No serious contender has emerged as of yet, and a new poll published on Monday shows that of the various Republicans being floated as potential opponents to the U.S. representative from Southwest Florida, only First Lady Casey DeSantis presents a serious challenge — at least until voters are informed that President Trump has already endorsed Donalds.
The St. Pete Polls survey shows that in a four-way Republican contest between Donalds, Ms. DeSantis, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, and former House Speaker Paul Renner, Donalds leads Casey DeSantis by eight points, 35%-27%. Simpson gets 3% and Renner 2%.
When Hillsborough County state Sen. Jay Collins is substituted for Ms. DeSantis, Donalds gets 43%, Simpson 4%, Renner 3%, and Collins just 2%.
However, when poll respondents were informed that Trump had endorsed Donalds and Gov. Ron DeSantis has (potentially) endorsed Casey DeSantis, Donalds’ lead over Ms. DeSantis balloons to a 49%-21% lead, with nearly 30% undecided.
In a one-on-one matchup in which voters were informed that Donalds has been endorsed by Trump and Jay Collins was (potentially) endorsed by Ron DeSantis, Donalds leads 57%-10%, with the remaining 33% undecided.
“Byron Donalds will be Florida’s next Governor because he is the only proven conservative fighter endorsed by President Trump,” said Ryan Smith, chief strategist for the Donalds campaign in a written statement.
“Byron is working hard to pass President Trump’s agenda in Congress. Byron is barnstorming the state meeting with conservative voters. And Byron is raising the resources necessary to win this campaign. As Governor, Byron Donalds will fight side by side with President Trump to Make America Great Again.”
Gov. DeSantis is believed likely to endorse a challenger to Donalds for the nomination, but who remains unclear with the GOP gubernatorial primary still more than a year away.
The survey of 831 likely Republican election voters was conducted from July 8-10. It has a margin for error of 3.4%.
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 Jul 9-15, 2025.