First Lady fizzles in Florida
Casey DeSantis pulls back from governor's race amid scandal and Trump's snub.
The Casey DeSantis for governor trial balloon is briskly losing its altitude.
Republicans from Tallahassee to Washington — some of whom were convinced just over a month ago that Florida’s first lady was set on launching a campaign to succeed her husband — now believe she is unlikely to challenge Congressman Byron Donalds in next year’s GOP primary.
“Everything I’ve heard recently is it’s not going to happen.”
“I’ve heard from people who have told her no. She can’t hire any people who have ever worked for her before, because none of those people want to work with her.”
— a Republican aligned with Congressman Byron Donalds
“She’s leaning against running now,” said a Florida Republican consultant involved in conversations around her candidacy, granted anonymity due to concerns about offending the governor’s office.
President Donald Trump’s early endorsement of Donalds always stood as a daunting obstacle for the project to extend the DeSantis reign in 2026. But the weeks-long controversy around her Hope Florida Foundation damaged her image just as a timetable for a decision on the governor’s race comes to a head.
