Jay Collins addresses Miami Republicans while teasing run for Florida governor

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins gave another campaign-sounding, though not-yet-official pitch to Miami Republican voters Sunday — ahead of a Florida governor’s race likely to feature competing candidates backed by Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“This political season is going to be an interesting one,” Collins told a crowd of about 125 people gathered by the Miami-Dade GOP at Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine in Doral.

Trump endorsed Congressman Byron Donalds for governor in February; DeSantis hasn’t backed a candidate yet, declining to support Donalds and calling former Speaker of the House Paul Renner’s run “ill-advised.”

But he tapped former state Sen. Jay Collins as his lieutenant governor last month, and Collins has all but announced plans to enter the race.

“We have President Trump following through doing things and knocking things out left and right and we have Governor DeSantis — there is nobody, nobody who has done more for the Trump agenda than Governor DeSantis,” Collins told the crowd to resounding applause.

But pitching his work with DeSantis as closely aligned with Trump would likely be a complicated sell while running against Trump’s preferred candidate in the coming months.

“People have drawn sides already,” Miami state Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, who’s backing Donalds and didn’t attend Collins’ meet and greet, told the Miami Herald. He pointed to the longstanding political rivalry between Trump and DeSantis after his failed presidential run.

“It’s very telling to see people that were obviously either strong-armed or were obligated to endorse and support the governor for his 2024 presidential campaign now completely change their tune and support Byron Donalds, and obviously be on the side that is more likely going to be successful in the upcoming elections,” Porras added.

DeSantis also has a tumultuous history with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who worked to defeat his primary 2024 presidential bid. And Trump allies have pushed Speaker of the House Danny Perez — who has feuded openly with the governor — to run for attorney general. DeSantis earlier this year appointed his former chief of staff and presidential campaign manager James Uthmeier to the role, which he’s campaigning to keep.

The result could be competing Republican tickets between Trump-backed candidates and DeSantis ones in races that will most likely be won in the primary, as Democrats have struggled to win elections statewide.

Donalds held a similar event in Miami with the local GOP earlier this year. Miami-Dade GOP chair Kevin Cooper said Collins appeared at multiple events in Miami this week.

According to Cooper, Miami-Dade Republicans have new significance in elections after the county swung for Trump in 2024. “The old playbook said that Miami was good for money, but not good for votes, because it was a Democrat county, but ever since it flipped, you actually have to come and campaign here.”

One of Collins’ other Miami appearances this week: standing beside Republican megadonor Ken Griffin for the announcement of a $50 million donation from Griffin to a charter school expansion project. It’s the kind of donor Collins would likely need to secure to run a competitive campaign against Donalds, who’s had a seven-month head start on the race, Trump’s endorsement and raised more than $20 million.

Collins will also have a steep hill to climb to build statewide name recognition. He’s never run a statewide campaign, and has only represented Hillsborough County in the state Senate since 2022, after dropping out of two Congressional races. Collins did not take questions from reporters at Sunday’s event.

The Miami Republicans gathered in Doral were hesitant to give the Trump endorsement too much power in their decision a little less than a year out from the Republican primary.

“I like DeSantis. I think DeSantis is a hell of a governor,” GOP committeeman Ernesto Ackerman said. He said the Trump endorsement in the gubernatorial race “is not going to have any influence.”

Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, who introduced Collins Sunday, said she’s not ready to back a candidate. “We’ll see what happens this session.”

Collins, who insisted to the crowd that he was not a politician, but a “leader” who found himself in politics, ended his comments with elections still top of mind. “Remember this: Elections have consequences,” he said. “We have to maintain our path forward as a state, no matter what.”