Ron DeSantis takes veiled shot at Trump as Florida GOP civil war goes nuclear

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is accusing his own state Republican Party of selling out the state's voters to serve interests beyond Florida — a barely disguised swipe at President Donald Trump, whose endorsement has turned Rep. Byron Donalds into the runaway frontrunner in the 2026 governor's race.

DeSantis never said Trump's name. But the target was hard to miss in a blistering post on X, in which the governor tore into Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power over the party's refusal to hold a true debate among gubernatorial candidates at its upcoming "Sunshine State Showdown."

"The only reason why you wouldn't is if the party hierarchy is serving outside interests instead of the best interests of the voters," DeSantis wrote — language that landed squarely on Trump's grip over a party apparatus now lining up behind his chosen candidate.

The governor framed the dispute as the party rigging the race for a preferred winner. "A debate was promised and these ridiculous criteria are being used to renege on that promise and to engineer a preferred outcome," DeSantis said, adding that Power "should not be insulting the intelligence of Republican voters." He suggested an easy fix: "Why not just take 90 minutes, find a tv partner, and let the candidates mix it up?"

The broadside is the clearest sign yet of the proxy war playing out over who controls Florida after DeSantis, who is term-limited, leaves office in January. The governor has pointedly refused to endorse Donalds, and his own lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, is one of the candidates being denied a head-to-head matchup with the frontrunner.

DeSantis was responding directly to Power, who had defended the party's approach by arguing that two of Donalds' rivals — Collins and former House Speaker Paul Renner — had "been given time to present their cases directly to the voters at the event," even without a debate.

The mechanics of the dispute favor Donalds at every turn. Under the party's criteria, only Donalds cleared the polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify, according to multiple reports. A party poll conducted June 9-10 put him at 38.8 percent, far ahead of Collins at 7.6 percent, businessman James Fishback at 4.1 percent and Renner at 2.2 percent, with more than 40 percent of likely primary voters still undecided. The party also barred Fishback from the June event, with Power accusing him of antisemitic and racist attacks.

The Trump-versus-DeSantis subtext is sharpened by Power's own history: he took over the chairmanship in 2024 as a DeSantis-aligned choice, making the governor's public attack a striking break with a one-time friendly now presiding over the coronation of Trump's man.