Donald Trump boosts Byron Donalds ahead of 2026 Governor’s race

President Donald Trump is continuing to drop hints about who he wants to succeed Ron DeSantis as Florida’s Governor. And it’s not Florida’s First Lady.

In a new Truth Social post, Donald Trump spotlighted a January poll, first covered by Florida Politics, showing U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds with a massive lead over a hypothetical field of Republican opponents in the August 2026 Primary.

Victory Insights, a firm with an office in Naples, shows more than 31% of likely Florida Republican Primary voters prefer Donalds when pitted against three other contenders. Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez comes in a distant second with 4% support. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson polls at 3%. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez shows with just 1%.

At a New York City fundraiser last year, Trump suggested Donalds might be a good fit, saying that if he ran for Governor, he’d have “many friends in the race.”

And that poll shows it, albeit with a significant caveat. The survey omits one potential candidate with major name recognition: First Lady Casey DeSantis.

Donalds has been coy about a potential run, including saying “we’ll see what happens” when he was asked about a still-hypothetical clash with the former Jacksonville newscaster who has become the most prominent and powerful First Lady in Florida history.

Yet polls that have included Casey DeSantis have shown her ahead of the field.

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.

The First Couple is giving quotes suggesting running is not in the cards, though it is worth noting that Ron DeSantis gave similar lines ahead of his presidential campaign in late 2023 and early 2024.

“It’s not something that she’s seeking out,” he said on a Fox News telecast. “People have been asking her to do this for a long time, but she’s not seeking to do anything. But it’s flattering that people are asking her to do it.”

He also said in May that if he “had to hypothesize her interest in getting into the political thicket as a candidate,” he would “characterize it as zero.”

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 suggests 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.

“I would say this: I have heard donors have been urging her to run and that while it’s not something she has wanted to do, they are causing her to at least stop and listen,” Dixon reported.

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Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics contributed to this report.

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