Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said Thursday he is not thinking about running for the presidency again in 2028, at least not so soon after the midterm elections.
“I think it’s too soon to tell in terms of, like, you know, who’s going to run,” the outgoing governor said on Fox News’s The Faulkner Focus. “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.”
DeSantis then posed several rhetorical questions that Republicans should be asking themselves in the wake of their losses, including how the next Republican president should navigate a Democrat-controlled Congress.
“I know we’re still kind of sifting through the rubble on all that, but those are really important things to be thinking about as we’re going forward,” he said. “Because ultimately, anyone that runs for anything should not be running to be somebody, try to get perks of office title. It’s to do something and to actually get big things done.”
DeSantis has openly reflected on the election results since last week, calling the blue wave the “political equivalent of a meteor strike” across the nation. He also criticized the campaign of his former 2024 presidential primary opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, following the Ohio Republican’s defeat in the Buckeye State’s gubernatorial race.
“I don’t know why they would have pushed him to be the candidate there,” DeSantis said on The Sage Steele Show, calling Ramaswamy a “tech guy” who doesn’t appeal to Ohio’s working class.
With less than two years before the 2028 presidential election, DeSantis is among the top names floated as a possible successor to President Donald Trump. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also in the mix, but neither has committed to seeking the top spot in the White House.
Amid the 2028 buzz, DeSantis is reportedly preparing to launch a conservative think tank that would help him maintain a national profile in his post-governor days. DeSantis is leaving the Florida governor’s office in January 2027, handing power over to Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL).
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During his interview with Fox News, DeSantis also commented on Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s decision to investigate the Democratic Socialists of America over alleged foreign contributions tied to Cuba and China. DeSantis touted his state’s commitment to fighting socialism or communism.
Notably, Florida Democrat and DSA member Angie Nixon lost to incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) in the Sunshine State’s Senate race on Election Day.