Byron Donalds expects Ron DeSantis to campaign with him against David Jolly

While Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t come close to announcing his preferred candidate to replace him, current Republican contender Byron Donalds says the current Governor will back him in the General Election.

“I believe that Governor DeSantis completely agrees with us about the next steps for Florida. And so I look forward to having his endorsement and being out there on the campaign trail with him,” Donalds said on Bloomberg.

DeSantis said earlier this year that Donalds “hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the Left over these last years,” a quote that gets traction still since the Governor has refused to endorse a potential successor, even with less than four weeks to go before the Aug. 18 Primary.

Donalds has been the front-runner for the entire race, and has explained away the chilliness between DeSantis and him the whole time.

He has said previously that he was “not concerned” about the lack of an endorsement from a Governor who was still upset that Donalds backed Donald Trump in 2024’s Republican Presidential Primary.

For his part, DeSantis continues to criticize Donalds. He commented on the Congressman’s recent worries that fiscally constrained counties would be hurt by the property tax amendment on the Fall ballot, a proposal that would increase homestead exemptions to $150,000 next year and $250,000 in 2028.

“I worry about taxpayers who local governments have overtaxed. Property tax revenue has nearly doubled for local governments this decade. The state has reduced its budget for 4 straight years — local governments can do the same. Floridians should not be taxed out of their homes!”

DeSantis also has excoriated the “ridiculous” lack of debates between the front-runner and the rest of the field as a “farce” that is shutting voters out ahead of the August Primary.

During his interview with Bloomberg, Donalds acknowledged again that debates between him and Jay Collins, James Fishback and Paul Renner would “probably not” happen given the massive lead he has in polls.

“These candidates, they’re still in single digits,” he said. “Why would I elevate you when you couldn’t elevate yourself?”

In 2018, DeSantis and then-Gov. Rick Scott appeared together very rarely on the campaign trail. It will be worth watching to see if DeSantis does in fact flip the script and put in the work to elect a candidate to succeed him who is favored by Scott, especially given the dynamic between Donalds and DeSantis this cycle.