'A Struggle To Be Relevant': Casey DeSantis' Prospects At Winning Governor's Mansion Are Almost Nonexistent

Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis was once one of the frontrunners to replace her husband, Ron DeSantis, as the Sunshine State's governor. Now, as Congressman Byron Donalds becomes the GOP's go-to candidate, her prospects keep deflating, and many say she is now unlikely to run for office.

A new report from The Miami Herald cites numerous Republican consultants who said the DeSantises recent bad press, coupled with the governor's rising unpopularity could be a recipe for disaster if the first lady decided to run.

Most recently, the family has come under scrutiny after reports from the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald said that the Hope Florida Foundation, led by the first lady, quietly and quickly moved a $10 million "donation" from a settlement with a health care company that the state contracts with to two nonprofit political committees that did not have to list their donors.

Those political committees then sent $8.5 million to Keep Florida Clean, the main group opposing the constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational cannabis in Florida, an initiative the governor strongly opposed, Florida Phoenix reports.

"She's leaning against running now," said a Florida Republican consultant involved in conversations around her candidacy, granted anonymity due to concerns about offending the governor's office.

Another Florida lobbyist told the Herald compared the first lady's prospects of becoming governors to the uneven volatility jolting the stock market this year. A DeSantis candidacy at this point, said the lobbyist, who also requested anonymity to speak about the issue, would be somewhat defined by "a struggle to be relevant."

Casey DeSantis has not made a comment about her candidacy since the Hope Florida scandal came to light. At the same time, a poll of the hypothetical primary contest between Donalds and Desantis published last week showed that the congressman would be leading the first lady by 19 percentage points when respondents were made aware of Trump's endorsement preference.

Donalds has been the president's longtime preferred candidate for a Florida governorship. Trump officially endorsed the congressman, whose congressional district includes Naples and Fort Myers, in a Feb. 20 Truth Social post. Trump often teased Donalds about the race during his 2024 presidential run— including in front of top donors— and considered him as a possible running mate, Politico reports.

Further ruining Casey DeSantis' governor prospects is also a powerful political operative by Washington Republicans. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, a Tampa native, were each discarded by Desantis during his first term, leading to what the lobbyist categorized as a "blood feud."

Barney Keller, a Republican operative who worked on a Florida campaign with Blair, told the Herald, "if anybody is going to be good at closing the door on a challenge to Byron Donalds, it's going to be James Blair."

The DeSantises have not made any comments on the first lady's governorship, nor responded to the Herald's story. However, during a recent appearance, the governor has claimed the news outlet had been "concocting hoaxes" when it came to reporting about his administration, particularly during the Covid crisis, "and so I'm very skeptical of discredited outlets in terms of what they do."