Florida state polls are teasing another possible eight years for a DeSantis as governor of the Sunshine State. Ron’s wife, Casey, is owning the Republican choice for governor in a race just one and a half years into the future. Of respondents who are registered Republicans, 57% said they had a favorable opinion of Casey DeSantis. Amazingly, however, about a third (33%) claimed they hadn’t heard of her.
Perhaps the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL), which conducted the poll, didn’t clarify that Governor Ron wasn’t the DeSantis in question. This latest announcement is a wrinkle for the DeSantis Dynasty as Trump, aware of the poll, somewhat endorsed another candidate, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), as his choice for the state’s next governor. It’s still early enough to backtrack a tad if necessary.
Trump posted a poll on Truth Social from Victory Insights showing Rep. Donalds had 31% support Rep. Donalds had 31% support, “far ahead of all other contenders in a hypothetical primary for Florida Governor.”
If this isn’t an endorsement, what would it be?
“I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER! Byron has a great wife, Erika, and three beautiful sons. They are very proud of him! As Governor, Byron would have a BIG Voice, and would work closely with me to advance our America First Agenda. He will fight tirelessly to Secure our Border, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military, Protect our Vets, Restore our Economic Power, Advance American Energy DOMINANCE, and Defend our always-under-siege Second Amendment.”
Well, that’s at least endorsement adjacent.
Casey graduated from Charleston College with a bachelor’s in economics and a minor in French. She is well-rounded, a daughter of an immigrant parent, and has great people and media skills. Casey has been a host on the Golf Channel programs On The Tee and PGA Tour Today and a reporter for local news station WJXT in Jacksonville. She’s also an accomplished equestrian. The optics of beauty, brains, and motherhood are brilliant. But how does that translate to Governor Casey?
One “congressional source” who spoke with conditional anonymity to The Floridian considered Casey DeSantis unqualified: “She is no less qualified to be governor than Kamala Harris was to be president,” said the source. “What has she done to make her qualified?”
More importantly, why does husband Ron believe this is the way to go? A few short months ago, the good governor appeared on Fox News’ Laura Ingraham program, saying that it’s “not something that she’s seeking out … but it’s flattering.”
But the news out of Florida is that Ron is heading to the Swamp to convince the president to hold off on an official endorsement of Donalds. And whether or not Casey is the best candidate, Trump owes the DeSantis family squat. Ron challenged the populist for president, but that didn’t go well. Donalds endorsed Trump and the MAGA movement and is owed a little political sugar. So there’s that, and whether America is exhausted with the pay-to-play and quid pro quo, it’s political reality.
America prides itself on being wholly detached from the British monarchy system, but shades of the class system still exist in politics. Somehow, the electorate believes that if any Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, or DeSantis were great assets in office, the rest of them would be, too. And we’ve seen how that doesn’t play well in reality.
If the governor sees his wife as a viable candidate so he can get an ipso-facto third term, then the people of Florida would do well to study up and consider what would be best for the next decade or so. Ironically, Ron DeSantis has been squawking for years to legislate term limits. Maybe starting with himself as an example would be the best platform for his next steps in the future.