Jay Collins denies persistent rumors he will run for Congress, whether against Kathy Castor or Cory Mills

Multiple sources allied with Gov. Ron DeSantis say talk continues about whether Lt. Gov. Jay Collins should run for Congress. But Collins says he’s not interested.

“No, I’m not running for Congress,” the Tampa Republican said.

That comes as sources say he’s been encouraged to, instead of running for Governor, challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor in the Tampa area or troubled U.S. Rep. Cory Mills in East Central Florida.

Collins for months has teased a potential run for Governor, with speculation spiking after DeSantis appointed Collins as his Lieutenant Governor. That helped raise the statewide profile for Collins, previously a state Senator, but he still trails behind U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican, in public polls.

A source close to Collins said he already “100%” decided his next political move, and will announce it soon, but did not say if news will break before the end of the year.

Many anticipated Collins would have DeSantis’ endorsement for a statewide run. But the Governor recently declined to say if he would endorse a successor in an interview with the Floridian Press.

One longtime ally of DeSantis said there’s a growing desire for Collins to challenge Mills in a Republican Primary.

Mills, embroiled in a House Ethics investigation and accused of domestic issues by girlfriends in Washington and Florida, faces censure threats and calls from female colleagues not to seek re-election. The source said this has political allies of DeSantis looking for a credible Republican Primary challenger to Mills with strong name recognition and no scandals. Federal law only requires members of Congress to live in the same state as their congressional district, allowing anyone in Florida to run.

But party leaders expect Mills to seek re-election and acknowledge that it may be difficult to unseat an incumbent in a GOP Primary, regardless of the circumstances.

Another source with strong ties to DeSantis said there has been talk about Collins either running against Mills or in his home region of Tampa Bay. Collins notably filed to challenge Castor, a Tampa Democrat, in the 2022 election cycle, but ultimately ran with DeSantis’ endorsement to unseat Democratic state Sen. Janet Cruz. Collins won the legislative race with 55% of the vote.

Another source said it seemed more likely that Collins would run for a Tampa congressional seat than against Mills.

But Republican leaders in Florida said speculation about federal races may need to wait for the Florida Legislature to produce a new congressional map. The House has taken steps to draw a new map in the Legislative Session. DeSantis and Florida Senate President Ben Albritton said they plan to wait for guidance from a Supreme Court decision in a Louisiana case that could be settled early next year.