The MAGA movement, led by President Trump, is aiming to expand into governors’ mansions across the country. A few prominent allies of Trump are pursuing gubernatorial bids, viewing it as a way to expand the MAGA agenda beyond Washington and set themselves up for potential future bids for higher office. This means looking beyond 2028, when Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are viewed as the heavy favorites to lead the GOP presidential ticket.
Rep. Byron Donalds (Fla.) is running for governor in Florida, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) is running in Tennessee, Vivek Ramaswamy is campaigning in Ohio, Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.) is seeking the GOP nomination in Arizona, and Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) is part of a crowded primary field in South Carolina. Republicans are considering running for the White House or serving in a Cabinet position, as they may find themselves in the minority after next year’s midterms, pending the results of ongoing redistricting battles.
Trump already has some GOP allies serving as governors around the country, such as Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, South Carolina Gov. Harry McMaster, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. However, a limited number of GOP governors came to prominence alongside Trump or have been part of his political movement from the start.
Donalds served in the Florida House of Representatives during Trump’s first term, and he was elected to Congress in 2020 when Trump was on the presidential ballot. He was one of Trump’s most prominent surrogates during his criminal trial and on the campaign trail in 2024. Blackburn was first elected to the Senate in 2018, tying herself closely to Trump and campaigning alongside him to defeat former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D).
Biggs was first elected to the House in 2016, the same year Trump first appeared on the ballot. He has echoed Trump’s rhetoric on immigration and other issues, including claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Mace has had a complicated relationship with Trump and the MAGA movement, working on Trump’s 2016 campaign but being endorsed by Trump in 2022.
Trump has already endorsed Donalds in Florida and Ramaswamy in Ohio, and jointly endorsed Biggs and Karrin Taylor Robson in Arizona. He has yet to weigh in on the gubernatorial races in Tennessee or South Carolina, where a backing by Trump could tip the scales.
