Exclusive – The major conservative organisation, which has long been a major player in the GOP's major battle, places its weight behind the candidates approved by President Donald Trump, replacing Florida's term-limited Republican Ron DeSantis.
Club for Growth Pack is the political division of growth, public advocacy and organizations that approved Rep. Byron Donald at Florida's 2026 Governor Race on Tuesday. The development was first shared with Fox News.
Donald, a conservative former state legislator who represented Florida's 19th Congressional District in the southwestern part of the state, is now the only major Republican to launch his campaign.
Trump supporters and House Ally announced his candidacy when he appeared on Fox News “Hanity” late last month, days after landing the president's support.
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Rep. Byron Donald during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in National Harbor, Maryland on February 21, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Donald was supported by the club when he first won a seat in Congress in 2020. The club notes that they spent $2.5 million to help Donald emerge slightly from the nine-way Republican primary contest on the way to win the general election.
Donald also has 100% lifetime ratings by the group, tracking how members of Congress vote on economic issues. The club is promoting a financially conservative agenda focusing on tax cuts and other economic issues.
“Rep. Byron Donald is a proven constitutional conservative who has consistently demonstrated his commitment to economic policies to promote growth, school freedom and government principles,” Club for Growth PAC's David McIntosh told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Club for Growth Pack is proud to have supported Rep. Donald since its first election to Congress in 2020. We look forward to selecting him as Florida's next governor.”
Club for Growth PAC is a member of Club for Growth Action, which describes as “the largest independent and conservative super PAC in America.” The club notes that in the 2024 cycle, PAC-approved candidates won 73% of the race.
Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is considering a 2026 governor run in the race to take over her husband. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Donald's support is that Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is considering a 2026 governor's run to take over her husband in Tallahassee.
Trump and the first couple in Florida had breakfast together at the President's West Palm Beach Golf Course a week and a half ago, and also played a round of golf. The governor shared a photo of Trump with his wife from golf on social media.
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A Republican source in Florida confirmed to Fox News that the governor and first lady will use her face-to-face time with Trump to appeal to the president, in part to not engage further in the governor race beyond Donald's initial approval.
The president, who moved his major residence to Florida in 2019, took him to social media last month, writing that Donald, the leading representative of Trump on the 2024 campaign trail, would “become a truly great and powerful governor for Florida.”
Trump added that Donald “If he decides to run, I'll have my full and full support. Run, Byron, run!”
Byron Donald will speak in one of the capital's arenas on January 20, 2025, on the inauguration day of Washington, DC. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
An internal vote run for Donald's campaign showed lawmakers framing Casey DeSantis in single digits on the hypothetical GOP primary showdown. However, the survey suggested that Donald's lead had skyrocketed to over 20 points. Respondents have been informed that he is in favor of Trump.
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The club's support of Donald is their first effort to ensure that this cycle coincides with Trump in a prominent primary.
Former President Donald Trump will shake hands with the club for growing President David McIntosh as Trump speaks at the group's annual donor retreat at Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida on March 1, 2024. (Growth club)
Macintosh and the club are related to cards and up and down. He opposed him when he accepted him as an ally after running to the White House in 2016. In the 2022 cycle, Trump and the club collaborated in several well-known GOP primary elections, but they clashed into the battle for flammable Senate nominations in Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
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Additionally, the club was out with Trump as the Republican presidential race progressed in 2024. Trump repeatedly criticised MacIntosh and the club, calling them “clubs with no growth” and claiming they were “a collection of political misfits, globalists and losers.”
But Trump and MacIntosh made peace about a year ago, and Trump had put together the nominations for GOP President in March 2024, saying he was “returned to love” after being dropped for a long time.
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“I think you'll see a club for a club that works closely with his political team, President Trump,” MacIntosh told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview last month. “We will definitely work closely with his policy team to pass the tax bill. Many of the laws we both agree to are really important to help turn things around in the country.”
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