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Doral, Florida – As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Nevertheless, Florida state politics are beginning to take shape, and your intrepid columnist dares to go out on a limb.

Since the beginning of this year, Governor DeSantis will have appointed four senior statewide Republican officeholders:
1. Attorney General Ashley Moody was appointed United States Senator to replace Marco Rubio, who became U.S. Secretary of State.
2. James Uthmeier, General Counsel to Governor DeSantis, was appointed Attorney General to replace Moody.
3. State Senator Jay Collins, from Tampa and Hillsborough County, is likely to be appointed Lieutenant Governor to replace Jeanette Núñez, who became President of Florida International University.
4. State Senator Blaise Ingoglia, from Spring Hill and the Gulf Coast, is expected to be appointed the State’s Chief Financial Officer, replacing Jimmy Patronis, who was elected to Congress from the Panhandle, succeeding Matt Gaetz.

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The DeSantis Slate

Governor DeSantis is expected to support these candidates in the Republican primary elections of August 2026. In effect, he will run a “DeSantis Slate,” as follows:
1. U.S. Senator Ashley Moody will likely be challenged in her bid to retain office by Congressman Cory Mills from New Smyrna Beach.
2. Attorney General James Uthmeier may face a challenger, such as former Congressman Matt Gaetz or former House Speaker Paul Renner.
3. Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins will likely run for Governor, facing Congressman Byron Donalds of Naples, who has already announced his candidacy. Donalds is backed by Evan Power, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, and aligned Republican Executive Committees in counties like Miami-Dade and Broward.
4. State CFO Blaise Ingoglia will likely be challenged by State Senator Joe Gruters of Sarasota, who also serves as Florida’s Committeeman to the Republican National Committee.

In effect, the DeSantis Slate—Collins, Uthmeier, and Ingoglia—will be running against the RPOF and REC establishment candidates: Donalds and Gruters.

It is ironic that Governor DeSantis previously supported Evan Power’s election as Chairman of the RPOF, yet they now back competing slates in the upcoming statewide Republican primaries.

This shouldn’t surprise Governor DeSantis, however. This year, the RPOF and REC establishment—led by House Speaker Daniel Perez, Senate President Ben Albritton, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson—have openly clashed with him. See: Florida’s Republican Legislature Rebels Against Governor DeSantis.

Of course, DeSantis is not the only source of endorsements. President Trump has already endorsed Congressman Donalds for Governor and is expected to endorse Gruters for CFO. But this won’t deter Governor DeSantis from backing his own candidates. Though Trump and DeSantis recently bonded over the establishment of the “Alligator Alcatraz” holding camp for illegal aliens, their differences remain.
Unfortunately, in Florida, winning a primary does not require a majority—only a plurality. In Texas, by contrast, a majority is required, with a runoff if necessary. In states like Texas and Florida, where Republicans dominate, the real political decisions are made in the primaries, not the general election.

Competitive Republican primaries are healthy for the conservative movement. They force candidates to debate issues and offer policy proposals, potentially advancing causes important to grassroots conservatives—such as election integrity, responsible development, and energy policy.

Elon Musk’s American Party

Meanwhile, if Elon Musk wants to make his new American Party a force in federal politics, he should fund primary challenges by grassroots conservatives and libertarians against Florida’s RINOs in Congress. Specifically, he should support challengers to:
1. Jimmy Patronis – District 1 (Fort Walton Beach and the Panhandle)
2. John Rutherford – District 5 (Jacksonville and St. Johns County)
3. Randy Fine – District 6 (Melbourne Beach)
4. Daniel Webster – District 11 (Clermont and The Villages)
5. Laurel Lee – District 15 (Tampa and Hillsborough County)
6. Vern Buchanan – District 16 (Longboat Key and Sarasota)
7. Mario Diaz-Balart – District 26 (Doral and Hialeah)
8. María Elvira Salazar – District 27 (Miami and Miami Beach)
9. Carlos Giménez – District 28 (Key West and Homestead)

Bob Unanue, retired CEO of Goya Foods, may be considering such a challenge. See: Trump Speaks at Hispanic Leadership Conference in Miami.

Additionally, two Congressional seats will be open:
1. District 7 – New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, and Lake Mary; currently held by Cory Mills, who will run for Senate.
2. District 19 – Naples and Collier County; currently held by Byron Donalds, who is running for Governor. Jim Oberweis, a former Illinois dairy farmer, state senator, and refugee from socialism, has raised over $100,000 for this race. He will be 80 years old by next year’s primary. He also attended business school at the University of Chicago while your correspondent was attending law school there—at the same time Pope Leo XIV was at divinity school in the same neighborhood.

Rather than forming a third party, Musk should instead create the American Republican Caucus—a group within the GOP that champions core American values: freedom of association, political diversity, and respect for the rule of law. There’s no point in Musk working with Democrats. After all, they are not Americans.