DeSantis’ Respect for Byron Donalds Could Be Why He Hasn’t Endorsed a Successor, GOP Leaders Say
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to endorse a candidate in the Republican primary to succeed him—a silence that some GOP leaders say reflects his longstanding respect for Rep. Byron Donalds.
During a podcast appearance with Katie Miller last week, Donalds, R-Fla., revealed that DeSantis once considered him for a top leadership role in the state party.
“When Governor DeSantis was elected back in 2018, we had a conversation and he asked if I’d be interested in becoming state party chairman of Florida,” Donalds said.
Republican leaders in Florida told The Daily Signal that DeSantis’ past support for Donalds may explain why the outgoing governor has declined to take sides in a race that includes three of his closest allies.
Donalds is running for governor against DeSantis’ current lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner.
“If the governor thinks highly enough of Byron to ask him to lead the state party once he becomes governor, it’s obvious that it could foreshadow him not wanting to make an endorsement that would hurt Byron,” one Republican elected official in Florida told The Daily Signal.
Another Florida county Republican chairman echoed that sentiment, saying DeSantis appears reluctant to disrupt alliances inside the party.
“Look, it’s clear that he does not want to step on any toes,” the chairman said. “If DeSantis likes Byron and thinks the Trump-endorsed candidate will be the next governor, he might not want to make an endorsement that will not sit well with his current lieutenant governor.”
Others pointed to Donalds’ political rise since 2018 as evidence of why DeSantis once viewed him as leadership material.
That moment, Sweetwater Commissioner Ian Valecillo and Miami Young Republicans President Miguel Granda told The Daily Signal, shows Donalds was already being recognized at the state level.
“What’s notable is how much he’s grown since then,” Valecillo said. “He’s gone from a local race setback to becoming one of the most influential conservative voices in the country.”
Valecillo noted that Donalds ultimately could not take on the state party role because he did not win the Collier County Republican Party chairmanship at the time, but said the congressman proved he did not need a formal title to lead.
“He’s built his own credibility with voters, and today he’s in a far stronger position to shape the future of Florida’s Republican Party than he was back then,” Valecillo said.
Granda argued that Donalds represents a continuation of the DeSantis agenda.
“He isn’t just a successor—he’s a continuation of everything that has made Florida the blueprint for the rest of America,” he said.
“For eight years, Ron DeSantis has shown the rest of the country what bold, principled conservative leadership looks like, and Florida has thrived because of it,” Granda added. “This November, Florida has the opportunity to keep that momentum going by electing Congressman Byron Donalds as the next governor of the Sunshine State.”
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