Ron DeSantis responds to speculation his wife Casey wants to run for Florida governor... while he is tipped as a favorite in Trump's running mate race

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded Monday to the political buzz surrounding his wife Casey - that she could take his place in the Florida governor's mansion in two years.

There's long been speculation that Florida's popular first lady could do two terms as governor after her husband is term-limited out. 

And last month a Florida Atlantic University poll found that Casey was way ahead of Rep. Matt Gaetz in the early survey. 

'If I had to characterize her interest in getting into the political thicket as a candidate, I wouls say, I would characterize it as zero,' DeSantis said at a press conference in Coral Gables.

'But, you know, I think it's because she has had a front row seat on all the nonsense that goes on when you do it,' the former 2024 presidential candidate added. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Casey DeSantis' interest in running for Florida governor in 2026 was 'zero' during a press conference on Monday in Coral Gables, Florida 

Casey DeSantis (right) was frequently at her husband's side during his 2024 presidential run. Here she and the florida governor (left) visit volunteers in Iowa in the days ahead of the caucus

Casey, a former TV news reporter, and the couple's three children were constant fixtures on the presidential campaign trail earlier this year. 

In early polling of the 2026 gubernatorial race, 38 percent of Florida voters said they'd choose her over Gaetz to be the state's next governor. 

Gaetz received the support of just 16 percent of the electorate, while 20 percent said they'd like to see a different candidate and 26 percent were unsure of who they would back.

Meanwhile over the weekend at former President Donald Trump's massive Wildwood, New Jersey rally, supporters of the ex-president liked the idea of DeSantis for Trump's VP. 

'I like DeSantis,' 80-year-old Linda Donnelly, who traveled down to the rally from Long Island, told DailyMail.com. 'Because he's very much like Trump but with a little - I don't want to use the word class - what would be another word? He's Trump but with a little bit better vocabulary.' 

Nancy Martin, a 62-year-old cosmetologist who traveled to the rally from Baltimore, Maryland, also backed DeSantis as a good Trump vice presidential pick.

'My first pick is DeSantis,' she said. 'Because I love him,' she laughed. 

Casey DeSantis (left) has long been considered someone who could take her husband's place in the Florida governor's mansion once he's term-limited out 

'Because he's a great governor, I think he's fantastic and he's America First.' 

DeSantis' well-funded 2024 campaign ran out of steam in late January, ahead of the New Hampshire primary after he came in a distant second place in Iowa after spending months there on the ground. 

The Florida governor said on a call in February that he would not want to be Trump's VP. 

There's also a constitutional hitch for DeSantis - and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who Trump's donors want considered - as the  12th Amendment prevents electors from picking a president and vice president from the same state.

Trump changed his residency from New York to Florida in October 2019.