version of “I Won’t Back Down.”

But on the political burning question of the day, he did back down, contradicting the lyrics penned by Tom Petty and reinterpreted more recently by the former Republican National Committee co-Chair.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis demurred when asked to discuss the upcoming gubernatorial election.

“I want to focus today not on the ’26 Election but on vindicating the ’24 election by showing that we’re going to get this job done here. You know, you have these elections and then people start talking about new elections. Why don’t we actually get something done based off the previous election?”

DeSantis made the comments in Homestead during a news conference about immigration that had federal representation. He said President Donald Trump, who endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds over First Lady Casey DeSantis this week, “deserves all Republicans in particular to be supporting those efforts.”

DeSantis’ demurral in discussing the election to succeed him deviates from recent past practice.

“You got a guy like Byron Donalds; he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the Left over these last years. He’s just not been a part of it,” DeSantis said earlier this week in Tampa.

The Governor has said the First Lady could take his administration’s accomplishments “to the next level.”

He also has said long-deceased conservative leader Rush Limbaugh endorsed her years ago, as her uncompromising worldview entranced him at a dinner where she was “just holding court with Rush about conservatism and all this other stuff.”

“And so at the end of the dinner, he just put his finger in my chest. He’s like, ‘The only person I would rather have as my Governor than you is her.’ And he pointed at her. And I was like, that’s a pretty good endorsement there.”

Though Rush Limbaugh may be with Casey DeSantis in spirit, Republicans who are still alive are backing Donalds. Sen. Randy Fine and Reps. Yvette Benarroch, Berny Jacques, Toby Overdorf, and Juan Porras are among the Florida politicians supporting the Naples Republican.

Others are quieter but seemingly on board, including a member of leadership who tells Florida Politics that the Governor’s management style rankles House Republicans and see Casey DeSantis as a third term bid by the incumbent.

Ron DeSantis memorably wrangled endorsements from the vast majority of legislative Republicans ahead of his presidential bid, which started formally after the 2023 Session but had a soft launch when lawmakers were deliberating. It remains to be seen if the same political capital will be available for Casey’s bid for her husband’s office.

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