FL-SEN 2026: Moody v.?

[Flyersfan232]

People will call me crazy, but hopefully he puts Lara Trump in the Senate then hopefully they can push Maxwell Frost for the Dem nominee.

He's not eligible to run in 2026. And I don't see why he would be an appealing candidate, at all.

he would be a Mastriano level disaster.

[JMT]

https://twitter.com/jimrosicafl/status/1858551972032364918?s=46&t=-r8JGlJno4...

[Sir Mohamed]

If I were RDS, I'd consider to resign and have Nunez appoint myself. That would also put her in the prime position to run for governor in 2026.

[Talleyrand]

If I were RDS, I'd consider to resign and have Nunez appoint myself. That would also put her in the prime position to run for governor in 2026.

Not if Trump endorses his primary challenger.

[2016]

DeSantis apparently considering appointing CFO Jimmy Patronis to Rubios Seat. Upon Patronis Resignation DeSantis would then appoint his longtime ally Blaise Ingoglia as CFO effectivly blocking State Senator Joe Gruters from becoming CFO. DeSantis massivly mad at Gruters for pushing to legalize weed in the State during the 2024 Campaign.

[CheapDollarEra?]

Lara Trump as Senator would be interesting.
Nepotism is not much popula.

I feel that the 2026 Senate GOP primaries will end up with a clown car unless her or De Santis run.

[TomC]

Could Gaetz be in the mix now?

[oldtimer]

Could Gaetz be in the mix now?

Well DeSantis won the governor's primary over the objection of the GOP establishment at the time, but Gaetz will be a step too far I think.

[2016]

Gaetz is OUT per Source to DeSantis.

[TomC]

Gaetz is OUT per Source to DeSantis.

Good

[CentristRepublican]

If I were RDS, I'd consider to resign and have Nunez appoint myself. That would also put her in the prime position to run for governor in 2026.

That kind of stuff very rarely goes over well with voters and it would backfire since it’d reek of opportunism and trying to pull a fast one.

MN Democrat Rudy Pieprich tried it back in 1977 and it ended up catalyzing a mini red wave in MN the following year where both Senate seats AND the governorship ALL flipped red.

[2016]

I am pretty convinced that Ron DeSantis will pick a "Person of Color" to fill Rubios Seat, likely to be a Cuban Hispanic. It won't be a White Male or Female. DeSantis will honor the growing Latin-American constituency in Florida (Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Colombians, etc). They all view Senator Marco Rubio as one of their own.

There are only 3 people who are IMO qualified:

Lt. Governor Jeanette Nunez
FL Education Secretary Manny Diaz Jr.
Former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva

[brucejoel99]

I suspect atp that it'll be Nuñez.

[Crane]

People will call me crazy, but hopefully he puts Lara Trump in the Senate then hopefully they can push Maxwell Frost for the Dem nominee.

He's not eligible to run in 2026. And I don't see why he would be an appealing candidate, at all.

he would be a Mastriano level disaster.

So you'd vote for him?

[2016]

I suspect atp that it'll be Nuñez.

It will probably be her since Uthmeier doesn't want it. Even more important that DeSantis appoints someone who can win in 2026 now that Rep. Jared Moskowitz (FL-23) per Andrew Solender mulling a bid for Senate.

[2016]

DeSantis reportedly not interested running for Senate in 2026

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ron-desantis-slows-process-fill-marco-rubio-senate-seat-trump-rcna181639

Uthmeier reportedly interested running for Attorney General of Florida in 2026 which could mean that DeSantis may appoint Moody to Rubios Seat.

[MargieCat]

https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1864174964645003371

[Crane]

https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1864174964645003371

Excited to see all the blue avs clapping like seals for this after pearl clutching the Hunter Biden pardon.

[New World Man]

Sounds swampy.

[doc gerritcole]

If desantis and Rubio both get confirmed, will desantis get to pick the interm senator or is the next governors choice

[TodayJunior]

Since I now claim to know absolute jack didley squat about all things political (after reflecting on this year), I have heard rumblings about Ashley moody. Apparently not all the Rs are on board with Lara bc of the nepotism angle (whatever that’s worth) and I agree. One things for sure we’re about to see a whole lot of shakeup in the state. Now that potentially could be good for Fl Dems if the gop gets too ahead of their skis and crashes and burns. Too much winning leads to complacency and then a downfall. However….I’ll believe it when i see it. As long as the Mar-A-Lago kingdom calls the shots, it’s not changing any time soon. It’s gonna be Orlando v Miami when it comes to state politics at least for a while.

In the governors side….rumors are Byron Donalds

[CentristRepublican]

https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1864174964645003371

Makes perfect sense from Trump's POV tbh.

FL is now officially Maga Central and he may as well reward the state and its Republican officials accordingly.

Yes, appointing Lara would very clearly be nepotism, but who's to hold him accountable? He owns the Republican Party as much in his adopted home state as he does at the national level. There'd be a lot of grumbling but nobody serious would dare challenge her once appointed. And there's still the open gubernatorial primary that they could always run in if they're looking for a failed statewide primary campaign.

For Trump, owning the GOP is like owning any other business. Might as well utilize nepotism to his kids' advantage and land them good, well-paying jobs.

Re: DeSantis, yes, he openly challenged Trump for the nomination. Given that JD "Neo Nazi" Vance is his VP and Marco "Also-Ran" Rubio is SoS, there's a chance Trump might forgive and forget. But given that the latter two renounced anti-Trumpism and started bootlicking years ago, whereas DeSantis was literally running against Trump earlier this year, forgiving and especially forgetting may be harder.

Even then, though, it's IMO the perfect ploy for Trump to get DeSantis under his thumb. Rn DeSantis could very well go for Senate in 2026 and stay relevant that way. Now, if he's instead appointed Sec. of Defense, he'd have limited power of his own and Trump would literally be his boss. Trump could fire him (before or after the Senate election, doesn't really matter) and leave him as damaged goods - a la Jeff Sessions, who much unlike DeSantis was a D1 Trump loyalist through and through.

[2016]

Seems more likely now Lara Trump won't be picked. WaPo says DeSantis may defy Trump on that.

[MargieCat]

Seems more likely now Lara Trump won't be picked. WaPo says DeSantis may defy Trump on that.

You think he goes with Jeanette Nunez?

[2016]

Seems more likely now Lara Trump won't be picked. WaPo says DeSantis may defy Trump on that.

You think he goes with Jeanette Nunez?

I'd love to see that. More likely though it will be AG Ashley Noody I think so he can appoint his CoS James Uthmeier as AG giving him a Head Start for 2026.