House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) in the upcoming Florida Governor’s race on Thursday, calling him a “principled conservative leader.”
Johnson told Politico, “Byron was tenacious when it came to standing up for Florida, and President Trump’s America First Agenda. I do not doubt that he will bring the same fighting spirit to his role as governor.”
Donalds had been endorsed before by Donald Trump, who encouraged him to run. Donalds’s gubernatorial bid was announced at the end of February.
Trump said in a social media statement in late February that Byron Donalds, if he decided to run for governor, would have his complete and total endorsement. He added, “RUN, BYRON, RUN.”
Donalds may run against Casey DeSantis. Her husband referred to her as a possible replacement in a speech where he criticised Donalds for not being active in the Sunshine State.
“The truth is, we have achieved victories in Florida.” Ron DeSantis told Tampa residents in February that we need to achieve those victories there. This was just after Trump had endorsed Donalds for the gubernatorial election. I think that people will look at this and say, You got a guy who is Byron.’ He hasn’t played a role in any of our victories over the left during the last few years.
“He hasn’t been involved in it. He has been campaigning in other states and doing this. It’s okay, but then show results in your state. This is what I’m looking for. I want them to deliver results for the citizens of Florida. We deliver results here for the people in Florida all the time, and that is what we should be doing.”
Ron DeSantis continued to say that if his wife ran for governor, she “would do much better than me.”
He said, “There is no doubt about it. That’s what would happen. She’s someone with the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles to be able to take anything we’ve achieved to the next step.”
