But he did acknowledge that new Lt. Gov. Jay Collins definitely has “the ingredients” to be “a compelling candidate that can grab attention.”
The governor and his newly minted No. 2 in state government made their second appearance in Tampa in as many days on Wednesday, this time holding a press conference at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department, where DeSantis hand-delivered $5,000 recruitment bonus checks to more than three dozen Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies.
After months of speculation, DeSantis on Tuesday formally appointed Collins, a Hillsborough County state senator and retired Army Green Beret, to succeed Jeanette Nuñez as lieutenant governor for the remainder of his second term in office.
However, DeSantis and Collins chose not to answer questions Tuesday. During the question-and-answer session Wednesday, the Phoenix asked the governor if, based on his effusive public praise for Collins over the past 24 hours, he could support him if he runs for governor against Southwest Florida U.S. Rep.Byron Donalds, the early front-runner for the nomination.
DeSantis played down the horse race, saying that there is more a year before the GOP primary, “a lifetime in politics.” But he reiterated that he had confidence Collins could serve as governor “and do it well.”
Tuesday afternoon, DeSantis posted a campaign-style video of Collins produced by a political committee chaired by the new lieutenant governor. During Wednesday’s press conference, the governor said people who previously didn’t know anything about Collins until the previous day or saw the video “were really blown away by his story.”
“We put out a video to just kind of introduce him to people, and people were like, ‘Man, that’s our guy.” So, he definitely has the ingredients of what it would take to be a compelling candidate that can grab attention, but I know that he’s really interested in moving the ball forward on all of these policies.”
For political observers, it’s been evident for months that DeSantis is interested in backing another Republican to challenge Donalds, who has already been endorsed by Donald Trump and has raised more than $22 million so far for his 2026 gubernatorial campaign.
It was previously believed that alternative candidate could be First Lady Casey DeSantis, who attended Tuesday’s press conference introducing Collins but did not speak publicly.
What about Casey DeSantis?
A reporter asked the governor if his selection of Collins for lieutenant governor and enthusiastic public support for him means Casey DeSantis is no longer considering a candidacy for governor. DeSantis insisted that any focus on the First Lady for the race was coming from outside forces, and not from her.
“I think from the beginning until now it’s always been a lot of people are like, ‘Can you get her to do it? Can you get her to do it?’ kind of deal. She just wants the state to do well,” he said.
“She was really excited and inspired with what we saw yesterday, when Jay was announced, so she’s going to be serving, continuing to help make a difference one way or another,” he said. “The thought around her has been more exterior with people telling her that she has to do all of those things.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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This article appears in Aug 13-18, 2025.