Republicans could be facing a bitter primary battle in Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) chose the state’s attorney general to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the Senate.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), a Trump ally, suggested he might run for Ashley Moody’s seat in 2026, with her support for President-elect Donald Trump as his litmus test.
“We’re keeping our eye on the seat,” Mills told reporters on Thursday. “We’ll see how she votes and how she supports the president.”
Trump endorsed Moody’s reelection campaign in 2022, and she is generally seen as a conservative, acting as a thorn in President Joe Biden’s side on immigration in her capacity as Florida attorney general.
But Moody also endorsed DeSantis over Trump in last year’s presidential primary, a decision that has put other Republicans in Trump’s bad graces.
Moody promised to support Trump in a statement released after DeSantis’s appointment, and she has the backing of Rubio, who is on a glide path to be confirmed as his secretary of state.
“Ultimately, the relationship will be about supporting the president’s agenda,” Rubio told the Washington Examiner. “He has a mandate to execute on great promises that he was elected to keep, and he intends to keep them. I have every reason to believe she’ll be supportive of that agenda.”
Still, there were signs that the MAGA Right may not be on board with the selection.
Communications staff with the Republican National Committee circulated news of Mills mulling a primary bid to a curated listserv that included RNC leadership, staff, members, and surrogates, according to an email viewed by the Washington Examiner.
The RNC is co-chaired by Lara Trump, the incoming president’s daughter-in-law, who expressed interest in the seat but withdrew from consideration last month.
“Someone decided it was important to undercut this Senate appointment and amplify a message highlighting division within the narrow Republican majority in Congress,” said a Republican operative familiar with the RNC. “The last time I checked, the RNC was supposed to be the Republican National Committee, not the Corey Mills campaign committee. Is this the approach the RNC is going to take over the next two years?”
The RNC and Moody’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Republican senators downplayed the consequences of Moody siding with DeSantis, noting her lawsuits against the Biden administration and handling of criminal charges against Ryan Routh, Donald Trump’s second would-be assassin.
“An attorney general who supports her governor in her own state for president is almost a given,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), another Trump confidant, noted he initially endorsed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for president over Trump. Burgum is now on track to be confirmed as Trump’s Interior Department secretary. Several other past presidential rivals, including Rubio, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), are all now close allies.
“There are people who literally ran against Donald Trump who worked very well with him in the Senate, and she’ll have her opportunity to do the same thing,” Cramer said of Moody.
Still, Trump has not forgiven all of the Republicans who endorsed DeSantis, including ex-Rep. Bob Good, the former Freedom Caucus chairman who lost to a Trump-backed challenger in November.
Mills told CNN he would consult with Trump on whether he should challenge Moody for the seat, hanging a primary threat over her head before she is even sworn into the chamber. He previously spoke with DeSantis about receiving the Senate appointment, as did Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL).
Cammack’s office declined to comment on whether she would consider a run. She told reporters prior to Moody’s selection that the decision was premature and her ambitions would be contingent on “how that person does.”
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Senate Democrats, meanwhile, were antsy to see a contentious primary fight in a state Republicans have come to dominate.
“Days into the start of the 2026 cycle, Republicans’ already challenging Senate map just became more difficult for them as they’re forced to defend yet another seat,” said David Bergstein, the spokesman for the campaign arm of Senate Democrats. “Their candidate brings a long and controversial record that will face close scrutiny from the voters, along with a potential challenge from within her own party.”
Cami Mondeaux contributed to this report.
