The political operation of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is calling state lobbyists to refrain from endorsing Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., whose 2026 campaign for governor has already raised over $3 million, a large portion of which has come from donors to President Donald Trump.
Seven sources with knowledge of the effort, who asked to remain anonymous so they could speak freely, said the calls are an attempt to stop prospective donations to Donalds’ campaign from lobbyists, most of whom are based in Tallahassee.
Donalds, who represents a district in southwest Florida, declared last month that he would run for governor with Trump’s support. However, there is still a chance that DeSantis’ wife, Casey, will enter the race as well, which would result in a fierce GOP primary and prolong the long-running political proxy war between Trump and DeSantis.
According to a seasoned Republican lobbyist who took one of the calls, “They are becoming a lot more aggressive as this thing progresses. There are no threats or anything direct like that, but come on. When you get a call from the governor, or anyone around them, in this sort of context, it’s a message-sender.”
The lobbyists DeSantis is asking not to back Donald Trump need DeSantis to sign bills into law for his clients, and the state legislature of Florida is only three weeks into its term.
“There is a tension among many as they try to toe the line — signaling they are with Donalds, as many will, without incurring DeSantis’ wrath,” another longtime Republican Florida lobbyist stated.
The source described the way the instruction to refrain from giving to Donald’s as being worded by using the phrase “keep your powder dry.”
According to one of the people acquainted with the calls, some of them have been made by DeSantis and Taryn Fenske, one of his senior campaign workers.
Although Casey DeSantis has not yet stated if she intends to run for governor in 2026, her husband has been promoting her as a major contributor to the success of his administration, and when reporters have questioned her about it, she has not publicly squashed the notion.
She used the mysterious quote from baseball icon Yogi Berra last month when she stated, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Asey DeSantis was thinking about running for office in order to succeed her husband.
DeSantis has previously depended on a pressure campaign from lobbyists in Tallahassee to help finance his political aspirations.
In an extremely uncommon move, his former chief of staff, James Uthmeier, who is currently the state’s attorney general, gathered government officials to ask lobbyists for donations to DeSantis’ campaign during the 2024 presidential fight.
This time, the efforts are not being carried out by taxpayer-funded employees.
Apart from some initial friction, neither side has really addressed the other, despite the fact that fans of both sides of the possible GOP primary have harshly insulted the other on social media. Donalds has commended DeSantis’s performance as governor when questioned.
According to public records, Donalds has rapidly accumulated a $3.1 million state-level war chest, which has been supported by $1.2 million in transfers from his federal congressional account and a few prominent donors from Trump’s fundraising network.
$1 million has been donated by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein; $500,000 has been contributed by Clive Fields, a Texas-based health care executive who backed DeSantis during the 2024 presidential primary before endorsing Trump; and $150,000 has been contributed by Deborah Magowan, the widow of former San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan.
Furthermore, Donalds still maintains Sunshine State Future Fund, a distinct federal super PAC. Campaign finance reports show that it has been largely inactive, but it has not yet been required to report any contributions this year.
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Florida election law can provide a more discreet option for contributors to support Donalds without the contributions being immediately public since it often permits federal super PACs to transfer funds to support state candidate-aligned political groups.
The deadline for the upcoming quarterly super PAC filing is not until April 15.
According Florida state campaign finance records, a state-level political committee connected to DeSantis’ political operation currently has $2.1 million in cash on hand.
Once close political allies, Donalds and DeSantis had a falling out after Donalds supported Trump in last year’s presidential primary.
Thus far, DeSantis has presented his wife’s possible bid to succeed him as a means of upholding and expanding their family’s history in the Governor’s Mansion.
