House Speaker Mike Johnson has (R-LA) endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) to be the next governor of Florida. He is the first major Republican politician to officially throw his hat in the ring.
“Byron Donalds is a principled conservative leader who Floridians can trust as their next governor,” Johnson said in a statement to Politico. “In Congress, Byron has been tenacious in standing up for Florida and President Trump’s America First agenda. I have no doubt he will bring that same fighting spirit with him as governor, working every day to improve the lives of Florida families. My good friend Byron Donalds has my full support.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is not planning on running again for governor in the Sunshine State due to state law regarding term limits. DeSantis will be ending his second term in office, but there has been talk of his wife, Casey DeSantis, also running for the role.
In addition to Johnson, President Donald Trump has also endorsed Donalds, writing in a Truth Social post earlier in February, "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. RUN, BYRON, RUN!"
At the time of Trump's endorsement, Donalds had not officially thrown his hat in the ring, but did so after Trump's endorsement, saying he made the decision "after a lot of prayer" earlier this year. He formally kicked off his campaign launch in Bonita Springs, Florida last week, and is the first Republican to officially make a bid for the office.
Questions still remain about if the first lady of Florida will throw her hat in the ring to run against Donalds. According to a poll from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab cited by The Hill, Casey DeSantis has a 57 percent favorability rating among registered Republicans with Donalds having a 27 percent favorability.
However, other polling done by the Donalds team show him with a lead of 34 percent to 30 percent over Casey DeSantis.
