Donalds Says Running for Florida Governor in 2026 Has 'Crossed His Mind'

Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) admitted that running for Governor of Florida in 2026 has crossed his mind in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Varney & Co., but "now we have got to focus on the job."

Host Stuart Varney noted that President Donald Trump called out Rep. Donalds by name, saying, "What a future this one has," during his inaugural rally Monday night. He then asked what such a remark could mean, such as running for Governor.

Rep. Donalds said the prospect "remains to be seen" because "the biggest thing right now, Stu, we have a major agenda in front of us."

"There is a lot of work to happen up here on Capitol Hill. My focus is to make sure that we get that through the House [of Representatives] and to our colleagues in the Senate and to President Trump's desk because we have one opportunity," Rep. Donalds continued, emphasizing that Republicans have majorities in both chambers of Congress for this exact reason.

Varney asked if the prospect of a gubernatorial run "has surely crossed your mind at some point. " The Florida Congressman replied, "Everything crosses my mind, and we have had other conversations like that."

However, he reiterated, "Now we have got to focus on the job. When the job is done, Stu, we can talk about other things."

Early in the 2024 Election cycle, Donalds was on Trump's shortlist of Vice Presidential candidates, a possibility he had considered "pretty cool" in comments to The Floridian in July 2023.

"It is actually pretty cool, obviously, because nobody really thinks about [the] Vice President. I think it kind of happens, so that is cool," the Florida Congressman told us.

The rumor was further teased in a June 2024 Trump campaign event, where Trump said, "Byron Donalds is an incredible guy. I noticed he happens to be on the list of potential vice presidents. Would anybody like to see him as a vice president?"

While Trump ultimately chose Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), Representative Anna Paulina (R-FL) posted a picture of herself with Donalds in December to X (formerly Twitter), calling him "the next Florida Governor."