President Donald Trump on Thursday publicly supported Republican Rep. Byron Donalds’ likely bid for Florida governor in 2026.
Donalds has not yet announced, but NBC News reported last month that he is telling donors that he will run for the seat, which is being vacated by Republican Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited.
Donalds is among Trump’s biggest congressional supporters, and he was expected to get Trump’s backing, even if the public show of support came sooner than many anticipated.
“I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER!” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday. “As Governor, Byron would have a BIG Voice and would work closely with me to advance our America First Agenda.”
While no major candidate has formally filed to run for governor in 2026, both Donalds and Casey DeSantis have been viewed as potential GOP frontrunners. Casey DeSantis, the first lady of Florida, earlier this month signaled she was considering a run — a prospect that was openly discussed at a donor event in Palm Beach County, as NBC News reported.
Trump’s endorsement is a huge win for Donalds. Trump won Florida by 13 percentage points, lives in the state and is widely seen as the most powerful influence over the state’s Republican politics.
In recent days, DeSantis himself has been making calls — including to Tallahassee-based lobbyists with clients before his administration — about his wife’s potential run for governor — two people familiar with the conversations told NBC News.
“He was absolutely starting to make calls on this,” a donor who spoke with DeSantis directly said. “I don’t know if that changed Byron’s timeline at all, but the sitting governor was starting to make calls, it seems to have really kicked this race off.”
DeSantis’ office did not return a request for comment.
DeSantis had been looking for a candidate to support in 2026, something that the most current likely field — barring his wife’s entrance — did not offer.
He and Donalds have been at odds after Donalds backed Trump in the 2024 presidential primary, and state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, another rumored candidate, has fought with DeSantis over a host of issues, most recently immigration.
It’s unclear how the Trump endorsement will impact Casey DeSantis’ thought process on running in 2026, but some view it as something that could make her re-think getting in the race.
“She will need to process things and go through the stages of grief, but ultimately they will decide she’s not going to run,” a veteran GOP Florida lobbyist said. “Trump just won this state by 15 points and throttled DeSantis in a national election. They know their brand cant take another loss to Trump.”
Beyond Trump’s explicit endorsement, Donalds earlier this week unveiled a list of heavyweight GOP supporters — names that Trump himself amplified on Truth Social. The list included South Florida GOP mega donor Max Alvarez, lobbyist Brian Ballard — who has close ties to both Trump and DeSantis — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and tech billionaire David Sacks, among others.
Trump also included a poll that showed Donalds with a commanding lead in a hypothetical 2026 race.
Some in Trump’s orbit continue to also see Casey DeSantis through the lens of a longtime rivalry between Trump and DeSantis. Trump endorsed DeSantis’ first gubernatorial bid in 2018 — which gave him a huge boost — but some Trump defenders saw DeSantis then running for president in 2024 as a betrayal.
