Pro-Trump firebrands eye governor's mansions

A number of President Trump’s most vocal and controversial allies are considering runs for governor in 2026, opening the door to the president having more influence in state capitals across the country. 

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) has been laying the groundwork for a run in Florida, while former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) also said he has started to think about a run in the state. Vivek Ramaswamy has said he will launch a bid in Ohio, while Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said this week she is “seriously considering” a run for governor in her state. And Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is publicly mulling a run for Arizona’s top office, filing a statement of interest earlier this week.

The slate of divisive Trump loyalists could reshape the country’s image of state executives, who have had some of the most positive approval ratings of any politicians in the country and generally have been seen as sober counterweights to whichever administration is in power.

“This started a couple of cycles ago and judging by the success Donald Trump had in 2024, I would anticipate more and more candidates who share his commitment to certain policy ideas,” said Jesse Hunt, a Republican strategist and former communications director at the Republican Governors Association. 

“Candidates will stylistically be closer to the newer brand of Republican maybe than your more traditional reserve brand of Republican,” he added. 

Sources confirmed to The Hill last week that Ramaswamy is planning a run. He would join Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) in a GOP primary. Additionally, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague (R) has filed paperwork suggesting interest in the role. 

Ramaswamy, who has emerged as a lightning rod figure even among some in his own party, saw his national profile rise following his entrance into the 2024 Republican presidential primary. While Trump was considered by many to be the unofficial incumbent, Ramaswamy never sparred with him on the campaign trail and immediately endorsed Trump after he dropped out of the race.

Mace, a GOP firebrand in the House, has also seen her national profile rise in recent years. Mace survived a Trump-backed primary challenger in 2022 after she criticized the president following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The two have since made up, and Trump endorsed her for her most recent reelection bid, where she fended off a primary challenger aligned with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Donalds, meanwhile, has proven to be one of Trump’s most public supporters, opting to endorse the president over his home state Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the Republican presidential primary. Trump has very publicly returned the favor, sitting Donalds in his box at the Republican National Convention last year and giving him a shoutout at the inaugural parade this week.

Gaetz, one of the most controversial Republican politicians and Trump's first pick for attorney general, has not ruled out a bid. Meanwhile, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R ), who was endorsed by Trump in 2021, has also been floated as a potential contender. 

There’s potential for a heated primary in Arizona as well. While Biggs is publicly considering a run for governor, Trump backed former gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson while in Phoenix last month despite the fact that she hadn’t announced a bid at the time.

The president will be watched closely for how he approaches the gubernatorial races going into 2026 as he seeks to bolster the MAGA brand.

“That’ll be totally dependent on what his political team thinks is the best use of his political capital,” Hunt said. “He’s going to have relationships with a lot of people who enter these races.” 

Republican strategist Stephen Lawson noted Trump will be looking at which candidates have the strongest operations and “who ultimately have his back and have his best interests in mind.” 

“The president has, I don’t think it can be overstated, has a fantastic team around him this time,” Lawson said. “People that understand what it takes to be successful and advance the president’s agenda politically, and I think that’s a really important difference this go-around.” 

Other Republican operatives warn the president should use caution when it comes to spending political capital in the gubernatorial races. 

“Governors are great, they’re really important, but for a president who is going to try to squeeze every day out of the four years he has, I wouldn’t spend much political capital outside of the House and Senate,” said one Republican operative. 

The 2026 midterms could serve as an uphill climb for Republicans, since traditionally midterm elections have been brutal for the party in power. Trump and Republicans will be defending their hold on majorities in the House and the Senate, which will be key in implementing the Trump agenda. 

“You only have so much capital. The more you spread it around, the less powerful it can be. You don’t want to start taking unnecessary losses,” the operative said, referring to Trump’s potential involvement in gubernatorial races. 

That’s not to say that Republican governors cannot play a role in pushing the president’s agenda forward. DeSantis called for a special legislative session in Florida earlier this month in an effort to push through Trump’s immigration agenda in the state. 

“At the state level, that’s where the action happens,” Lawson said. “President Trump clearly needs really strong partners at the state level to help enact those policies and to carry them forward on the state level and the local level as well.” 

Still, the Republican operative argued that the 2026 midterms will be unique for Trump and Republicans in that the elections will be their last before another Republican candidate, most likely Vice President Vance, becomes the party’s standard-bearer in 2028. The operative added that the dynamic makes Trump’s endorsements that much more delicate. 

“I do think it’s going to be a test to that degree, and a test and a challenge, frankly, less for Trump and probably more for JD,” the operative said. “Now you’re part of this and presumably the president endorses a candidate, it’s your ass on the line. So yeah, [if] he starts taking L's in state races and otherwise, it probably doesn’t impact Trump all that much, but it can impact JD.” 

“This will be his first test to show whether that transferability holds true,” the operative said.