Sen. Jay Collins wants Hope Florida, a program spearheaded by First Lady Casey DeSantis, to continue its work.
“I love the program. I’m a firm believer in it,” he told a Republican gathering in Orlando.
The Tampa Republican touted the program’s particular efforts to help veterans in Florida during a panel at the Florida Freedom Forum, an event organized by the Republican Party of Florida.
In comments to the press later, he said the directive of Hope Florida to get individuals off government assistance programs remains more popular among Florida lawmakers than some observers may believe after the last Legislative Session.
“A lot of people actually still support Hope Florida. I do. Now I’m not going to speak for everybody. I hate when people put words in my mouth, but the fact is, I believe in it. And I say this as someone who grew up on welfare. I grew up on commodity cheese. I grew up without anything. What I had to overcome were gaps in knowledge, gaps in connections, and gaps in just understanding,” Collins said.
“That’s where the government can make a difference in bringing people together, bringing people to assets, doing that fostering and that connective piece. That’s vital. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and hope Florida really makes a difference. And I’ll tell you this, as someone who is on the ground in disasters with my nonprofit, we’ve had millions of people, millions of people, and Hope Florida is out there making a difference in what they do every day. It makes a difference.”
Collins led the first panel of the day at the Republican Freedom Forum, speaking as rumors swirl Gov. Ron DeSantis may name him as the state’s Lieutenant Governor. He also discussed that prospect with reporters.
“Look, I love the Governor. This is his decision. I support whatever he does,” Collins said.
“Our state is in a wonderful position because of his leadership. I have complete faith and trust that he’ll make the right decision. And if that means that I become lieutenant governor, fantastic. If it means that I go stay as a state Senator and work in my nonprofit, that’s fantastic too. Because you know what? I get to serve our state. This after growing up in a trailer without two wood nickels to rub together. This is the American dream. This is incredible, and I am so grateful to serve, however I’m asked to serve.”
That raised the prospect of whether Collins will run for Governor in 2026, regardless of whether DeSantis brings him into the administration.
“There’s a lot of time in any election between now and then, and historically, you don’t ever have just one candidate in the primary,” Collins said. “Whether I ever decide to step into the arena or somebody else does, I think there’s a high chance that somebody will step in. But in the end, man, this is about getting the best candidate forward. We are what I call the conservative proving grounds of America.”
But he held back from criticizing the one major Republican candidate already in the race, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.
“I have no umbrage with Byron. I don’t,” he said. “I believe you 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’ll see where life goes.”
The panel conversation at points turned to his own legislative record. Rep. Patt Maney, also on the panel, touted legislation he crafted with Collins to address child care needs for military spouses.
He espoused a conservative philosophy in line with the Governor, and also discussed his own hopes to largely remake the Veterans’ Affairs Department in the state.
“You’re not going to fix the problem with more government, with more people, more money, you have to re-imagine, re-envision how we do it,” the Tampa Republican said.
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