Morning Digest: Ron DeSantis uses 'officially nonexistent' clout to tout wife as successor

Florida Republicans no longer seem to care what the once-powerful governor thinks

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with his wife and would-be successor, Casey DeSantis (credit: Ron DeSantis Facebook)

Leading Off

FL-Gov

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used a Monday press conference to counter the emerging narrative that the race to succeed him is all but over now that Rep. Byron Donalds has Donald Trump's endorsement.

Most notably, the termed-out governor touted his wife, former TV anchor Casey DeSantis, as a possible contender to succeed him. He told reporters, "​​She's somebody that has—I think—the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles that you know anything we've accomplished she'd be able to take to the next level."

While Florida's first lady hasn't publicly expressed interest in running for governor herself, Politico reports that the couple have been contacting supporters about the idea. Ron and Casey DeSantis—whom their allies collectively refer to as "the DeSanti"—were urging donors interested in Donalds to wait to see what Casey will do. However, says Politico, that intervention "was upended" after Trump endorsed the congressman.

DeSantis, though, hasn't given up on trying to undermine Donalds, who has not yet announced he'll run for the state's top job.

"You got a guy like Byron—he just hasn't been a part of any of the victories that we've had here over the left these last years," the governor told reporters. "He's been in other states campaigning, doing that, and that's fine. But okay, well, then deliver results up there."

Plenty of Sunshine State Republicans, however, are skeptical that DeSantis will have much say in who his successor will be.

One lawmaker, state Rep. Juan Porras celebrated Donalds' good fortune last week by tweeting, "With President Trump's endorsement, it sends a clear message that the influence of @RonDeSantis is not just waning, it's officially nonexistent in FL for the upcoming election cycle."

Longtime Florida reporter Marc Caputo responded by noting that GOP legislators "wouldn't have dared to talk like this publicly" before DeSantis' disastrous 2024 presidential bid.

State Sen. Joe Gruters, who has long been one of the governor's major intraparty antagonists, was only slightly more polite. He told Politico, "Trump is going to decide the elections in Florida in 2026. He controls the party, he controls the state—and there's nothing that anybody can do to change that."

While Donalds and Casey DeSantis aren't the only Republicans who could end up running, others would likely have a tough time getting traction. State Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson was one such potential candidate, but he has yet to say anything about his plans now that Trump has backed his would-be rival. Politico speculates, though, he could just seek reelection to his current post.

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Election Night

CT State Legislature

Two New England states will host a trio of special legislative elections on Tuesday, which we preview just below. First up are two races in Connecticut, while a contest in Maine follows in a separate item. You can find key data for each race on our continuously updated Big Board.

The most competitive of these constituencies is Connecticut's 21st Senate District, where former Republican leader Kevin Kelly resigned to accept a judicial nomination from Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont.

New calculations from The Downballot show that this seat, which includes Shelton and other communities in the southwestern part of the state, backed Donald Trump just 49.6-49.1. Joe Biden, by contrast, carried the seat 51-48 four years earlier, according to data from Dave Redistricting App and VEST.

Republicans, though, have been a formidable force down the ballot in this area. Kelly won his final term without opposition last year, and his party is fielding longtime state Rep. Jason Perillo to replace him. The Democratic nominee is Stratford Town Councilman Tony Afriyie, whom the CT Post characterizes as a "relative newcomer." Democrats hold a 25-10 supermajority in the Senate, with only this seat vacant.

The other race to watch in the Nutmeg State is the 40th State House District, which Democratic incumbent Christine Conley gave up to join the state Workers' Compensation Commission. This southeastern Connecticut constituency, which includes Groton and part of New London, backed Kamala Harris 60-38 after favoring Biden by a similar margin.

The Democratic nominee is Groton City Councilman Dan Gaiewski, while the GOP is running Robert Boris, who chairs the town's Economic Development Commission. Democrats enjoy a 101-49 edge in the House, with this also being the only vacant seat.

ME State House

The stakes are higher than usual in Tuesday's special election for Maine's 24th House District: Democrats currently have just a 75-73 majority, with two independents who typically align with Democrats holding the remaining seats.

Democrat Joseph Perry defended this seat—which is the only vacancy in the 151-member chamber—by a 65-35 margin in November, but he soon left the legislature after his colleagues named him state treasurer.

The Democratic nominee is Sean Faircloth, a longtime Bangor politico who since the early 1990s has served in both chambers of the legislature and as mayor. (Faircloth also ran for governor in 2018 but dropped out before the primary.) The GOP is running Carolyn Fish, who serves on the Bangor City Council.

The good news for Democrats is that, based on our calculations, we estimate that Kamala Harris carried the district 61-36. However, these figures come with a sizable (and unknowable) margin of error.

Election results in Maine are reported at the municipal level, but many communities—even some larger ones—do not offer more granular data, such as results broken down by precinct. Therefore, when such a city is split between districts, we have no choice but to estimate that each district sub-part voted the same way as the city as a whole.

This is the case for all three split municipalities contained in the 24th District: Bangor, Brewer, and Orono (a fourth town, Veazie, is located entirely in the 24th). Bangor is especially notable because it's the third-largest city in Maine and is split between four different districts (Brewer and Orono each straddle just two).

In the absence of better data, however, we must assume that the portion of the 24th in Bangor voted for Harris 59-39—the same way the entire city did. The same pattern is true for Brewer and Orono. Unless and until Maine chooses to provide more granular data, there is no way to calculate more precise district-level results. This problem has been vexing us for many years, so don't count on a change any time soon.

Love special elections? You know we do too. We help you stay on top of every critical race, especially the contests that most of the media blithely ignores—and we provide unmatched data for making sense of them all. If you value our unique coverage, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to The Downballot!

Senate

MN-Sen

State Rep. Melissa Hortman, who is the chamber's Democratic leader, is now putting her name forward as a possible candidate for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat. An advisor tells the National Journal's Nicholas Anastacio that Hortman "will consider what comes next personally and professionally" after the legislative session ends in mid-May.

Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins, meanwhile, confirmed her interest in running to WCCO's Esme Murphy. Robbins' name surfaced the day Democratic Sen. Tina Smith announced her retirement, but her intraparty critics quickly began trying to undermine her. One unnamed GOP operative told Fox News, "Robbins chaired Nikki Haley's America Last campaign in Minnesota. Her candidacy is dead on arrival."

One Republican who will not be competing against her, though, is Rep. Tom Emmer. While the House majority whip didn't quite say no to a Senate bid earlier this month, his spokesperson tells St. Cloud Live he "has ruled out" such an undertaking. Emmer previously took his name out of contention for next year's race for governor.

Governors

MI-Gov

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist told a fellow attendee at Saturday's state Democratic convention that he plans to launch his long-awaited campaign for governor in March, comments that reporters from The Detroit News say they overheard. Gilchrist wasn't so forthcoming to the paper but said that he'd make his plans known "soon enough."

NY-Gov

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado declared Monday that he will not seek reelection as Gov. Kathy Hochul's running mate in a statement that only intensified chatter that he'd challenge her in next year's Democratic primary. Delgado fanned the speculation by saying he was "determined to be your voice in state government now and in the future." He concluded, "All options are on the table, and I will be exploring them."

Hochul has repeatedly said she'll seek a second full term, and she backed that up earlier the same day by announcing she'd hired a campaign manager. The governor's team also responded to Delgado's move by blasting him as uninterested in his current job and saying she "had already begun taking steps to identify a new running mate for 2026."

OH-Gov

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy finally announced his campaign for governor of Ohio on Monday and quickly received endorsements from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Even before they took sides, though, everyone—including Ramaswamy’s main opponent in the GOP primary—agreed that he begins the race as the frontrunner.

Attorney General Dave Yost, however, is hoping he can still pull ahead by arguing that Ramaswamy—who had a brief but turbulent tenure as head of Trump's wrecking-ball panel on government spending—doesn't care about leading the Buckeye State.

"He has wanted, over the last year, to be president, to have a cabinet spot, to be co-leader of DOGE," Yost told NBC's Henry Gomez. "My concern is that what he seems to do best is to quit." Yost, who is a longtime GOP elected official, also characterized himself as "DOGE before DOGE was cool."

Former state health director Amy Acton, who is the only Democrat currently running to lead this conservative state, also is setting herself up as a foil for Ramaswamy. She greeted her new rival by highlighting his infamous December tweet arguing that tech companies "hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers" because [o]ur American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long." Acton declared, "It's clear Vivek Ramaswamy doesn't know the same Ohioans I do."

Other candidates could still enter the race to succeed termed-out Gov. Mike DeWine. One big name to watch on the Republican side is Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, a prominent former college football coach whom DeWine named to his post earlier this month. When Ogden Newspapers subsequently asked Tressel about his interest in the top job he responded, "I wouldn't rule that out."

Former Rep. Tim Ryan has also kept his name in contention on the Democratic side. When talk show host Bill Maher asked him in mid-February about "rumors" that he could campaign for this post, Ryan responded, "I don't know if I'm running for governor or not, but I appreciate the shoutout."

House

NY-17

Army veteran Neal Zuckerman tells the Mid-Hudson News he's interested in challenging Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in comments that came days after the New York Times first mentioned him as a possible Democratic candidate. But Zuckerman, who sits on the MTA's board, doesn't sound like he's in a hurry to decide, saying that "2026 is a very, very, very long time away from now."

The site also says that Tarrytown Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley, whom the Times also name-dropped as a possible candidate, "has also expressed interest" in running for New York's swingy 17th District. There's no other information, though, about Phillips-Staley's interest in joining the race for this swing seat.

The House will be the #1 battleground in the country next year, and The Downballot will keep you informed about every key development in every key race—no fluff whatsoever. Please support our work by upgrading to a paid subscription today.

Judges

WI Supreme Court

The Republican State Leadership Committee is devoting $2 million to attack liberal Judge Susan Crawford in the April 1 race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the conservative National Review relays. The RSLC's first ad frames this officially nonpartisan race as the latest attempt by the "far left" to undermine Donald Trump, who narrowly carried the state last year.

Mayors & County Leaders

Buffalo, NY Mayor

State Sen. Sean Ryan received the backing of the influential Erie County Democratic Committee over the weekend, but his main intraparty rivals say they're not going anywhere.

Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon, former city Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield, and Common Council Member Rasheed Wyatt have each announced that they'll still compete in the June Democratic primary to lead this loyally blue city. Scanlon also tells the Buffalo News that he hasn't ruled out running as an independent in the November general election.