Lara Trump Withdraws from Florida Senate Seat

After Donald Trump selected Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) as his Secretary of State, Lara Trump, Donald’s daughter-in-law, expressed interest in getting the seat.

She was hoping that Governor Ron DeSantis would appoint her to the seat, which would have given her a significant edge in the special election.

This weekend, Lara withdrew her name from consideration, but there is significantly more to unpack here on that front.

Not in the Running

About a week ago, Donald Trump was asked if he thought Governor DeSantis was going to appoint Lara, and he answered that he did not expect that to be the case.

When we reported on the open seat, I had stated that the only way I thought Lara Trump would get the appointment would be if DeSantis replaced Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense nominee.

Hegseth has since gained momentum and seems more likely than not to be approved, so that seat appears to be off the table for Lara Trump, who stated, “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate.”

That is a bit of a twist, however, because most believe she pulled out of consideration because she was made aware that she was not getting the seat, and she is trying to save some face here.

Something else to note is that there is still a rift between Trump and DeSantis because this was Trump last week, once again, calling Ron DeSantis “DeSanctimonious.”

Wow, Trump is still insulting Ron Desantis at his club calling him “Ron Desanctimonious.” I thought they patched things up and they were friends now? He even considered him for SecDef. What happened? pic.twitter.com/ugEaGIsEtD

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 22, 2024

Now, after getting hit pretty hard by Trump and his surrogates, DeSantis helped raise considerable money for Trump during the election, and while DeSantis did not campaign for Trump, he did endorse him for the election.

I honestly have no idea what Trump’s problem with DeSantis is at this point, but there is clearly something there.

As far as that seat is concerned, my belief is that DeSantis will likely appoint an ally to the seat that agrees to give up the seat in 2026, which is the end of Rubio’s original term.

This will enable Governor DeSantis, who is termed out of the governor’s mansion, to run for the Senate in 2026 to keep his profile relevant for another White House run in 2032 or 2036.

Regardless of how Trump does this upcoming term, I think DeSantis will sit out since JD Vance is likely to be the favorite.

If Vance loses in 2028, I think DeSantis will come back strong in 2032 as the favorite.