First Lady Casey DeSantis ( L) and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R) (Photos via the Governor’s Office and the U.S. House.)
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis didn’t say Friday that she will run for governor in 2026.
But she didn’t rule it out, either.
DeSantis was appearing with her husband Gov. Ron DeSantis at Florida International University to tout a plan to redirect cancer funding when a reporter asked about a potential gubernatorial run. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has already been endorsed by President Donald Trump, jumped into the race earlier this week.
“When you come to a fork in the road, you take it,” quipped Casey DeSantis, repeating a remark made famous by the late Yogi Berra, the legendary Yankees catcher and manager.
“You guys can read into that what you want,” Gov. DeSantis added. He then offered extensive comments about Casey DeSantis’ work as first lady, which has included the Hope Florida program designed to help people find assistance from nonprofit and religious organizations.
When asked to explain the first lady’s comment, Gov. DeSantis said, “I think she’s leaving that to the imagination and to start talking about good old Yogi Berra, because you know he had a lot of perceptive comments.”
Gov. DeSantis, who mounted an unsuccessful bid for president last year, is term-limited and cannot run again for governor next year. But DeSantis and Donalds had an apparent falling-out — caused in part by Donalds’ endorsement of Trump in the Republican presidential primary — and the governor recently chided Donalds for worrying about the governor’s race instead of Trump’s agenda in Congress.
Without mentioning Donalds, DeSantis repeated those criticisms on Friday while extolling the work of his wife. Multiple news outlets in recent weeks have reported that Casey DeSantis is seriously considering running for governor even as Donalds has put together a campaign team and begun to ramp up his effort.
A Donalds vs. Casey DeSantis primary contest would be seen as a proxy battle between Trump and Gov. DeSantis for supremacy among Florida Republicans. For his part, Donalds has sidestepped talk about Casey DeSantis and during a Fox News appearance on Friday said that he expects competition for governor.
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