Casey DeSantis is the first lady of Florida and wife of potential GOP 2024 presidential contender Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Her husband recently won re-election in the gubernatorial race by defeating Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in a landslide. DeSantis won the Democratic stronghold Miami-Dade County by 55.3% of the vote. His success in the election and the failure at the ballot box of some candidates handpicked by former President Donald Trump have led many to consider DeSantis a potential rival to Trump.
His wife Casey, whose full maiden name is Jill Casey Black, campaigned alongside her husband and has escorted him to many political events. The couple married in September 2010 at Disney World and have two daughters and a son.
Casey is an Ohio native who graduated from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics as well as a minor in French. Before becoming Florida’s first lady after her husband’s election in 2018, DeSantis enjoyed a long career as a television host, reporter and anchor.
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DeSantis was a longtime employee at a local news station in Jacksonville, Florida, for WJXT, where she held the position of general assignment reporter and later was promoted to morning anchor.
Later on, in 2014, she began moderating an hour-long discussion talk show for both NBC’s WTLV and ABC’s WJXX. Moreover, DeSantis produced sports documentaries and hosted daily talk shows that eventually led her to earn a Suncoast Emmy Award. For many years, before switching to be the state’s first lady full-time, DeSantis was one of the most recognizable anchors in Jacksonville.
DeSantis was also a three-time equestrian national champion and a runner-up NCAA Division One champion.
In October 2021, DeSantis was diagnosed with breast cancer, according to an exclusive report released by Fox News Digital at the time. She later opened up about her successful battle with the disease during a Fox News town hall in October 2022. Previously, she had been featured in campaign advertisements for her husband, discussing how he took care of the family during that period.
“When I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was facing the battle for my life, he was the dad who took care of my children. When I couldn’t. He was there to pick me off of the ground when I literally could not stand,” she said.
DeSantis is still cancer-free and told Sean Hannity at the time that “when I did [the ad], I asked everyone kindly to leave the room, because I wanted to look into the camera and I wanted to tell people exactly who Ron DeSantis is.”
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“Because when I went through one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through in my life, I had a guy who was with me every step of the way to literally pick me up off of the ground. And he wasn’t even just there for me. He was there for my kids,” she added.
As calls grow for Gov. DeSantis to succeed Trump as the leader of the Republican Party by challenging him in the upcoming GOP presidential primary, the former president referenced Casey.
“I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly,” Trump said in an interview when asked about DeSantis running for president. “I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don’t think it would be good for the party.”
“I would tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering — I know more about him than anybody — other than, perhaps, his wife,” Trump added.