Can Casey DeSantis Win Florida’s Governorship? – The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator

With each passing day, it looks increasingly likely that Casey DeSantis, the wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, will enter the 2026 Florida gubernatorial race.

In several recent public appearances, Ron and Casey DeSantis have made comments clearly intended to build up the speculation. At a joint appearance at the National Review Ideas Summit earlier this month, when Ron was questioned on whether his wife would run, he related an anecdote in which Rush Limbaugh told him that Casey should be governor after him. Ron then vouched for his wife, saying that Casey would be an even more conservative governor than him. Implicit was that she would be an even better governor than him.

Ron said, “[S]he’d be great whatever she does, but I’ve been the most conservative governor in America. I’ve delivered the most conservative results, and they could say she would be as conservative or more conservative than me. So there you go.”

Likewise, in February, Ron told reporters of Casey, “Anything we have accomplished, she’d be able to take to the next level.”

There was also Casey’s remark when she was asked point-blank at a press conference about whether she would wage a gubernatorial bid. She quoted baseball player Yogi Berra, saying, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

NBC News has been reporting on each new development on the behind-the-scenes action as Casey prepares to wage a possible bid. This weekend, it reported on an effort to raise money for a DeSantis-aligned political committee. Earlier, NBC News reported that Casey DeSantis was “seriously considering” waging a bid, and that Ron DeSantis’s team was working to encourage Florida lobbyists not to throw their support behind Rep. Byron Donalds, who recently announced his own gubernatorial bid and has secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

If Casey DeSantis entered the Florida gubernatorial race, it would be truly extraordinary. A victory for Casey DeSantis would represent the triumph of a political dynasty the likes of which has rarely been seen in American politics. Miriam and James Ferguson are the only married couple to both hold a state’s governorship, which they achieved nonconsecutively in a period between 1915 and 1935.

The prospect of a DeSantis political dynasty is made all the more remarkable given Ron DeSantis’s transformation of Florida’s political landscape and his role in launching the conservative war against wokeness. (RELATED: Florida Turns the Tide for Social Conservatism Despite Massive Spending Gaps)

In fact, Ron DeSantis has been a driving force behind the direction conservatism has taken in recent years. DeSantis led the charge against COVID restrictions when Trump was still calling for keeping things closed down. DeSantis pioneered the parental rights movement. DeSantis set off the conservative backlash against DEI. DeSantis boldly advocated pro-life laws, implementing and keeping in place a ban on abortions past six weeks of gestation.

But, really, all of this is the responsibility of the DeSantises, or the DeSanti, as they are known in Florida. That is because, through all of this, Casey has been by far Ron’s most prominent adviser. The physical manifestation of this is that she, not his chief of staff, is the one with the largest office next to his.

In 2023, the New York Times put it mildly when it called Casey “perhaps Mr. DeSantis’s most important adviser,” and more accurately when it deemed her “Second in Command.” In 2022, Casey was even called Florida’s “co-governor.”

Politico published a tell-all article amidst Ron’s presidential campaign that chronicled Casey’s deep involvement in every aspect of Ron’s political operation. The outlet reported that, according to “hundreds of interviews,” Casey is “unusually important and uncommonly involved.”

Politico reported, “For some time now she’s been seen mostly and by many as an absolute superstar of a political spouse, a not so ‘secret weapon,’ even something like his saving grace.” The outlet quoted numerous sources who expounded on the enormous extent of Casey’s involvement.

“She is every bit as involved in Ron’s rise as Ron is himself,” said Florida Rep. David Jolly.

“She’s the power behind the throne,” said one Republican lobbyist.

“The tip of the spear,” said an anonymous Republican consultant of Casey.

Notably, Casey’s intense involvement in her husband’s political career is not a new development. It’s been this way since the beginning. In fact, Ron even joked that, when he was running for Congress, people probably thought they would be voting for Casey because she was taking the lead on knocking on doors and was a widely known TV host in Jacksonville. “It’s always been a them,” one source who has known the couple for years told Politico.

All throughout Ron’s time in the governorship, Casey has taken on a significant portfolio of governmental work that includes cancer research, disaster relief, and poverty alleviation. After recovering from her own bout of breast cancer, she helped Florida’s government extend greater resources to those suffering from the disease and secured $100 million in funding for cancer research. Casey also led a relief campaign following Hurricane Ian that raised over $63 million. Additionally, she oversaw Hope Florida, in which capacity she sought to help Floridians on government assistance find jobs through nonprofits and faith-based organizations. She was also involved in a program to provide job development to those suffering from opioid addiction.

Beyond her role in the administration, Casey has played a major part in shaping the DeSantis brand, particularly through her promotion of her husband in press conferences, speeches, and media appearances. In all of her husband’s races, she has been a mainstay on the campaign trail, frequently introducing him. On some occasions, she has even spoken longer than her husband at such events.

That’s based in large part on her previous career as a TV host. Casey hosted programs on the Golf Channel before becoming a reporter for a local TV news station in Jacksonville, WJXT. While at WJXT, she worked as a general assignment reporter in addition to being an anchor. Later, she hosted a roundtable panel discussion show before hosting the local talk show First Coast Living. Thus, by the time her husband began seeking office, Casey was — unlike Ron — highly experienced in public speaking, and in making audiences like her.

Her confidence on the public stage can be seen visually through her clothes. On major occasions, Casey has not shied away from bold and attention-grabbing ensembles. For example, on the night of her husband’s reelection as governor (by a landslide), she donned a stunning floor-length sparkling yellow gown. Then, on her husband’s second inauguration day, she wore a mint green gown with a cape and long gloves reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy. The New York Times concluded that Casey DeSantis “has demonstrated a facility with the power of the visual statement.”

What is striking about Ron and Casey’s relationship is that they have worked to appear as part of a joint unit who are seeking to restore conservative values together. In an interview with Catholic News Agency earlier this year, for example, Ron spoke about how he hopes that his family can be an example of how the family should be at the center of American society. “But I do think,” he told Catholic News Agency, “what we represent is kind of a restoration of the idea that family really is the centerpiece of American life.”

Ron went on to connect his administration’s efforts at conservative governing to his and Casey’s role as parents. “We take our responsibilities as parents seriously,” he said, going on to say, “I think that it’s helped us really be strong on education, parents’ rights, and these core issues that matter so much to parents.” Ron and Casey have three children together: Madison, Mason, and Mamie. Their first child, Mason, was born soon after Ron began his first gubernatorial campaign.

Ron and Casey have also used their strong relationship to advance Ron’s political career. In one political advertisement during Ron’s presidential bid, Casey emotionally related how Ron had stood by her side when she was fighting cancer. “He was there to pick me off of the ground when I literally could not stand,” she said, near tears.

But can Casey win? Or will Floridians be confused by the prospect of electing a politician’s wife to replace him?

It does seem as though Floridians have a strongly favorable view of Casey DeSantis. Last week, a poll from Mason-Dixon polling found that Casey has higher name recognition than Byron Donalds, whom she would have to face were she to wage a gubernatorial bid. Additionally, 53 percent of Florida voters have a positive opinion of her, while just 9 percent view her unfavorably. Those numbers could translate into success at the ballot box, particularly as they show her outperforming Donalds.

It is also the case that Floridians know Casey has been a political partner throughout her husband’s terms in office, barring the time she took off while she was being treated for cancer. This will allow her to position herself as not just a first lady but also as a major force in Ron DeSantis’s success as governor.

It also helps that Ron has portrayed Casey as a true believer on conservative principles, as he has repeatedly said that she is even more conservative than him and emphasized how she has pushed him to confront the Left head-on.

At this time, it seems more likely than not that Casey will wage her own bid for the governorship. If she can succeed, it will be the culmination of an extraordinary and highly unusual partnership. It will also raise the question of what Ron’s role will be in such an administration and whether he, like Casey, will take on a role akin to “co-governor.” Perhaps Miriam Ferguson’s campaign motto, “two governors for the price of one,” could be instructive for them.

A DeSantis dynasty will likewise raise fascinating possibilities about what could happen were either of them to wage a future presidential bid, being, as they are, perennial co-partners in everything.

Should one of them be the presidential candidate and the other be the vice presidential candidate? And, if so, who should take each spot?

Maybe it’s too early to ask these questions, but, then again, maybe it’s not.

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