Pictured: Byron Donalds and Joe Gruters.

A slate of candidates for Florida statewide office backed by President Donald Trump, one that includes Sarasota Republican Joe Gruters, is quickly coming into view. And this is happening with such swiftness it may just box out the expected competition for every major office on the ballot in 2026.

Trump this week encouraged and effectively endorsed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds to run for Governor. While we await a formal announcement, Donalds already said one is “coming soon.”

Gruters, who quietly filed for Chief Financial Office last year with a Trump endorsement already in hand, figures the support of the nation’s chief executive presets the course of the entire election cycle.

“It sends an undeniable message that Trump has a long memory and anybody who dares challenge his endorsed candidates in Florida will find themselves caught in his crosshairs,” Gruters said.

That seemed a ready swipe at First Lady Casey DeSantis, and Trump reported issued his endorsement of Donalds the same day Gov. Ron DeSantis expected to lobby the President at a Republican Governors Association dinner and ask the president to support his wife. The Florida Governor, who once rode a Trump endorsement to a GOP nomination for statewide office, rather unforgettably challenged Trump for the presidential nomination last year.

Those around Gruters think the Donalds endorsement also helps the Sarasota Republican. DeSantis will soon name a CFO to serve out the term of Jimmy Patronis, who will leave the Cabinet post by April because he is running for Congress. No one right now expects DeSantis to appoint Gruters, with whom he repeatedly butted heads during Gruters’ tenure as Republican Party of Florida chairman and especially after Gruters became the first Florida state lawmaker to endorse Trump’s comeback campaign for the White House. Most expect Gruters to instead appoint state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, the Republican who rallied senators to endorse DeSantis over Trump and got most of the chamber on the team.

But does a DeSantis appointee have a chance against a Trump-backed Gruters?

"Make no mistake. There will be two slates in '26. The DeSantis slate and the Trump slate,” said Max Goodman, a consultant who long worked with Gruters. “And if your name begins with Casey or Blaise you're in for one helluva bumpy ride."

Of course, it’s entirely possible Team Gruters — and Team Donalds — are overestimating the staying power of Trump’s support. Based on history, there’s every reason to think Trump’s popularity will be much lower by the time the midterm elections roll around. That’s the nature of a presidential election energizing the opposition party while his supporters, many of whom only show up for presidential elections, lose interest or suffer disappointment a president’s policies haven’t magically made their life better in less than two years.

However, I repeatedly hear that within Republican circles, Trump’s endorsement has never been powerful than it has ever been in a GOP primary, and perhaps more powerful than any party leader’s endorsement has been.

Florida is a Republican state now. Heck, even if Democrats miraculously change that by next November, Republican voters in the state feel less inclined to hedge bets with a moderate than they likely have ever been.

At the very least, the battle to watch next year will be on the Republican side, and Sarasota has produced one of the key players in that race. Now we all will wait to see if Gruters successfully moves on the bigger things beyond Sarasota’s political world.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor for SRQ MEDIA.

Pictured: Byron Donalds and Joe Gruters.