Florida’s First Lady sounded like a candidate for her husband’s job during a speech to the Glonal Liberty Institute Friday.

After roughly 17 minutes of boilerplate, Casey DeSantis delivered a dire warning about how Florida could become a “purple state” sooner than later, mirroring rhetoric from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

And in her remarks, delivered at the end of the speech, a discerning listener may have deduced the beginning of a 2026 stump speech in a GOP gubernatorial primary.

“While we are leading here in the state of Florida, I would say, and this is true, even with a Republican supermajority and the GOAT in the Governor’s office, none of this here runs on autopilot. The winds in Florida and frankly the sanity and the freedom that we enjoy in the free state of Florida unfortunately are not guaranteed in perpetuity,” Casey DeSantis warned.

In addition to threats posed by “the left and special interests,” she said “squishes wanting to go Republican lite by continuing to spend on massive boondoggles and not implementing the will of the people” also present obstacles.

The comments were circulated Monday night, hours after the Governor offered direct commentary about the dangers posed by Donald Trump-endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds.

“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 in Tampa. “He’s been in other states campaigning, doing that, and that’s fine. But okay, well, then deliver results up there. You know, that’s what I want to see. I want to see them delivering results for the people of Florida. We deliver it here all the time for the people of Florida, and that’s what we need to be doing.”

Trump offered Donalds, a longtime ally in Congress, his endorsement last week. And Donalds has said his team is having “internal conversations” and that an announcement is coming soon. The potential candidate also has hired prominent campaign staffers like Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio.

Polling that has included Casey DeSantis and Byron Donalds has been favorable to her, including with people who voted for Trump last year.

New polling from the University of North Florida (UNF) shows 57% of Trump voters approve of First Lady DeSantis, while just 4% disapprove of her. Donalds does respectably well in the survey, with 3 in 10 Trump voters approving of the Congressman and just 2% disapproving. But that puts the Congressman far from DeSantis’ +53.

While a recent Trump Truth Social post spotlighted a January poll, first covered by Florida Politics, showing Donalds with a massive lead over a hypothetical field of Republican opponents (Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez), most polling goes Casey DeSantis’ way.

Per a June polling memo from Florida Atlantic University, she leads a field of candidates with 43% support, ahead of Donalds at 19%, with Jimmy Patronis and Matt Gaetz further back still.

A poll conducted in April by FAU showed 38% of 372 Florida Republicans polled would choose the First Lady in a head-to-head race against Gaetz, who would receive 16% support in that scenario.

A University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab survey from November 2023 showed the First Lady with 22% support, a lead in a crowded field of potential candidates.

For a while, the First Couple acted disinterested in remaining in the Governor’s Mansion.

Casey DeSantis previously acknowledged the talk is “humbling,” and maintains that the seeming enthusiasm for her running is due to her “rock star” husband and the job he’s done as the state’s chief executive.

However, published speculation suggested there is more direct dialogue behind the scenes.

Reporting from Matt Dixon of NBC News cites a “source familiar with her thinking” suggesting a 2026 run is a possibility.

Indeed, her recent comments support that as a possibility.

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One of President Donald Trump’s strongest allies in Tallahassee will carry a bill seeking to strike all references to the Gulf of Mexico from teaching materials

Sen. Joe Gruters’ legislation (SB 1058) would require School Boards to “adopt and acquire” materials using the Gulf of America name.

It would also name a highway after the freshly christened Gulf of America. The legislation would designate the portion of U.S. 41 between S.R. 60 and U.S. 1 in Miami-Dade, Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee and Hillsborough counties as “the Gulf of America Trail.”

This is the second Senate bill to address the Gulf of America nomenclature.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie’s measure (SB 608), which was filed earlier this month, would change 92 statutory references in Florida law to refer to the body of water along Florida’s west coast as the Gulf of America.

Both bills have House companions.

Rep. Juan Porras is carrying the House version (HB 549) of Gruters’ bill. Rep. Tyler Sirois is sponsoring the House version (HB 575) of DiCeglie’s proposal.

Tallahassee Republicans have quickly embraced the new name for the body of water that was called the Gulf of Mexico without controversy until earlier this year.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is embracing the President’s preference regarding government documents, pushing for changes on behalf of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Simpson’s goal is to rename the body of water as the Gulf of America “as quickly as possible … in all department administrative rules, forms, maps, and resources.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis was the first state official to embrace the new name in an executive order declaring a State of Emergency over a Winter storm last month. That order said the inclement weather was headed to Florida across the “Gulf of America.”

The declaration came the same day Trump made the name change official in his own executive order.

Despite the unity demonstrated by Florida Republicans, the name change has been controversial in some quarters domestically and beyond.

The Associated Press hasn’t accepted the Gulf of America designation.

“The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,” the news organization announced last month.

The AP has not been allowed at certain White House events in the wake of its decision, as the Trump administration has stood by the renaming of the body of water.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also rejects the name change, meanwhile, with her argument predicated on the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“If a country wants to change the designation of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 nautical miles. It cannot apply to the rest, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said, as reported by NPR.

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Supplies of high-demand obesity treatments are improving, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier to get them.

Many employers and insurers are scaling back coverage of Wegovy and Zepbound and a key government program, Medicare, doesn’t cover the drugs for obesity. Meanwhile, some big employers are adding coverage, but their commitment isn’t guaranteed.

Treatment prices that can top hundreds of dollars monthly even after discounts make it hard for many people to afford these drugs on their own. That can make the life-changing weight loss that patients seek dependent on the coverage they have and how long it lasts.

Coverage complications are not unusual in the U.S. health care system. But the challenge is magnified for these obesity treatments because a wide swath of the population could be eligible to take them, and patients have to stay on the drugs to keep the weight off.

“There are a lot of people right now who want access to the medication and can’t get it,” said Katherine Hempstead, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation senior policy adviser.

Coverage varies depending on who pays the bill

Paul Mack dropped about 70 pounds after he started taking Wegovy. The Redwood City, California, resident said food noise — constant thoughts of eating — faded, and he was able to have a heart procedure.

The treatment was covered by California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. Then the 50-year-old security guard got a raise. He no longer qualified for Medi-Cal and lost coverage of the drug for several months starting last summer.

He regained two pants sizes.

“I couldn’t control the eating,” he said. “All the noise came back.”

Coverage of these drugs remains patchy more than a year after Zepbound entered the market to challenge Wegovy.

The benefits consultant Mercer says 44% of U.S. companies with 500 or more employees covered obesity drugs last year. It’s even more common with bigger employers.

More than a dozen government-funded Medicaid programs for people with low incomes also cover obesity treatments.

But few insurers cover the drugs on individual insurance marketplaces. And some plans restrict their coverage with things like requests for prior authorization or pre-approval.

The lack of Medicare coverage remains a concern as well, especially for people who retire and move to the government-funded program from employer-sponsored coverage.

“Patients come to us terrified about switching to Medicare and losing coverage,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and cofounder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “We start talking about backup plans a year before they transition.”

Cost and uncertain payoff loom as concerns payer concerns

Philadelphia-area insurer Independence Blue Cross dropped coverage of the drugs solely for weight loss for some customers starting this year. Company officials say the insurer worried about premium hikes it would have to impose on all customers if it continued.

Cost also was a factor in decisions by West Virginia and North Carolina officials to end similar programs that provided coverage for state employees.

These concerns make Vanderbilt University researcher Stacie Dusetzina wonder how long employers who have added coverage will keep it, now that the drugs are no longer in short supply.

“That’s probably going to spike spending,” said Dusetzina, a health policy professor who studies drug costs.

Drugmakers tout the savings these drugs can provide by improving patient health and warding off future serious medical conditions like heart attacks or strokes.

But health care experts note that there are no guarantees that the employer or insurer who covers the drug will eventually reap those benefits because people may change jobs or insurers.

Will coverage ever become consistent?

There’s no clear path toward widespread coverage of these drugs for obesity, even as polls show Americans favor having Medicaid and Medicare cover the costs.

Leaders at Zepbound maker Eli Lilly have seen coverage grow steadily for their drug, and they’re optimistic that will continue.

Former President Joe Biden’s administration proposed a rule that would allow for Medicare and broader Medicaid coverage. Its fate remains uncertain in President Donald Trump’s administration.

A bill calling for Medicare coverage has been floating around Congress for years. But it isn’t scheduled for a vote.

Drugmakers are currently testing several additional obesity treatments. Such potential competition could reduce prices and prompt more coverage.

Patchy coverage complicates treatment plans

Dr. Amy Rothberg says the lack of consistent coverage leaves her conflicted about writing prescriptions because she’s not sure how long patients will be able to take the drug.

“We know from the studies that people go off these medications, they regain their weight,” said Rothberg, director of the University of Michigan’s weight-management program. “I don’t want to do harm.”

Some insurers require diet and exercise changes for the patient before they will cover a weight-loss medication. Those changes should happen in conjunction with starting the medicine, said Dr. Lydia Alexander, President of the Obesity Medicine Association.

She’s also seen requirements for a body mass index of 40 or more, which equates to severe obesity, before coverage can start.

“We’re saying that obesity is a disease, but we’re not treating it like a disease,” she said.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

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