Jeanette Núñez could be the next governor of Florida. Here’s what you need to know

If Gov. Ron DeSantis is appointed to President-Elect Donald Trump’s new administration, Núñez would become Florida’s first Cuban-American and first female governor.

As President-elect Donald Trump considers Ron DeSantis to lead the Pentagon, Floridians may be wondering who would take his place as governor if he accepts a role in the new administration.

According to state law, that would be Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Núñez. This would make Núñez, 52, Florida’s first Cuban American and first female governor.

Born and raised in Miami, Núñez was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2010, where she served as a state representative from 2010 to 2018, and was named Speaker Pro Tempore from 2016 to 2018. While serving in that role, Núñez was picked by DeSantis as his running mate. She was elected as Florida’s first Hispanic female Lieutenant Governor in 2018 and was reelected in 2022.

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In her career, Núñez has successfully sponsored several bills that became law, including legislation to improve Florida’s programming for diabetes management and treatment and address opioid addiction, as well as measures to better serve sexually exploited children, and heighten programming requirements for domestic abusers seeking probation.

At the same time, Núñez has been a strong ally of DeSantis in promoting his hard-right policies on topics such as immigration, removing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) education in colleges and universities, and the state’s ban of books in public school libraries over so-called “indoctrination.”

She has not always seen eye to eye with DeSantis, however. During the 2014 legislative session, for example, Núñez proposed legislation to allow children of undocumented immigrants to pay the same in-state tuition rates for college as other Floridians, a measure that was approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Almost a decade later, in 2023, DeSantis led an effort to repeal the law, saying the state should not “subsidize” the education of non-citizens, an effort that failed. 

If she becomes Florida governor, Núñez will be the highest-ranking Hispanic woman to be elected in state history, and the third woman to be lieutenant governor after Toni Jennings and Jennifer Carroll.

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