
The wife of Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis will not be following her husband in political office.
On Monday, DeSantis shot down recent speculation that his wife Casey might have an interest in running for office in the future.
Reporters asked the governor at a press conference earlier this week whether Casey would consider running for governor of Florida in 2026, once his current term ends. Some people believe she could be a viable candidate, since she has a lot of experience serving as the state’s first lady.
But, DeSantis denied that his wife has interest in doing that. As he said, with a smile:
“If I had to characterize her interest in getting into the political thicket as a candidate, I would characterize it as zero. She’s had a front-row seat on all the nonsense that goes on when you do it.”
Governors in Florida are limited to serving in office for two consecutive terms. This means that once DeSantis’ current term ends, someone else will have to take over for him.
Political pundits are obviously already looking ahead to two years from now, as Florida’s governorship is one of the most powerful — and important — in the nation.
A poll that Florida Atlantic University conducted recently revealed that 38% of people would prefer to vote for Casey DeSantis if she were to run head-to-head against Representative Matt Gaetz in a hypothetical Republican primary.
Gaetz only received 16% support from respondents in that poll, which also found that 26% of people said they don’t know who they’d support, with the remaining 20% saying they preferred some other candidate.
DeSantis had launched a bid for the White House last year, but he ultimately suspended that campaign following a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses, in which he finished in third place behind presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
When he suspended his campaign, he ended up endorsing Trump for the White House.
Casey has been a central figure in all of her husband’s political campaigns so far — both for president and for Florida governor. She’s also been a prominent figure during the time that her husband has spent in office.
She’s launched multiple initiatives on her own, including the “Mamas for DeSantis,” which she started in 2022 to support his reelection campaign for Florida governor. Other initiatives she’s led include the Florida Cancer Connect Initiative, which was started after she battled cancer.
If Casey were to change her mind and run for office, she wouldn’t be the first significant other of a prominent politician to do so. Democrat Hillary Clinton became a U.S. senator representing New York after her husband, former President Bill Clinton, left the White House in 2000.
She eventually became secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, and ultimately lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump.
It’s very possible that Ron DeSantis will seek the White House again in four years, depending on how things go on the national level after whoever wins November’s election does in office.