The man who could be the next GOP nominee for Governor doesn’t seem enthused about Ron DeSantis’ chances in a potential second bid for the White House.

During an interview with the Full Send Podcast, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds deemed Vice President JD Vance to be the “leader in the clubhouse” for the 2028 contest.

“I would say we’re kind of in the first round right now at the Masters. He’s got the lead,” Donalds said. “Incredibly good. Incredibly smart.”

Donalds also believes Vance’s hardscrabble youth can appeal to “guys in the inner city.”

“I think a lot of guys in the inner city, if they take a chance to look at JD, they realize JD, although he grew up as a hillbilly, didn’t really grow up much different than a lot of us,” Donalds said.

“Drugs in your community, drugs in your house. JD’s family life was much tougher than my family life,” Donalds added. “He was able to persevere and overcome that and still love his family and still try to do good things. I mean, that’s a success story.”

Donalds concluded that “it’s going to be tough for anybody that wants to take him on.”

Indeed, polls suggest DeSantis would start any race against Vance, the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” at a marked disadvantage.

A survey from Atlas Intel, which was conducted between April 10 and April 14, shows Vance leading DeSantis 60% to 9%. That’s one of many polls where Vance has majority support and DeSantis lingers in single digits.

The disaffection for DeSantis extends to right-wing activists.

At a straw poll conducted at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, DeSantis mustered 7% support, finishing far behind Vance’s 61%.

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In a unanimous vote on Thursday, the Florida House passed a measure to enhance substance abuse and mental health care services in the state.

Tampa Republican Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman presented the bill (HB 1091) and explained the legislation would improve access, update procedures for involuntary services, and refine training and qualifications for mental health professionals.

“We have identified the need to update the processes and regulations around the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the medication-assisted needs assessment, and our forensic evaluators,” Gonzalez Pittman said.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) would oversee 988 crisis lifeline centers, which were established by the federal government in 2022, to ensure they meet accreditation standards. DCF would further adopt rules to deliver the service and implement statewide interoperability with the 911 system.

The measure also expands the definition of crisis services to include 988 call centers, as well as other crisis facilities such as stabilization units, mobile response teams, and detox centers.

DCF would also be authorized to issue licenses to medication-assisted providers without conducting annual needs assessments.

Under current law, a patient who is the subject of a petition for continued involuntary care services is not required to have a public defender.

The legislation would establish clear roles for the courts and administrative law judges regarding continued involuntary services proceedings. Training requirements for court-appointed forensic evaluators would also be expanded to include annual training and coverage of a wide range of topics.

Clinical psychologists would further be required to have at least three years of clinical experience before they can be authorized to transfer a patient from voluntary to involuntary status.

In the bill’s analysis, it states the legislation would have no impact on the state budget.

A similar bill (SB 1240) has had its second reading by the Florida Senate and is sponsored by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud. The bill is due to be heard on the Senate floor on April 29.

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