Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that it’s too soon to think about any Republican candidate running for president in 2028.
“I think it’s too soon to tell in terms of who’s going to run,” the outgoing Republican governor told Fox News anchor and host Harris Faulkner. “I think we do need to come to grips with what happened in the midterms. I mean, we were losing Georgia, North Carolina, Texas. These are states that traditionally go good for us.”
Last week, the governor was asked about his future during a CNN interview.
“I’ll be a free man come Jan. 5th. I haven’t planned anything … but last night should be a wakeup call for our party. We really got blasted into oblivion. Florida’s kind of the last one standing,” he said, referring to Republican victories in his own state.
So far, no prominent Republican officials or lawmakers have declared their candidacy for president, but DeSantis earlier this year suggested that he may be interested.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who recently launched a “Saving Texas” office after Democrats in his state capture the governor’s seat and a U.S. Senate seat, said in August that “it’s no secret that I want to be president” during a podcast appearance with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. He ran in 2016 and finished second in the primary, eventually endorsing Donald Trump.
Vice President JD Vance, another possible candidate, said last month that he would wait until after the midterms to decide whether he would run in 2028. Vance also penned a lengthy post-mortem analysis of the GOP midterm defeats and said his party needs to refocus on ending the Iran war, and dealing with inflation and the high cost of living.
In June, Vance said he would speak about running for president with his wife, second lady Usha Vance, after the election. The two welcomed their fourth child earlier this year.
“Usha and I will absolutely sit down and talk about what comes next for our family,” he told CBS News. “The way I make decisions is, I try not to make them until I absolutely must.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked in September that he had “no plans” at the time to run when interviewed by a Colombian news station.
In 2024, DeSantis ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primary before he ultimately dropped out and endorsed Trump, who later captured the White House for a second time.
Trump, during his first term, endorsed DeSantis in the 2018 Republican primary for Florida governor, helping DeSantis win the governor’s seat.
DeSantis is term-limited, meaning he cannot run a third time for governor. In last week’s midterms, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) defeated Democrat David Jolly to win the gubernatorial race.
