DeSantis is choosing a replacement for the U.S. Senate if Rubio gets Trump’s job

by Junna Base November 12, 2024

Gov. Ron DeSantis may soon have a Marco Rubio-sized hole to fill in the U.S. Senate.

Rubio is widely reported to be President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next secretary of state. The same reports say the decision is not final, but if Rubio is selected and confirmed by his colleagues in the U.S. Senate, DeSantis could name his successor.

It would present DeSantis, who ran and lost against Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024, with a major decision that could impact his possible future ambitions to run for president in 2028.

The person selected would serve until 2026, then a special election would be held to serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s term. DeSantis, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, could choose someone to run in 2026 or someone to serve as a placeholder if he were to try to return to Washington ahead of a possible presidential run in 2028.

The initial list of possible candidates includes Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and DeSantis’ chief of staff James Uthmeier.

Nuñez is from Miami and, like Rubio, has Cuban-American roots.

Moody was a DeSantis loyalist and Uthmeier just helped lead efforts to block two ballot measures rejected by DeSantis that sought to legalize recreational marijuana and enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

Could DeSantis appoint himself as the next U.S. Senator?

DeSantis could also nominate himself or his wife, Casey, but DeSantis has often joked that he was “recovering” from his time in Congress and said he would rather be a public servant capable of getting more done.

Additionally, Trump and his allies could pressure DeSantis to name a preferred replacement. The name of Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump — a Florida resident and co-chair of the Republican National Committee — is already being bandied about by his supporters.

Lara Trump “must be nominated by (DeSantis) to replace Rubio,” said U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-St. Petersburg, posted on X. “She will keep the seat and avoid a messy FLORIDA primary. Well spoken. Election integrity has been kicked in the ass. Etc.”

Of course, DeSantis already has his eye on Rubio’s Senate seat.

In 2016, two years before he ran for governor, he initially ran for the seat that Rubio planned to vacate in his run for president that year. Rubio had originally said he wouldn’t run for re-election if he lost the bid for the Republican nomination, but he changed his mind.

Rubio’s decision prompted DeSantis to seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives instead.

The last time a sitting Florida governor filled a U.S. Senate vacancy was in 2009, when then-Gov. Charlie Crist chose Chief of Staff George LeMieux to replace retiring U.S. Senator Mel Martinez.

Crist ran for the seat in 2010, but as Rubio gained increasing support within the Republican Party, Crist left the party to run as an independent and ultimately lost to Rubio.

DeSantis is on a trade mission in Italy and will not return to Florida until Friday. If he returns, there’s a chance he could face an open Senate seat.

He also may have to call a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-St. Augustine Beach, whom Trump appointed as national security adviser.

Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.

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