DeSantis and Donalds Bury the Hatchet Ahead of Florida Governor’s Race

Florida Republicans got the show of unity they had been waiting on this week, as Governor Ron DeSantis formally endorsed Congressman Byron Donalds for governor, ending months of visible tension between the two men and consolidating the party heading into the general election.

DeSantis made the announcement Tuesday night at the Florida GOP Leadership Forum in Tampa, appearing alongside Donalds for the first time in more than a year. The governor did not endorse Donalds alone. He backed a full statewide slate that included Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.

“I’m endorsing the slate here tonight because I know it’s important for the state of Florida,” DeSantis told the crowd, adding that voter apathy remained the party’s biggest enemy heading into November.

Donalds, clearly pleased with the outcome, posted his thanks on social media almost immediately, calling it an honor to earn the governor’s backing and pledging to build on DeSantis’ record while defending what he called the Florida Dream.

The reconciliation is notable given the two men’s history. Donalds broke with DeSantis during the 2024 presidential primary, throwing his support behind Donald Trump rather than his home state governor. That decision reportedly cooled relations between the two for a stretch, and DeSantis pointedly declined to weigh in during this year’s crowded Republican gubernatorial primary, at one point suggesting his own wife, Casey DeSantis, might make a strong candidate.

DeSantis also had a horse in the primary race through his appointee, Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins, whom he had elevated to the number two job in Tallahassee in 2025. Collins ultimately could not close the gap. Donalds won the August 18 primary decisively, taking nearly 48 percent of the vote in an eleven-candidate field and beating Collins by roughly 20 points.

That result made DeSantis’ eventual endorsement less a bold declaration than a practical necessity. By the time the governor stepped on stage in Tampa, Donalds had already locked down support from virtually every major Republican figure in the state, including the entire sitting Cabinet and, most importantly, President Trump himself.

Trump endorsed Donalds back in February 2025, before the congressman had even formally launched his campaign, and Donalds was reportedly on the short list to be Trump’s running mate in 2024. That early and enthusiastic backing from the president effectively cleared the Republican field before it had a real chance to form, a reminder of just how firmly Trump remains in control of the party’s direction in Florida and beyond.

Donalds selected state Senator Bryan Avila as his running mate last week, rounding out a ticket that both men say will focus on affordability, public safety, and individual freedom, the same themes that have defined DeSantis’ two terms in Tallahassee.

Under Florida’s term limit rules, DeSantis is barred from seeking a third consecutive term, closing out an eight year run that transformed the state’s national profile. Florida under DeSantis became a laboratory for conservative governance, from aggressive pandemic reopening policies to sweeping education reforms to a hardline approach on illegal immigration that later informed Trump’s own second term agenda.

Handing that legacy off cleanly matters a great deal to Florida Republicans, who do not want to see a hard fought decade of conservative gains slip away in a state that Democrats have repeatedly targeted as a potential comeback opportunity.

Donalds will face off in November against Democratic nominee David Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat, who has picked former congresswoman Gwen Graham as his running mate. Jolly’s political conversion has drawn plenty of skepticism from conservatives, who view his rebrand as a Democrat with considerable suspicion given his years spent as an elected Republican.

A senior adviser to the Jolly campaign was quick to respond to the DeSantis news, arguing that endorsements from Tallahassee insiders will not change the fundamentals of the race. That kind of dismissive posture is standard fare from a trailing campaign, but Florida’s electoral trend lines in recent cycles suggest Jolly faces a steep climb regardless of who else jumps into the race.

Florida has moved sharply to the right over the past several statewide election cycles. Registered Republicans now outnumber Democrats by a wide and growing margin, a reversal from just a decade ago when Florida was considered one of the nation’s premier swing states. DeSantis’ landslide 2022 reelection victory, in which he carried traditionally Democratic strongholds like Miami-Dade County, remains a case study in how thoroughly the political map has shifted.

With Trump’s early endorsement, a decisive primary win, and now DeSantis’ formal backing along with the rest of the statewide Republican ticket, Donalds enters the general election with about as unified a party apparatus as a Florida candidate could hope for.