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Gov. Ron DeSantis leaves office soon. What could he do next?
With Gov. Ron DeSantis term-limited and set to leave office Jan. 5, 2027, speculation grows over his next move—from a possible cabinet appointment to a private-sector break. Meanwhile, Byron Donalds and David Jolly won their primaries for Florida governor.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will leave office on Jan. 5, 2027, his second term capped by term limits, and the race to succeed him is now set. Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly won their respective primary contests on Aug. 18, with Donalds taking 48% of the GOP primary vote and Jolly securing 61% of the Democratic vote, according to preliminary state elections office numbers. Those figures came from a turnout of 1,326,440 Floridians voting on Election Day, 1,239,312 vote-by-mail ballots received, and 818,176 early votes cast.
But as the campaign for Florida's next chief executive begins, attention is already turning to what DeSantis will do after he leaves the governor's mansion. The governor has kept mostly silent publicly about his plans, preferring to focus on his remaining time in office. He has, however, alluded to possibly spending time outside of politics for a while, telling Dave Rubin on the "Rubin Report" in an interview cited by Florida Politics in June that "I'm in my mid-40s; who knows what life will hold in the future?" He added that "I have a lot of people that want me to do a lot of different things, but I think I owe it to the voters to just run through the tape here. We'll come out on the other side." The outlet noted he said he may just "do things in the private sector" after his term.
A possible path to Washington
Much of the speculation has centered on a potential role in a future Trump administration. According to Axios, Trump insiders said DeSantis approached Trump about a cabinet position. The two met in April at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, just weeks after Trump fired Pam Bondi. Axios reported that DeSantis was angling for the Attorney General job, with Trump reportedly telling a confidante, "Ron was begging me to be AG," a comment relayed to Axios. When asked directly about appointing DeSantis to a post, Trump told reporters, "Well, I like him a lot."
Todd Blanche has temporarily filled the attorney general role, and can serve up to 210 days before needing Senate confirmation. Byron Donalds, who is now the Republican nominee for governor, recommended DeSantis for Attorney General on Benny Johnson's podcast in an interview released May 4.
DeSantis brings a legal background to any such consideration: he holds a Harvard Law degree, served as a JAG officer and as a special assistant U.S. attorney until 2010, and worked as a litigator at the Miami-based law firm Holland & Knight before entering politics in 2012. He also co-founded an LSAT test-prep company earlier in his career.
A complicated relationship with Trump
The relationship between DeSantis and Trump has had its ups and downs. DeSantis ran for president in 2024, dropping out after the Iowa primary. Susie Wiles, who led DeSantis's 2018 campaign and was later fired from his transition team over a memo—which she denied leaking—posted a simple "Bye, bye" on X after DeSantis exited the race. Earlier, DeSantis had helped get Wiles released from Trump's re-election campaign in 2019, though Trump reinstated her in 2020, and she has remained in his inner circle.
Despite the past friction, DeSantis has led the charge against illegal immigration and has publicly praised many of Trump's policies, including being the first to officially use the name "Gulf of America" for the body of water.
The road ahead
Under Article IV of the Florida Constitution, a person who has served as governor for more than six years in two consecutive terms cannot be elected to the succeeding term. That rule bars DeSantis from seeking a third consecutive term, but it does not prevent him from running again later, after someone else serves.
The state's general election is set for Nov. 3, 2026, with key deadlines including Sept. 19 for sending vote-by-mail ballots to UOCAVA voters, Sept. 24 through Oct. 1 for domestic voters, Oct. 5 for voter registration, Oct. 22 for ballot requests, and Oct. 24-31 for the early-voting period, with counties able to expand that window.
For now, DeSantis's immediate future remains an open question—one that will unfold in the months before he leaves office, and perhaps well beyond.
How each outlet told it
Gainesville Sun
Framing: Focuses on what DeSantis could do next after leaving office, emphasizing speculation about future roles. — Informative and speculative, with a neutral tone presenting options and possibilities.
Facts Included:
Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly won their respective primary contests.
Donalds had 48% of the GOP primary vote, Jolly had 61% of the Democratic vote.
Framing: Focuses on what DeSantis could do next after leaving office, emphasizing speculation about future roles. — Informative and speculative, with a neutral tone presenting options and possibilities.
Facts Included:
Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly won their respective primary contests.
Donalds had 48% of the GOP primary vote, Jolly had 61% of the Democratic vote.
Framing: Emphasizes DeSantis emerging to bolster the GOP and his legacy, focusing on his political maneuvering. — Analytical and speculative, with quotes like 'growing expectations' and 'famously combative.'
Facts Included:
DeSantis did not endorse a successor in the primary, including his lieutenant governor.
DeSantis criticized Rep. Byron Donalds, who won the GOP primary for governor.
DeSantis did not campaign for anyone and did not attend the traditional GOP post-primary rally.
DeSantis reached out to Donalds on Thursday after the primary.
DeSantis endorsed and began touting Ryan Elijah, who ousted incumbent Rep. Cory Mills.
DeSantis ended his presidential bid in early 2024.
DeSantis said he can wait beyond 2028 for a presidential run because he is still relatively young.
An anonymous Florida Republican operative said DeSantis can 'get some credit on the way out' by helping Donalds and Florida Republicans.
DeSantis's redistricting map could net the state GOP as many as four additional seats.
On primary day, DeSantis held a roundtable in Sarasota on higher education focusing on university accreditation.
DeSantis stated 'No one’s worked harder to get Florida where we are politically than I have.'
Republicans now hold a 1.5 million voter registration edge in Florida.
DeSantis said 'I don’t think this is a competitive state.'
DeSantis said in April, 'If I feel the need to do something, I do it.'
Early polling suggests the governor's race could be more competitive than conventional wisdom.
Evan Power, chair of the Republican Party of Florida, said 'I do expect him to be helpful.'
DeSantis became a national phenomenon during the Covid-19 pandemic and pushed conservative policies on race, gender identity, education, and abortion.
DeSantis has had a hostile relationship with state House GOP leaders in the past two years.
DeSantis had a cool relationship with Donalds because Donalds supported Trump in the 2024 primary.
DeSantis said Donalds 'just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the left.'
After Tuesday's primary, DeSantis put out a statement that he would support Donalds and other GOP nominees.
DeSantis said he would focus on 'state policy all the way till we turn the lights out.'
DeSantis said 'No senioritis here' to agency heads and staff.
DeSantis said focusing on state policy 'doesn’t mean' he would not get 'involved' in GOP campaigns.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimRepublican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly won their respective primary contests for Florida governor.
ClaimDeSantis became a national phenomenon during the Covid-19 pandemic and pushed conservative policies on race, gender identity, education, and abortion.
ClaimPam Bondi's role as Attorney General was temporarily filled by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who can serve for 210 days before a Senate confirmation hearing is required.
ClaimDeSantis holds a law degree from Harvard Law and served as a JAG officer in the U.S. Navy and as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Florida until his discharge in 2010.
ClaimAfter that, he co-founded an LSAT test-prep company and worked as a litigator at the Miami-based law firm Holland & Knight before starting his political career in 2012.
ClaimSusie Wiles led DeSantis' 2018 gubernatorial campaign but was fired from the transition team after the Tampa Bay Times published an internal memo with her name on it, detailing an 'aggressive' fundraising scheme; Wiles denied leaking any documents.
ClaimFlorida Constitution Article IV says no person who has served more than six years in two consecutive terms shall be elected for a succeeding term.