Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directly lobbied GOP megadonor Ken Griffin to help fund Republican Rep. Byron Donalds' challenger in the state's 2026 gubernatorial election. But those pleas have been rebuffed, leaving the term-limited governor scrambling to find a viable financial backer for a new candidate.
Donalds has already raised more than $30 million and has the backing of President Donald Trump. Although Donalds and the Florida governor were once allies, they fell out when Donalds broke with DeSantis and endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential primaries. As a result, DeSantis began looking for a candidate he could support to succeed him.
On at least two occasions, DeSantis spoke directly with Griffin or his top political adviser on a range of issues, including using his financial power to support rival Donald Trump.
The first conversation took place during a private dinner in early June in Miami, which Griffin attended; Cason Carter, who heads public relations for Griffin's investment firm Citadel; Maury Husseini, a major Republican donor and chairman of the University of Florida Board of Regents; and Manny Cadre, who chairs the University of Miami Board of Regents, according to three people with direct knowledge of the event.
During that summer meeting, DeSantis pitched the idea of finding a challenger to Donalds, who entered the race in February. The governor is not focused on a specific candidate, but more on the general idea that he needs to develop a financial strategy to combat the Donalds, sources said.
The second occurred during a political fundraiser in Fishers Island, New York, where the governor played golf with Cason, among others, and invited him to endorse Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins for a leadership position, according to four sources familiar with the event.
Although other candidates were also considered – including DeSantis' wife Casey — Collins is now seen as the most likely candidate to emerge with DeSantis' support, a view reinforced this week when the political nonprofit Florida Fighters funded nearly $1.1 million in television ads highlighting Collins' service as a Green Beret. The ad also said that as lieutenant governor, he was “fighting with Gov. Ron DeSantis to keep Florida free.” The group is not required to disclose information about its donors.
DeSantis “kept talking about his resume and his background and things like that,” said one person who attended the golf event.
Despite direct calls from DeSantis, Griffin has not pledged to support any candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial race.
“Ken has made no decision regarding the Florida governor's race, and anyone who suggests otherwise is clearly misinformed,” said a person with direct knowledge of Griffin's thinking.
A spokeswoman for DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment.
Griffin was one of the biggest donors to DeSantis' 2022 re-election campaign but decided not to support his 2024 presidential bid, in part because he was rejected by the gubernatorial race. focus on culture war battles.
The two have remained in contact, but so far Griffin has expressed no interest in helping DeSantis in his project to try to derail Donalds' campaign.
Collins, a former Florida state senator whom DeSantis appointed lieutenant governor in August, has not announced an explicit intention to run for governor, but he has openly flirted with the idea.
“Stay tuned,” Collins said on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show last month when asked about a potential offer. “I will have more information to share soon.”
Supporting these speculations is the fact that Collins also played a more public role in the DeSantis administration than is considered traditional for a lieutenant governor, including carrying out several national media interview.
Collins told reporters Tuesday that he doesn't know who financed the Florida Fighters ad but is “very grateful” to whoever did.
“I’m very grateful to the group that put them out there,” he said. “We're in this short, final stage of making our decision, and I'm very grateful to this group. It's very encouraging to see that people believe in our message and our approach.”
Investor James Fishbeck told Politico last week that he plans to run for governor on Monday, although he has not yet done so. Fishback has positioned himself as a pro-DeSantis candidate and has repeatedly attacked Donalds on social media.
NBC News reported DeSantis' political team was in direct contact with Fischbeck last week, even though his team said it had nothing to do with him.
Fishback still says he plans to race, but now he's no longer saying when he'll race.
“I’ll be making an announcement soon,” Fischbeck. published on Monday, the day he initially said he was going to announce. “Stay tuned.”
