Axios’ Sophia Cai sits down with Florida Rep. Byron Donalds for a 20 minute chat, and at the 19:05 mark (below), he clearly seems ready to run for governor of the state in 2026.
Cai: “Are you prepared to run for governor in 2026 against Matt Gaetz?”
Donalds: “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
Listen to that tone. He seems to relish the chance. And Gaetz, you’d assume, would as well. It could be a brutal primary campaign.
Unless, of course, Casey DeSantis runs.
Sure, her husband is weakened and maybe, by extension, Casey, but the most recent poll (November 2023, albeit before Ron’s national implosion) had her in the lead: DeSantis 22%, Donalds and Gaetz 9%, and a host of others much farther down, with a lot of undecided voters.
So Casey is the big question mark. She wouldn’t clear the field, by any means, but you could imagine her presence making a Donalds/Gaetz knife fight on the debate stage look like a petulant schoolyard brawl. They should hope she doesn’t run.
And let’s remember how big this gubernatorial race is.
Florida might be receding as the trendy conservative spot, but any governor of Florida is immediately a serious national presidential contender.
So Donalds has big aspirations, and why shouldn’t he?
Watch the 20 minute interview if you’re interested in him. If Trump does indeed pick an African-American for Veep, Donalds exudes a lot more charisma than Sen. Tim Scott (Scott is currently in the #1 spot on PredictIt betting market, while Donalds is #7).
And Donalds seems to want the spot — telling Axios in the same interview that, as vice-president, he wouldn’t necessarily certify the 2028 presidential election results.
Of course Trump (presumably) can’t be on the ballot for that election, but Donalds’ answer will certainly please the president, regardless.