TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis forcefully rejected a report on Friday that he has begun laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential bid, denying claims that he has reached out to political consultants about a future campaign.
Responding to an article published by The Washington Post, DeSantis posted on social media that the newspaper was fabricating the report “out of whole cloth.” The newspaper reported that the outgoing governor had already approached at least one national political consultant regarding a potential campaign, citing individuals familiar with his discussions.
“I have not reached out to anybody about running for anything,” DeSantis wrote on X, Fox News reported. “Just another pathetic attempt to garner clicks. Using anonymous sources of course!”
Weighing Political Options
While DeSantis dismissed the report of active campaign recruitment, two people familiar with his thinking told ABC News that he is keeping his options open for a potential White House bid. According to those sources, the governor has not reached a final conclusion and continues to monitor the national political landscape to determine if an effective path exists for him and whether his message can resonate within the Republican Party.
The debate over his future follows sweeping nationwide midterm defeats for Republicans, in which the party lost control of both chambers of Congress along with key state races, Fox News reported. DeSantis described the election outcome during a Wednesday press conference as “the political equivalent of a meteor strike” and warned it approached “an extinction-level event” for the GOP.
DeSantis pointed to Florida as an exception to the national trend, emphasizing that Republican Governor-elect Byron Donalds succeeded in keeping the state under party leadership. DeSantis noted that Florida remains the only state among the country’s 10 most populated to maintain unified Republican control, according to Fox News.
Reflections on 2024 and Party Strategy
DeSantis previously sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. After placing a distant second behind Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses, he dropped out before the New Hampshire primary and endorsed Trump. That effort faced intense national attention over internal staffing disputes and rapid spending, ABC News reported.
A person familiar with the governor’s perspective told ABC News that DeSantis drew key takeaways from 2024, concluding that future contenders must embrace broader media exposure and avoid delaying their official campaign launches. In the days surrounding the recent midterms, DeSantis stepped up his media presence to critique broader party strategies.
During an interview with Stephen A. Smith that aired Monday, DeSantis contended that Republicans made strategic errors on voter pocketbook issues, including rising fuel costs connected to conflict in Iran. He argued that officials who dismissed voter pain or tried to pass full blame to former President Joe Biden were misleading the public. “If you can’t admit that to voters, then you’re gaslighting them, and they’re not going to listen to you on other things,” he said in the broadcast.
The Road Ahead
Republican figures have argued that DeSantis could emerge as a central party leader following the midterm losses. Iowa state Rep. Skyler Wheeler told WCTV that many Republicans will view DeSantis as a prospective candidate for 2028 because Florida managed to resist the broader Democratic wave.
The Post also reported that a federal political action committee connected to DeSantis distributed a fundraising message earlier in the week, Fox News reported. DeSantis, who is term-limited, is scheduled to conclude his tenure as governor in January, when Donalds assumes the office. DeSantis has not formally announced what professional role or political venture he intends to pursue once his term concludes.
