Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ unwillingness to endorse Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins to succeed him continues to dog him, including during Q&As.
The Tampa Republican bristled this week when asked why the Governor has stayed neutral and not gotten fully behind the man he once branded the “Chuck Norris of Florida politics.”
“Well, who did he handpick,” Collins asked.
If you feel like you’ve read this story before, it’s for good reason. Collins continues to struggle with the question of why the man who made him a statewide political figure has left him to fend for himself, dishing out treacly praise as a way to dodge the central failure to earn DeSantis’ backing.
“When someone like Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been the greatest Governor in our state’s history, in my mind, says, ‘If something were to happen to me’ — and this is the day I was appointed — ‘the state would be ready because Jay is Day 1 ready. He would step in. We wouldn’t lose a beat, nothing. He is ready to lead now,’ that’s a big statement. You know, when he says that, I think people should take a step back and listen to the words he’s using,” he said earlier this month.
At times, Collins has pointed to the words DeSantis said when he announced him as LG. On other occasions, Collins has said there’s a “great chance” that DeSantis endorses him. But time is running short for that.
Collins is a Montana native who moved to Florida in 2019 and served in the Senate from 2022 to his appointment as Lieutenant Governor in 2025. Some say he was created by the DeSantis machine. Now he needs its rescue, as he struggles in polls and runs out of time.
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