Governor DeSantis may publicly deny that his wife is seeking out the seat that he will be forced to vacate next year, but it would be a mistake to think she won’t.

Speaking Tuesday night, Casey DeSantis sounded like someone with political aspirations. She flashed her conservative credentials at a Global Liberty event, where as keynote speaker she warned that allowing “squishes” who want to go “Republican light” to gain ground could revert Florida back to a purple state.

“Even with a Republican supermajority and the GOAT in the governor’s office, none of this here runs on autopilot,” she said. “What’s the moral of the story? You have to lead, you have to have courage. You have to show that our way works.”

Mrs. DeSantis’ political ambitions are opaque at the moment, but it is clear that she has high favorability ratings as her husband’s top political advisor. In a recent University of North Florida poll that ranked highest in a hypothetical matchup of several 2026 potential candidates, including Rep. Byron Donalds. In a Florida Atlantic University poll last year, she was preferred in a head-to-head matchup with hypothetical opponent former Rep. Gaetz.

“There is clear interest among Republican voters in seeing Casey DeSantis run for governor in 2026,” Florida Atlantic Political Science Professor Kevin Wagner said at the time.

In reality, a run by Mrs. DeSantis would no longer be against a hypothetical opponent. Mr. Donalds, who represents the Naples and Ft. Worth areas of Southwest Florida, announced Tuesday that he is making a run for the top office in the Sunshine State.

“Now is the time to keep the best state in the country as the best state in the country,” Mr. Donalds posted on X, sharing an earlier appearance on Fox News, where he confirmed his gubernatorial aspiration.

Mr. Donalds said that he will build on Florida’s successes, which he painted himself as contributing to long before Mr. DeSantis’ 2019 arrival in Tallahassee. Mr. Donalds, who moved to Florida from Brooklyn to attend college in the 2000s, was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott as a trustee to Florida Southwestern State College before winning his state seat in 2016.  

“A bill I passed as a freshman in the state legislature allowed parents to examine the materials in front of their children. Then-Gov. Rick Scott signed that bill. I have a long history in the conservative movement,” Mr. Donalds said.

“All of the victories and successes Florida has been able to accomplish — we’re only going to take that and build upon it,” he added.

A face-off between Mrs. DeSantis and Mr. Donalds represents a new proxy match in the long-running feud between President Trump and Mr. DeSantis that started during the COVID pandemic. Ties were further frayed in the 2024 primary season when Mr. DeSantis challenged the 45th president for the GOP nomination. 

As recently as this month, Mr. DeSantis scoffed about questions regarding his wife’s political future. But then Mr. Trump proclaimed his support for Mr. Donalds. 

“Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote last week on social media. “RUN, BYRON, RUN!”

Building up his wife during a press conference earlier this week, Mr. DeSantis took a shot at Mr. Donalds, whom Mr. DeSantis claimed is not a heavy hitter. 

“We’ve achieved victories in Florida,” Mr. DeSantis. “A guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the left, over these last years.”

He also propped up his wife as the best candidate for the job, were she to run. 

“All these people are chattering about her running. And what I said was, you know … she’s never angled for anything, right? Because that’s just not who she is,” he said. “But I will tell you this, she would do better than me. Like, there’s no question about that.”

Mrs. DeSantis does have her own record as an unelected representative. A former journalist, she has promoted breast cancer research, anti-poverty programming, mental health, and character education as first lady. She is also her husband’s biggest advocate on policies targeting illegal immigration, community safety, and the rule of law.  

Mr. Donalds, who previously worked in finance, insurance, and banking, has, with his wife, an executive overseeing charter schools, pushed for more taxpayer support for alternative schooling. Erika Donalds said on X Tuesday that her husband was “instrumental in Trump’s victory. Now he will faithfully steward Florida’s future.”