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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has been telling potential donors and Florida political players that he is running for governor in 2026, the clearest signal yet that his much-expected bid is moving forward.
Donalds, who represents southwest Florida, has long been rumored to be eyeing a campaign to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, but those rumors have ramped up in recent days. Last weekend, at a Republican Party of Florida meeting in Orlando, Donalds sponsored a hospitality suite and told people that he is running for governor.
In the past week, he has sent an even clearer sign of his intentions in a series of meetings with key lobbyists and political donors about a potential bid in Tallahassee.
The account of Donalds’ preparations come from five sources familiar with the meetings and his thinking.
“He was in town [Tallahassee] meeting with all the folks you need to meet with. He told them he is in,” a source who met with Donalds told NBC News. “It’s the steps any candidate takes as they prepare to run for governor.”
“I’m fully focused on helping President Trump pass his America First Agenda,” Donalds told NBC News. “Florida will proudly lead the way.”
The Republican field to replace DeSantis was once seen to be as big as five or six candidates, but with Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis running for Congress, and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody likely being appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio, the field has considerably narrowed.
The two most prominent Republican names now considered running are Donalds and Florida Agriculture Commission Wilton Simpson, who previously served as president of the Florida state Senate.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who recently took a job as an anchor on the conservative TV network OAN, has also publicly signaled he is considering a run, which was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.
Neither Gaetz or Simpson’s team responded to a request for comment.
Donalds is considered a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump and a mainstay on cable news channels, giving him a high profile and ability to raise significant out-of-state money. But Simpson is a longtime veteran of Florida politics with $30 million already in the bank, making him a formidable potential candidate.
The forthcoming nationally watched Republican gubernatorial primary will almost certainly hinge on one thing: Trump.
Florida, where Trump resides, is now a solidly red state after years of Republican domination, and Trump won the former swing state by nearly 15 percentage points. He is seen as the biggest kingmaker in Florida politics, including its upcoming midterm gubernatorial race.
Simpson has a longtime relationship with Trump’s incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, as does Donalds. Donalds is viewed as having a closer direct relationship with the incoming president after serving as one of his most vocal 2024 allies and closest congressional confidants.
In addition, Donalds has hired as one of his top Florida advisers Ryan Smith, a former business partner with James Blair, the political director for Trump’s 2024 campaign who will now serve as a top administration official.
Along with Smith, Donalds is working with Brad Herold, a veteran of Florida Republican politics, who was one of the top early advisers for DeSantis when he made his then-underdog bid for governor in 2018. Donalds has also hired Tony Fabrizio, who served as a top Trump pollster, and fundraiser Megan McKinley, who has worked for both Rubio and former National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen. Todd Young of Indiana.
While the field has narrowed, DeSantis himself is seen as a potential wild card.
He was once so close with Donalds that the congressman introduced DeSantis and his family at his re-election night party in 2022. The two have had a swift falling out, however, after Donalds backed Trump in the GOP presidential primary. The governor has never been close with Simpson, making it unlikely he would endorse him.
In order to find a candidate he could formally back, according to two people familiar with his thinking, DeSantis could appoint his current Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez to become president of Florida International University, her alma mater, and her replacement would be viewed as the DeSantis-preferred pick to run for governor to replace him.
There is not yet a short list for who could be in line for that position.
There is no set timeline for when Donalds or any other candidate would make their bids official, but there are concerns about him leaving Congress too soon with Republicans holding a slim majority in the House.
The timeline for any potential announcement could hinge, in part, on the conclusion of two special congressional races in Florida necessitated by the resignation of Gaetz from the House and Trump selecting Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser. Patronis and current state Rep. Randy Fine, respectively, are heavily favored in the races for those seats, which lean Republican.
The special election for both seats is set for April 1.
Matt Dixon is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Florida.
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