Collins, 49, had been rumored to be the pick to succeed Jeanette Nuñez for months, telling the Phoenix in May that were his name in the mix, “that’s an incredible honor.”
Speaking at the Green Beret Association in Tampa just north of MacDill Air Force Base, DeSantis said he looked for a lieutenant governor who could help deliver “more wins” for Floridians and be capable of leading the state should he leave his job before he is term-limited out of office in January 2027.
“You have to be strong on policy and you have to have a record of delivering big, conservative results,” DeSantis said.
“You’ve got to have a foundation of conservative principles. Rudderless ships will never find true north, and it’s very important that people bring with that, because we can talk about issues right now. A year from now into the future, you don’t know what’s going to go your way, so what are you going to look to as your frame of reference as you tackle big issues.”
The governor referenced Collins’ military career, including his service as a Special Forces medic in the U.S. Army and later as a member of the Green Berets. He was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and twice to South America. He was awarded a Purple Heart and sustained injuries that led to the amputation of a leg.
Collins works as chief operating officer for Operation BBQ Relief, which distributes meals to Americans following natural disasters. In June, he traveled to the Middle East to help Floridians return to the United States during a military conflict between Israel and Iran.
“He was in these countries during the middle of a war, personally helping to rescue his fellow Floridians and fellow Americans,” DeSantis said. “Sen. Jay Collins is the Chuck Norris of Florida politics.”
In his speech, Collins thanked DeSantis, calling him “The GOAT,” and used military argot in describing how he plans to address his role as the state’s new lieutenant governor.
“The battlefield, it may change, but the mission stays the same,” he said. “We are going to protect and preserve every single thing that matters. We will not stop our fight. We will not slow down, we will continue to take the fight forward, because this is not politics, it is about people. It is about the people who are in this audience, the people we fight for, and the people we remember each and every day.”
Collins promised to be “relentless in the pursuit of excellence.”
“Excellence is a choice. We will not falter. We will not fail. We will not stop. Until we keep fighting and achieve excellence, all we do is the Florida standard, and that is my promise to you, governor.”
Political background
Collins, a resident of Hillsborough County, first came on the political scene in 2021, when he announced he would challenge Democrat Kathy Castor for Congress.
Shortly after that, DeSantis himself recruited Collins to skip that race and instead run for the District 14 state Senate seat in 2022 that had been held by Democrat Janet Cruz. Collins went on to defeat Cruz by 10 percentage points and quickly became a close political ally of the governor.
He has been a consistently conservative voice in the Senate since then. Among the bills he has championed was legislation to repeal the state law that bans the purchase of a long gun for anyone under 21 years of age. It passed the House but languished in the Senate.
He’s been a stalwart supporter of Hope Florida, the community-based welfare program initiated by First Lady Casey DeSantis that came under fire earlier this year and whose foundation is reportedly being investigated by state prosecutors.
The question on everyone’s minds during Tuesday’s press conference (which Casey DeSantis — for a while all but promoted by the governor as a possible successor — attended) is whether Collins would run for governor of Florida next year, taking on U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and has raised more than $22 million.
Neither DeSantis nor Collins took questions from news reporters following the press conference. Collins did tell a group of reporters earlier this month in Orlando that while he would not say whether he would enter the race, he did believe that some other Republican needed to take on Donalds.
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Tampa’s Jay Collins, a potential candidate, says Florida governor’s race needs ‘competition’
“I think competition’s good for anybody,” he said. “And look, I don’t want anybody to say anything. I have no umbrage with Byron. I don’t. I believe we should have a choice. Byron is a conservative leader. His family have done great things in the community. And, in the end, you know, what I think our government, our people, our world works better with choice, and we will see where life goes, but, in the end, we’re going to be okay. Florida’s in a great position.”
Donalds congratulated Collins on being appointed lieutenant governor, writing on X, “I wish him all the best and look forward to working together on behalf of our great state.”
‘Performative’ politics
DeSantis has made it clear that he is looking to support someone other than Donalds next year.
“Politics has become so performative, we often lose sight of why you’re really there,” he said at one point Tuesday in praise of Collins.
“It’s not to emote on social media. It’s not to get on as many TV shows as possible. Jay embodies one of our core principals. While words can be meaningful, it’s ultimately deeds that are the most powerful. You’re in office to deliver results for the people who put you there, not to serve your own personal interests. And I think that Jay’s life story has been the embodiment of that.”
Not everyone was in support of the pick.
DeSantis Watch, an organization critical of the governor, issued a statement contending that “the list of politicians willing to be associated with his failed agenda of higher costs and fewer freedoms has dwindled.”
“With the selection of Jay Collins it is clear the only supposed allies the Governor has left are other politicians looking to play on his own narcissistic need for complete and total fealty to advance their own quests for higher office,” DeSantis Watch communications director Anders Croy said.
“It is a testament to how Ron DeSantis views his job as an elected official that the qualifications for a constitutional officer are not whether you have real solutions to lower costs or raise wages for Floridians, but whether you’re willing to stand beside his administration as its last days are defined by bullying, corruption, and political ambition over doing what’s right for the hardworking people of our state.”
Several Republican legislators were on hand, including Panhandle Rep. Michelle Salzman, who, like Collins, served in the U.S. Army. She said it was important for her to travel to Tampa to observe the event. But she evaded the question of whether she would support Collins if he runs for governor.
“I’m going to let him decide that,” she said while laughing. “I don’t want to get into the middle of all of that. But I am very excited for him. I love him very much. He’s a phenomenal leader.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
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This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2025.