After naming him his Lt. Governor, will Gov. Ron DeSantis endorse Lt. Governor Jay Collins in the 2026 Republican gubernatorial race against Rep. Bryon Donalds, a Trump endorsee?
Collins is said to be aggressively doing the calculus on what a gubernatorial run would look like for him, but where will the money come?
That is the question several Florida politicos are asking.
Will DeSantis instruct his core donor base in Tallahassee to donate to Collins?
It's not guaranteed that they will donate to Collins if DeSantis doesn't formally endorse the former Army Green Beret, and even that wouldn't guarantee that they will cut a check.
State legislators and donors have been suffering from a bit of DeSantis fatigue, so all bets are off on backing Collins over Donalds, who has already raised $20 million.
Remember, President Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party and many of these lobbyists in question are now trying to make inroads in Washington, D.C., so how would it look if they gave money to a candidate that was running against the President's endorsed choice?
Also, President Trump and his team have taken notes and know exactly who donated to DeSantis' failed 2023 presidential campaign.
Heck, for all we know, DeSantis will be openly endorsing Collins, who checks off all the boxes to be governor.
DeSantis has been promoting Collins, CFO Blaise Ingoglia, and Attorney General James Uthmeier since appointed them all to the respective elected positions, so maybe this is him forming a slate of candidates that he will jointly endorse?
DeSantis should endorse Collins simply out of respect and loyalty, let alone his executive bonafides. Collins carried much of his legislative water over the past couple of years in the Florida Senate.
The big issue at play is, if DeSantis does endorse Collins, it will most-likely trigger what Republicans do not want: DeSantis vs. Trump II.
Speaking of triggering, all those anonymous DeSantis-supporting trolls on "X" will surely have a brain stroke if he doesn't back Collins.
