JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Whilst Floridians digested the probability of their senior senator being tapped to run Donald Trump’s State Division, the query of who replaces Marco Rubio got here into focus.
It’s not official but, nevertheless it’s “very firm,” a senior supply acquainted with the following White Home’s considering tells The Submit.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has a panoply of choices open to him, from insider picks who’re removed from family names to state officeholders who, like him, can be time period restricted in 2026 and are prepared for one thing new.
We thought-about this query in July, when Rubio was being thought-about as Trump’s operating mate, earlier than being rejected as a result of an all-Florida ticket would have created Electoral School issues in what was anticipated to be a detailed race.
4 months later, most of the choices stay the identical. Together with one probably tantalizing one.
Appointing himself.
A downside to that?
He could be topic to an precise election in 2026 simply as he would if he stayed within the governor’s workplace — the following election can be expedited to the midterm cycle.
And DeSantis, although he famously mentioned when operating for president he thought he might do extra within the White Home for Florida than he might as governor, doesn’t really feel like he might have that impact because the junior senator to Rick Scott.
One other transfer may very well be to nominate somebody who would basically be preserving the seat heat till he runs once more.
A candidate for that individual position: Chief of Employees James Uthmeier, who helped helm the campaigns to maintain amendments eradicating abortion restrictions and legalizing leisure weed from passing.
There’s precedent for the COS alternative. Fifteen years in the past, former Gov. Charlie Crist picked his personal chief, George LeMieux, to exchange Bob Martinez after that senator stepped down midterm. Crist went on to be rejected by the GOP for Rubio, then misplaced the election as an unbiased.
It couldn’t probably go that badly for DeSantis if he needs a placeholder. He’s already dominated out a job within the Trump administration, saying he’d slightly be “quarterbacking” Florida, which is simply as nicely given Trump’s COS Susie Wiles has no motive to assist him out. In order a lot as he may not wish to be within the Senate, it’s both that or internet hosting a cable present if he’s shut out of the White Home.
One other attention-grabbing choice may be within the governor’s mansion — although logistics current a very private problem for her.
Casey DeSantis is probably the most concerned in coverage of any of the primary women, and he or she actually would heat as much as the position. However with three youngsters who’re 8 years of age or below, the timing isn’t proper for her to take the job particularly given the governor’s demanding journey schedule. Stranger issues have occurred, however the household dynamic is central to the DeSantis branding, and it’s laborious to think about a nanny taking on for 2 years whereas each dad and mom have demanding jobs.
There’s additionally the prospect {that a} Florida Cupboard member might get the choose, and two of them are time period restricted in 2026: Legal professional Normal Ashley Moody and Chief Monetary Officer Jimmy Patronis.
Of the 2, Moody looks like the more than likely choose. Since Joe Biden’s 2020 election, she’s labored hand in glove with the governor in authorized challenges to federal overreach on points starting from pandemic mitigation to frame capitulation.
She is, by far, probably the most enthusiastic advocate for DeSantis of any Cupboard member. And in distinction to the chilly dynamic between DeSantis and Scott that goes again to when the Naples Republican was leaving the governor’s mansion, Moody could be a real ally to the person who appointed her. And she or he could be an odds-on favourite to be elected for a full time period in two years.
There are also different names value mentioning. The final word olive department to the president-elect could be a member of the Trump household; a couple of reside in Florida, and Republican Nationwide Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump is being touted in some MAGA convos. And former Florida Home Speaker Jose Oliva could be an attention-grabbing successor to Rubio, although it stays to be seen if he’d be as profitable statewide because the outgoing senator.
Whoever the choose is, although, there can be a butterfly impact in Florida politics that reverberates via the following election.
