In light of reportage that First Lady Casey DeSantis is being talked up as a “very real” possibility as the logical successor to her husband as Governor, there may not be fresh polling.
But surveys of Republicans from last year show she is the one name mentioned with momentum ahead of the race.
Per a June polling memo from Florida Atlantic University, she leads a field of candidates with 43% support, ahead of Byron Donalds at 19%, with Jimmy Patronis and Matt Gaetz further back still.
A poll conducted in April by FAU showed 38% of 372 Florida Republicans polled would choose the First Lady in a head-to-head race against Gaetz, who would receive 16% support in that scenario.
A University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab survey from November 2023 showed the First Lady with 22% support, a lead in a crowded field of potential candidates.
Both the First Lady and the Governor have addressed the speculation.
While she acknowledged the talk is “humbling,” she also maintains that the seeming enthusiasm for her running is due to her “rock star” husband and the job he’s done as the state’s Chief Executive.
Ron DeSantis also addressed a 2026 run, all but ruling it out on his wife’s behalf.
He said in May that if he “had to hypothesize her interest in getting into the political thicket as a candidate,” he would “characterize it as zero.”
Fresh reporting from Matt Dixon of NBC News says differently, with a “source familiar with her thinking” suggesting it’s a possibility.
“I would say this: I have heard donors have been urging her to run and that while it’s not something she has wanted to do, they are causing her to at least stop and listen,” Dixon cites his source.
Part of the reason this may be a more live idea, per another Dixon source, is to stop Wilton Simpson or Donalds from being Governor.
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