Casey DeSantis in single digits in GOP Governor’s race hypothetical

First Lady Casey DeSantis is running out of time to launch a bid for Governor, and new polling shows that Florida Republicans aren’t clamoring for her to change her mind.

The survey from Emerson College, conducted between March 29 and 31, shows the former Jacksonville newscaster with 7% support among the 465 Republican likely voters polled.

This is her worst showing in any survey, and indicates that the prospect of a DeSantis dynasty in the Governor’s Mansion has dimmed.

DeSantis’ support in the survey seems to have come at the expense of two other candidates in the field, all of whom polled better without her in the mix than with.

Front-runner Byron Donalds, a Congressman from Naples backed by President Donald Trump, has 44% support in a field with the First Lady, but 46% with her excluded.

Former House Speaker Paul Renner drops from 3% without DeSantis included to 2% with her as an option.

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and conservative outsider James Fishback maintain their 4% backing with or without DeSantis in the mix.

The addition of her name does lower the share of undecided voters from 39% to 34%, but the large number who can’t make up their minds even with her as a choice further reinforces the impression that Republicans have moved on.

The trial balloon testing a potential DeSantis run began to be floated roughly a year ago, but seemed to be deflated amid questions about the programming of $10 million received by the Hope Florida Foundation in a settlement with Medicaid insurer Centene into political ads to defeat a constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational pot.

While the pot push was snuffed out, the controversy seemed to capsize any momentum the First Lady might have had.

Emerson also tested DeSantis as a potential nominee for Governor, finding that potential Democratic nominees Jerry Demings and David Jolly would both be competitive against her.

Jolly, a former Republican Congressman from St. Petersburg, marginally leads the First Lady, 40% to 39%.

She does better against Demings, the Mayor of Orange County, leading 41% to 39%.

Both spreads are inside the margin of error, which is +/- 2.8 percentage points.