Casey Desantis' opportunities to beat Byron Donalds in Florida

Florida First Lady Casey Desantis would currently be seen as the leader about the representative byon Donalds if they both ran for the governor.

Newsweek has contacted governor Ron Desantis and Donalds' office for comments by e -mail.

Why is it important

The Gubernatorial race of 2026 Florida already seems to develop a deputy war between the former governor of allies and President Donald Trump.

Trump advocated Donalds to replace governor Desantis when his second and last term ends, while the incumbent indicates that his wife successfully continues his legacy.

What to know?

Neither Casey Desantis nor Donalds have explained their governor candidacy, although speculation about first lady was running for months.

Donalds also teased that an announcement came “soon” when he shared Trumps on February 20 on X, formerly Twitter.

A survey by public opinion research laboratory from the University of North Florida (PORL), which was published on February 18, shows that Casey Desantis has a higher level of cheapness among Floridians than other potential republican candidates for the governor.

The survey showed that First Lady had a 30 percent cheap rating, compared to 22 percent unfavorable and 33 percent, the information that she has never heard of it.

Donalds has a approval rating of 15 percent and a rejection of 9 percent. The survey showed that Donalds, who entered the US representative house in 2021, had a significantly lower name detection than Casey Desantis. 66 percent of the respondents said they never heard of him.

Trump's advocacy by Donalds is expected to increase his commitment to voters before the elections of the Governor elections in 2026.

The UN -PORL survey was interviewed from February 5th to 14th of 871 Florida voters registered. The results have an error rate of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

In June 2024, a survey by FAU research in political communication and public opinion research laboratories (Polcom Lab) and mainstreet research showed that 43 percent of Casey Desantis surveyed had selected as their preferred 2026 GOP -GOUVERNERSIDENGEILDER, with Donalds second in 19 percent .

The survey was carried out on June 8th to 9th, 2024 under 883 adults in Florida, with an error edge of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

A survey by Polcom Lab/Mainstreet Research in April 2024 also showed that Casey Desantis was the preferred candidate among voters in a hypothetical race against Matt Gaetz, a former representative of Florida and potential governor candidates.

The survey showed that 38 percent would support Florida First Lady in a GOP primary school from 2026, compared to 16 percent that would support Gaetz, and 20 percent that would choose another unnamed candidate.

The survey was carried out by 865 adults in Florida from April 15th to 17th, 2024. The error rate is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

What people say

Michael Binder, Faculty Director of Porl and Professor of Political Science, analyzes the survey results in February: “Casey Desantis was the first early choice for potential republican main candidates when we asked at the end of 2023, if only 22 percent. From recognition – some suffer more than others.

Kevin Wagner, co-director of the Polcom laboratory from FAU and professor of political science, in a statement in June 2024: “There is clearly an appetite among the Republican voters, Casey Desantis to continue the legacy of her husband as a governor. Their high name recognition offers her an early advantage, but the race is still very wide open.”

Casey Desantis and spoke about the Conservative review Podcast in May 2024 about running for the governor: “This is a very humiliating thing. And I will tell you when people talk that I run for the governor, I think that it speaks very much about the governor himself. I think when people see me, it lies that you are so happy that this governor has done for the state of Florida.

The governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, during a press conference on Monday: “She never deviated for anything, right? Because that's just not what she is. But I will tell you the following: I have won with the greatest lead that a Republican ever won a governor race here in Florida. She would do it better than me, there is no question.

President Donald Trump in a social post on February 20: “I know Byron well, tested it on the highest and most difficult level, and he is a total winner! As a governor, byron would have a big voice and work closely with me to drive our first agenda in America. Byon Donalds would be A really big and powerful governor for Florida and you should choose to run to run, my complete and total support, Byron, run!

What happens next

The primary election in Florida is planned for August 18, 2026.