Trump touts Byron Donalds leading in recent Florida GOP gubernatorial poll

Ron DeSantis will remain governor for nearly two more years, but could Donald Trump be contemplating an endorsement of a possible successor soon?

In a Truth Social posting issued on Monday, Trump cited a poll conducted last month of 850 likely Republican voters that showed Southwest Florida U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds enjoying a dominant lead in the race for governor.

The Victory Polling survey showed Donalds with 31% support. Former Lt. Gov. and now Florida International University interim president Jeanette Nuñez was listed second, with just 4%. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson was listed at 3% and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez at 1%.

The president offered no comment in his post, letting the survey results speak for themselves.

Donalds has not yet announced his candidacy for 2026 but has begun telling donors that he intends to do so, according to a report published last month by NBC News.

If Trump eventually endorses Donalds, that could put him back on a collision course with DeSantis following the governor’s bid for the 2024 Republican presidential primary. DeSantis announced last month that he would restart his political committee for the 2026 election cycle.

That committee, the Florida Freedom Fund, raised more than $8.6 million and spent more than $6.5 million since it was created last May, according to the Florida Division of Elections website.

“The FL Freedom Fund was instrumental in raising huge sums of $ to defeat Amendments 3 and 4 in 2024,” DeSantis said on X on Jan 30. “For the 2026 cycle, the FFF will raise even more resources (1) to ensure support for a strong conservative gubernatorial candidate and (2) to support strong conservative candidates in legislative primaries. We need to elect strong leaders who will build off FL’s success and who will deliver on the promises made to voters.”

Falling out

Donalds and DeSantis were considered close at one point but clashed in 2023 after the governor accused Donalds — the only Black Republican in Florida’s congressional delegation — of siding with Kamala Harris in a dispute over Florida’s standards for teaching Black history.

Speculation has revived in recent weeks that First Lady Casey DeSantis might be considering a run for governor in 2026. The poll didn’t list her as a possibility, and Ron DeSantis played down those rumors last week.

“It’s not something that she’s seeking out. I think a lot of people are just concerned about the future of the state. But this is not anything new,” DeSantis said last Tuesday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” “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.”

A Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research survey of Florida Republican voters conducted in June showed Ms. DeSantis was the choice of 43% of Florida Republican voters, with 19% supporting Donalds.

Other Florida Republicans who have said they are considering a run for governor include former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Among the Democrats who may get into the race are South Florida state Sens. Jason Pizzo and Shevrin Jones, South Florida U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, and Florida Democratic House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell.

Trump has already endorsed in one race on the statewide ballot in Florida in 2026: Sarasota County area Republican Joe Gruters in the race for chief financial officer.

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