Trump Ally Donalds kicks off the campaign in the race to succeed the governor of Florida Desantis

Gop Rep. Byron Donalds On Friday, he formally launches his campaign for the governor of Florida with what is invoiced as a kickoff event of the hometown.
The conservative legislator, who represented the nineteenth Congress District of Florida in the southwestern part of the state for four years, is currently the only great republican to jump in the 2026 race to succeed the government of the GoP limited after Ron Desantis.
Donalds, a convinced supporter and ally of President Donald Trump, announced his candidacy during an apparition Hannity of Fox News“At the end of last month, days after landing of the president’s approval.
In addition, two Star Rock Maga World – Donald Trump Jr., eldest son of the president, and Charlie Kirk, activist and conservative commentator who guides the powerful youth organization of Turning Point – recorded videos for the kick -off of the Donalds campaign, the sources say to Fox News. The conservative commentator Benny Johnson will speak in person to the event.
First on Fox: the main conservative groups support Donalds in Florida

Rep. Byron Donalds, Republican of Florida, during the conservative conference on political action in National Harbor, Maryland, Friday 21 February 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The campaign event, in Bonita Springs, comes like Florida First Lady Casey Desantis He recognized that he is taking into consideration a 2026 government race to succeed his husband in Tallahassee.
“I think what you will see is a strength show and I think the support and momentum that Bryon is generating in the whole state, whether it is a fundraising or basic support support, told Fox News, whether it is fundraising or basic support.
What Byron Donalds told Lara Trump of Fox News
Lawson – who was a Desantis consultant In addition to his predecessor in Tallahassee, the former governor and current senator Rick Scott – he underlined that “with Trump president Support, Donalds is the person to beat in this race. “
Desantis repeatedly advertised the results of his wife as First Lady of Florida and framed her as a worthy successor.

The governor of Florida Ron Desantis and his wife, First Lady Casey Desantis, celebrate his victory on the democratic representative of the government candidate Charlie Crist during a night electoral watch party at the Tampa Convention Center on November 8, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
In addition, Casey Desantis, at the end of last month, raised speculation when he was asked by journalists if he worked.
“To mention the deceased Berra yogi,” said Desantis while reiterating a famous line of late baseball legend. “If you see a crossroads on the road, take it.”
The governor then joked to journalists that “you guys can read what you do”.
Ron and Casey Desantis get out with Trump while the race of the governor of Florida warms up
When asked this month at the top of the ideas of the National Review Institute in National Harbour, Maryland, if he could launch a campaign, Casey Desantis said “we will see”.
Sources of last month confirmed to Fox News that the governor reached the donors on behalf of his wife.

Casey Desantis, First Lady of Florida, during an event of the campaign for her husband, governor Ron Desantis, in Atlantic, Iowa, Saturday 13 January 2024. (At the Dragon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The next deadline for deposit in cash in the campaign in the race of the governor of Florida reaches the end of this weekend and a source in the political orbit of the congress scheduled in Fox News that Donalds “easily eclipse” the Desantis from $ 1 million collected in his first month as a candidate for the Gobertarian in his success campaign 2018 to happen to Scott as governor.
“I think he will show a really strong fundraising number,” he added another Based in Florida Republican strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.
Donalds was free of charge towards the governor Desantis.
“We have a great governor,” Donalds said last month in his interview “Hannity”. “Ron Desantis has done extraordinary work for our state. But now the task is to maintain the best state of the country as the best state of the country. And therefore it will be the mission at hand.”

The representative byron Donalds speaks within the capital One Arena in an event for the second inauguration of President Donald Trump, in Washington, DC, January 20, 2025. (Reuters/Mike Fresh)
A Gop strategist who worked for a long time at Florida’s races said to think that Donalds “was really careful to be Kumbaya with the governor and Casey. I think you saw that from his messaging … he wants to rely on the conservative record of success in Florida, while his path is also tightened”.
However, the source added that Donalds will use the kick -off of Friday’s campaign to “put down a marker to show that this is his race to win”.
An internal survey conducted at the beginning of this month for the Donalds campaign indicated that the Member of the Congress marked Casey Desantis as individual figures in a hypothetical primary showdown of the Gop. However, the survey suggested that Donalds’ advantage has risen to more than 20 points when the interviewees were informed that it is supported by Trump, whose domain on the Gop is stronger than ever.
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Florida was the main state of the general electoral battle of the nation, but has drastically oscillated to the right in the last two electoral cycles. Desantis won his 2022 re -election of almost 20 points and Trump brought the state last November 13 points.
With Florida now a red state clearly, the winner of the republican government primaries will be considered the favorite of the general elections next year.