Donald Trump just handed Ron DeSantis a humiliating message about who really runs Florida.
The Governor thought his endorsement still mattered in the Sunshine State.
But Byron Donalds left his Florida GOP rivals shell-shocked when this poll number went public.
Trump's endorsement proves more powerful than DeSantis' last name
Florida Republicans have made their choice crystal clear in the 2026 governor's race.
U.S. Representative Byron Donalds is crushing every potential opponent in new polling — and the reason why has Governor Ron DeSantis fuming.
Donalds leads the field with 47% support against declared candidates former House Speaker Paul Renner and investor James Fishback, according to a January poll by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates.
But here's where it gets brutal for anyone thinking about challenging him.
When voters learn that President Donald Trump endorsed Donalds, his support skyrockets to 76%.
https://twitter.com/pollfinity/status/2009826214207455343?s=20
That's not a lead — that's a wipeout.
Even First Lady Casey DeSantis, who some Republicans have begged to enter the race, can't compete.
She trails Donalds by 13 points before voters know about Trump's backing.
After they learn Trump picked Donalds, she's down by 58 points.
DeSantis tried to position Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins as his chosen successor by making him his number two.
The gambit failed spectacularly.
Collins trails Donalds 45% to 6% in head-to-head polling.
After factoring in Trump's endorsement, Donalds leads 73% to 5%.
"Despite Casey DeSantis' last name and Jay Collins' multimillion ad spend, Byron Donalds is far and away the clear choice to unify Florida Republicans, keep the state red, and defeat the Democrats in November," pollster David Lee wrote.
DeSantis learned the hard way that Trump's endorsement beats everything
The poll tested an informed ballot where voters were told Trump fully endorses Donalds and Ron DeSantis fully endorses his wife Casey.
Trump's endorsement crushed DeSantis' endorsement.
Donalds led 48% to 21% — a 27-point blowout.
Even when pollsters told voters that Collins had DeSantis' endorsement, Donalds still dominated 50% to 10%.
The memo included a devastating assessment of Collins' expensive advertising campaign that ran throughout late 2025.
"Any sugar high from Jay Collins' multimillion ad buy has completely dissipated," the pollsters found.
Only 16% of Republican primary voters even remember seeing anything about Collins despite the millions spent promoting him.
That's not name recognition — that's irrelevance.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1989049376258371905?s=20
DeSantis has conspicuously refused to endorse Donalds and openly questioned whether he's ready to be governor.
The Governor's skepticism hasn't moved a single vote.
The Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll surveyed 600 likely Republican primary voters from January 4-6 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Tony Fabrizio served as Trump's pollster during his successful 2024 campaign.
Donalds has locked down endorsements from most Florida Republican elected officials in addition to Trump's backing.
The Naples Congressman was first elected to Florida's 19th Congressional District in 2020.
He's built a national profile as one of Congress' most effective conservative voices and became a close Trump ally.
Ron DeSantis learned what happens when you try to out-Trump Trump during his disastrous 2024 Presidential campaign.
He got humiliated and dropped out before even making it to his home state's primary.
Now he's learning another painful lesson — in Florida Republican politics, Trump's word is law.
The Governor can withhold his endorsement all he wants.
Republican voters have spoken, and they're following Trump, not DeSantis.
Donalds isn't just leading this race.
He's dominating it in a way that makes clear the outcome is already decided.
The only question left is whether anyone will waste their time and money trying to challenge him.
Sources:
- Frank Kopylov, "POLL: Trump-endorsed Byron Donalds dominates early field in Florida GOP governor primary," Florida News, January 9, 2026.
- Mitch Perry, "Latest 2026 Florida GOP gubernatorial poll shows Byron Donalds blowing away the rest of the field," The Phoenix Flyer, January 9, 2026.
- Jacob Ogles, "Byron Donalds in dominant position in GOP Primary for Governor, new poll shows," Florida Politics, January 9, 2026.
- Gray Rohrer, "Why one Florida GOP primary governor candidate got huge boost in one poll," USA TODAY Network – Florida, January 10, 2026.
