According to several rumors, Matt Gaetz, a congressman from Florida, is considering a 2026 run for governor. Gaetz calls the reports “clickbait,” but hasn’t officially refuted them.
The fourth-term congressman was “widely expected” to run for governor of his native state in two years, according to NBC News’ story on Monday.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a leading GOP candidate for president in 2024, is now serving his second term and is thus ineligible for reelection.
Florida’s reputation as a Republican bastion has been cemented by DeSantis’ outstanding reelection victory last year, ending the state’s lengthy tenure as a battleground state.
According to NBC News, Gaetz’s probable run for governor has become a hot subject in Florida’s political scene.
“Gaetz has long been considered on the shortlist of those who will try to seek the Republican nomination for governor, a field that is expected to be crowded because the incumbent, Ron DeSantis, will be facing term limits,” the outlet said. “DeSantis is currently running for president but would have two years remaining in the governor’s mansion if that run falls short.”
At a gathering in Tallahassee on Saturday, four people, including Gaetz, “strongly implied several times he would be running for governor,” NBC News reported.
One source who identified themselves as a lobbyist said, “There was a lot of talk about it at the reception last night, and Gaetz was telling people to basically expect him to be in.”
Another said, “He’s 100 percent in. … I think Gaetz is an instant front-runner and from what I hear he’s already won the Trump primary” indicating that Donald Trump, a previous president, will support him.
Gaetz highlighted in a message to NBC News that he is committed to seeing Trump retake the White House in 2019.
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“Many did encourage me to consider running for governor one day,” he said. “But we have an outstanding governor who will be in that position through 2026.”
Gaetz was questioned on Monday over the growing rumors of an Insider-sponsored candidacy for governor.
He informed the newspaper that he had not ruled out running, but “The NBC story is overblown clickbait.”
Insider added that Gaetz said that “dozens” of state politicians had “relentlessly” encouraged him to run.
He took a risk by being blunt in his criticism of Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds. Donalds is allegedly working on a proposal to avert a government shutdown soon.
“I wasn’t focused on any of that [gubernatorial] talk, though,” Gaetz said. “My sole mission right now is to kill the Donalds CR that funds Ukraine, Jack Smith, and a weaponized Biden government.”
The seasoned politician Gaetz was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016. It is impressive that he has been re-elected three times in a row in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, which includes a sizable section of the state’s Panhandle.
YEAH BABT YEAH ! I’m sure he will not be persuaded, unlike DeSantis, by RINOS to be against the Constitution. DeSantis should never have allowed himself to be so easily manipulated into running for President by these RINOS. To be a RINO is the same as being a Marxist-Liberal-Democrat. DeSantis showed that he is NOT quite the Constitutional Conservative he said he is. Desantis aligning himself with RINOS MAKES ME REGRET VOTING FOR HIM and that makes me dis-trust him. People have been down that RINO ROAD before and see there is no difference between RINOS and DEMS. WHEN GAETZ runs for GOVERNOR , he’ll have my vote. I will certainly miss him in Congress and hope his replacement will be an ORIGINALIST and not a fraud. I’m keeping my eyes open.