WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has been telling potential Florida donors and political players that he will run for governor in 2026, the clearest sign yet that his long-awaited candidacy is moving forward.
Donalds, who represents Southwest Florida, has long been rumored to be considering a campaign to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, but those rumors have increased in recent days. Last weekend, at a state GOP meeting in Orlando, Donalds sponsored a hospitality suite and told people he’s running.
Last week, he sent an even clearer signal of his intentions in a series of meetings with key lobbyists and political donors.
The account of Donalds’ preparations comes from five sources familiar with the meetings and his thinking.
“He was in the city [Tallahassee] meet with everyone you need to meet. He told them he was inside,” said a source who met with Donalds. “These are the steps any candidate takes as they prepare to run for governor.”
Donalds told NBC News: “I am fully focused on helping President Trump pass his America First agenda. “Florida will proudly lead the way.”
the republican The field to replace DeSantis was once considered as large as five or six candidates, but with state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis running for Congress and state Attorney General Ashley Moody likely being tapped to fill the Senate seat he left vacant Marco Rubio, president- elect Donald Trump as secretary of State, the field has narrowed considerably.
The two most prominent Republican names now being considered candidates are Donalds and state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who previously served as president of the state Senate.
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who recently accepted a job as an anchor on the conservative television network OAN, has also publicly signaled that he is considering running, as first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.
“Florida needs a governor who can break the hold that insurance companies have on Tallahassee. I can do it, so it’s something Ginger and I are considering,” Gaetz said in a message to NBC News, referring to his wife.
Simpson’s team did not respond to requests for comment.
Donalds is considered a close ally of Trump and a mainstay on cable news channels, giving him a high profile and the ability to raise significant funds outside the state. But Simpson is a veteran of Florida politics with $30 million already in the bank, making him a formidable potential candidate.
The upcoming Republican gubernatorial primary, watched nationally, will almost certainly hinge on one thing: Trump.
Florida, where Trump resides, is now a solidly red state after years of Republican dominance, and Trump won by nearly 15 percentage points. He is considered the biggest decision-maker in Florida politics, including the upcoming midterm race for governor.
Simpson has a long relationship with Trump’s next White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as does Donalds. Donalds is considered to have a closer direct relationship with Trump after having been one of his most vocal allies in 2024 and his closest confidant in Congress.
Additionally, Donalds has hired as one of his top Florida advisers Ryan Smith, a former business partner of James Blair, the political director of Trump’s 2024 campaign, who will now serve as a senior administration official.
Along with Smith, Donalds is working with Brad Herold, a veteran of Florida Republican politics, who was one of DeSantis’ first senior advisers when he made his bid for governor in 2018. Donalds also hired Tony Fabrizio, who was one of Top Trump pollster and fundraiser Megan McKinley, who worked for Rubio, and Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, former chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
While the field has narrowed, DeSantis himself is seen as a potential wild card.
He was once so close to Donalds that Donalds introduced DeSantis and his family at his re-election night party in 2022. However, the two had a quick falling out after Donalds endorsed Trump in the GOP presidential primary. DeSantis has never been close to Simpson, so he is unlikely to endorse him.
To find a candidate he could formally endorse, two people familiar with his thinking said, DeSantis could nominate Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez to become president of Florida International University, his alma mater, and her replacement would be seen as the DeSantis’ preferred choice. run for governor to replace him.
There is no short list yet of who might be in line for that position.
There is no set timeline for when Donalds or any other candidate would make their candidacies official, but there are concerns that he will leave Congress too soon given that Republicans hold a slim majority in the House.
The timeline for any announcement could depend, in part, on the conclusion of two special congressional elections in Florida necessitated by Gaetz’s resignation from the House and Trump’s selection of Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser. Patronis and state Rep. Randy Fine, respectively, are the heavy favorites in the races for those seats, which lean Republican.
The special election for both seats is scheduled for April 1.
