With Governor Ron DeSantis facing term limits and his final two years of leading Florida, the DeSantis family could still stay in the governor’s mansion when his term is up. NBC first reported that first lady Casey DeSantis is considering a run for governor after conversations with top GOP donors — and her interest could reshape the race for the 2026 Republican nomination. Over the past six years, the first lady has been a fixture on her husband’s campaigns and stops across the state. Republican circles believe Casey, a young mom, cancer survivor and former TV reporter possesses the qualities that could resonate with voters. Plus, if she chooses to run, she’ll have the backing of a popular Republican governor and be viewed as an extension of his policies. “Until Casey DeSantis decides she's in or she's out, that kind of freezes the field with, you know, people who are backed by Donald Trump, but not Ron DeSantis. And we'll see how that all plays out,” 10 Tampa Bay political analyst Lars Hafner said. Several people, including some of President Trump’s close Florida allies, are rumored to be interested in running and vying for his endorsement. On the early list are Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, ex-Congressman Matt Gaetz, who recently told the Tampa Bay Times he was “starting to think about running” and current Congressman Byron Donalds (R-Naples) who this past weekend sidestepped a question about his or the first lady’s potential campaign during an appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. "Nobody's in the race right now, so we'll see what happens,” Donalds said. "Their primary is going to come down to who Trump endorses. And, you know, does [Casey DeSantis’] name ID trump a Trump endorsement? I don't know, but she'd be formidable,” Steve Schale, a Florida Democratic strategist, said. After lopsided losses for Democrats in each of the last two statewide elections, Schale is looking into who could be formidable on the other side of the ballot. “Anybody who's going to look at it is going to recognize that it's probably an uphill race,” said Schale, who pulls from a football analogy that the state Democratic party should be focused on “blocking and tackling.” “Registering voters, communicating with people that we haven't communicated well with over the years,” Schale explained. Among the names being floated early on for Democrats are Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-Tampa), House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa), headlined by State Senator Jason Pizzo (D-Miami) who has, at least, hinted at a run with a post on X. “I think Pizzo, at this point, seems to be the name that is the loudest,” Schale added.“Really sharp guy, comes from some family money so he can do some self-funding. Kind of a moderate, maybe more center-right for a Democrat.” The 2026 August primaries are more than 550 days away, but the field could start shaping up as soon as the spring with campaign fundraising reports due for the second quarter by the end of June. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/politics/casey-desantis-florida-governor-2026-donalds-pizzo/67-682a64a1-9206-44ee-943b-b28460ad5407