Gov. Ron DeSantis picked state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia on Thursday to be Florida's new chief financial officer, bypassing Donald Trump's endorsed candidate ahead of the 2026 race.
By elevating Ingoglia, 54, to the post instead of Trump candidate state Sen. Joe Gruters, the Florida governor has kicked off what will likely be a vicious proxy war between himself and Trump ahead of the 2026 Republican primary: Ingoglia, a staunch DeSantis ally, versus Gruters, one of the few Florida Republicans who immediately backed Trump over DeSantis for president in 2023.
"I am appointing the most conservative Senator in the state of Florida," DeSantis announced at a Tampa press conference on Thursday, lauding Ingoglia as a "warrior."
"I want people that run into the fire, that run towards the battle," he continued. "Every single time we've had a flash point in Florida, Blaise is running into battle to stand up for people like you."
Ingoglia, an independently wealthy homebuilder, is a former chair of the Florida GOP who has positioned himself as a top DeSantis surrogate in a state legislature rapidly drifting out of the governor's control.
During the short-lived January special session, Ingoglia sponsored nearly all of DeSantis's anti-illegal immigration bills, building off of his own reputation as a hardline, anti-illegal immigration advocate. POLITICO first reported that DeSantis had floated Ingoglia's name to replace Rep. Jimmy Patronis as CFO, after the now-congressman vacated the seat in March for federal office.
Ingoglia has hired consultant Jim Rimes, Florida Politics reported, who worked on DeSantis's campaign for governor in 2018.
According to POLITICO, Gruters has already hired top Trump advisers—and DeSantis opponents—Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita for his burgeoning campaign. Fabrizio ran the super PAC that created the infamous "Pudding Fingers" ad against DeSantis during the presidential primary.
The rub? Trump had already urged Gruters to run for the seat. And like Trump, DeSantis had long clashed with the Sarasota senator.
Gruters was one of the few Florida Republicans who immediately endorsed Trump over DeSantis during the governor's failed presidential bid. In comments to the Washington Post at the time, Gruters anticipated DeSantis's campaign's "downfall" because he claimed the governor wasn't likable.
More recently, DeSantis bashed him first for supporting a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana and later for sponsoring an illegal immigration bill rivaling DeSantis' and Ingoglia's measures. On Thursday, DeSantis told the audience to "never forget" their attempt to "stab" voters in the back.
Despite this, DeSantis sat alongside Gruters, Trump, and a slew of other DeSantis opponents earlier this month during the grand opening of Alligator Alcatraz, a new migrant detention center. Here, Gruters acknowledged to The Floridian that while he won't be picked as CFO by DeSantis, he has Trump's "golden ticket" endorsement to help him win.
"It's like Willy Wonka," he said at the time.
Because the CFO's duties include heading up the state treasury, acting as the state fire marshal, and overseeing the Office of Insurance Regulation, Ingoglia promised on Thursday to work toward property tax reform, reducing "wasteful" spending at the local level, protecting firefighters, and cracking down on "unscrupulous" insurance companies.
