OCHOPEE—Shortly before President Donald Trump arrived to open the now-famed "Alligator Alcatraz" federal detention center in Southwest Florida along side DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson hinted at a possibly primary challenging Rep. Byron Donalds in the 2026 Republican gubernatorial primary election.
In speaking to The Floridian Reporter Liv Caputo, Commissioner Simpson stated that he was focused on fulfilling his comittment or job as AG commissioner, but left his option to run for governor open.
Simpson," We'll see about that next year" when as if he would run for governor in 2026.
Why would Simpson consider a run for governor? He appears to have $30 million reasons to do so.
The Floridian: Are you thinking about running for governor in 2026"
Simpson: I’m going to serve as Commissioner of Agriculture, and we're going to do our job, and you know but many politicians don't do that right? They're always looking for the next job. I was elected to do this job, and I'm going to do it and we'll see about that next year.
When asked if he would like to see more of these "Alligator Alcatraz" detention centers pop up around the state of Florida, Simpson said that he believed it was unnecessary for the state and federal government to build anymore of them.
"I don't think that we need many more," said Simpson. "I think we're going to do one in the Camp Landing area and that will give us some relief in North Florida made the quick you know trips a lot quicker and one here I think that'll be able and we'll monitor."
The 2026 Republican gubernatorial sweepstakes could become one of most contentious primary elections in recent history as speculation that First Lady Casey DeSantis could enter the race as well to challenge the Trump-endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds. Rep. Donalds was also at the opening of the detention center and said that his relationship with Gov. DeSantis was "fine" and a "work in progress."
Donalds appears to have moved passed Gov. DeSantis's proactive effort to keep donors from donating to his campaign earlier this year. The Floridian has also learned that DeSantis appears to have asked President Trump to rescind his endorsement of Donalds.
