Dem
47
GOP
53
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is now officially running for governor of Florida in 2026. He consulted God, and after many thoughts and prayers, God told him to go for it, so now he (Donalds, not God) is in. He made the announcement on Sean Hannity's show. That should give you an idea of where his campaign is heading.
Donald Trump somehow sussed this out in advance and endorsed Donalds last week. Normally, that would be enough for a candidate to win, but maybe not this time. There are a couple of problems. First, Donalds is Black and no Black person has ever been elected governor of Florida. Unlike many other southern states, Florida does not have a very large Black population. It is about 15% (vs. 32% for Georgia and 27% for Alabama). This means that Donalds is going to need many white voters.
Second, there will be serious competition in the Republican primary. Former representative Matt Gaetz is considering a run. He has the wacko vote locked up and could pull in many Trump supporters, even without Trump's endorsement. In addition, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) would love a third term, despite the minor inconvenience of a state law imposing term limits on him. So what's a governor to do? Use the run-your-wife strategy. Jill "Casey" DeSantis could legally file to run, but make no mistake, it would be Ron's third term. They should just start calling themselves Ma and Pa DeSantis right now.
This sort of thing has happened in that neck of the woods before. When then-governor George Wallace was term limited in 1966, he put Mrs. George C. Wallace (also known as Lurleen Wallace) on the ballot, even though she was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time. Lurleen was shy and totally uninterested in politics. An Alabama newspaper editor wrote: "It is as difficult to picture her in politics as to envision Helen Hayes butchering a hog." She won with 63% of the vote.
One difference between Lurleen and Casey is that the latter is only slightly less shy and retiring than Lady Macbeth. She might actually be a co-governor with her husband, rather than someone who was only called to govern when her signature was needed on some official document.
If Casey jumps in, it would be a bloody primary, with or without Gaetz and others. A bitter primary could help the Democrats if the supporters of the loser stayed home to sulk in November. The problem is that the Democratic bench in Florida is nearly empty. Nikki Fried ran for governor in 2022 and lost the primary to former governor Charlie Crist, who went on to be crushed by 20 points by DeSantis in the general election. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell ran for the Senate against Rick Scott in 2024 and lost by only 13 points. Maybe she could try for governor this time. She is at least well known. Beating someone with no one doesn't have a great track record. Hm, maybe Dan Marino is a Democrat. (V)