TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie stepped down Tuesday, just a day after Lt. Gov. Jay Collins selected him as his running mate in the race for governor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he accepted Guthrie’s resignation and wished him well, while stressing that political campaigning should remain separate from the state’s emergency management operation.
“If people want to choose politics, more power to them,” DeSantis said during an appearance in Sarasota. “I didn’t necessarily think that was something that Kevin aspired to, but given that he’s doing that, I think it’s important that we have emergency management just focused on emergency management.”
To fill the role, DeSantis said he is turning to Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue to lead the state’s emergency management agency.
A spokesperson for the governor’s office said Perdue will serve as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management while continuing in his current post as transportation secretary.
Although Florida has not been hit by a hurricane since 2024, the Atlantic hurricane season runs through Nov. 30. DeSantis said the leadership change would not weaken the state’s ability to respond to storms or other emergencies.
“It’s a well-oiled machine,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got a lot of great people over there. We’re not going to miss a beat. But I don’t want to be in a situation where there’s politics and emergency management. I think you got to choose one or the other.”
Collins, whom DeSantis appointed lieutenant governor in August 2025 after former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez departed to become president of Florida International University, announced Guthrie as his running mate Monday night, hours before Tuesday’s primary election.
“Kevin and I didn’t meet at a fundraiser. We met on a mission. He’s spent his career running toward the problem, from 23 years in law enforcement to leading Florida through hurricanes, disasters, and some of our toughest moments,” Collins wrote in a social media post. “This office will not be ceremonial. Together, we will protect our infrastructure, protect our people, and make sure Florida is ready for whatever comes next.”
Collins is vying with U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, for the GOP nomination, along with former House Speaker Paul Renner and conservative activist James Fishback.
Guthrie was appointed FDEM director in 2021 and has overseen the state’s emergency response to more than 20 disaster declarations, including six major hurricane landfalls.
He managed evacuation flights of Florida residents from areas in conflict – including Haiti in 2024 and Israel in 2023 – and flights of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Democratic-led states in 2022.
Under his leadership, FDEM has created and managed the state’s immigration detention facilities, including Alligator Alcatraz, which closed this summer, and Deportation Depot.
Guthrie was paid $200,850 a year by the state.
Perdue, with an annual salary of $297,845, was tapped to run the Department of Transportation in April 2022. At the time he had been with the agency for about 18 years, working as secretary of District Five in Central Florida.
He has overseen DeSantis’ $7 billion Moving Florida Forward infrastructure initiative designed to speed up work on 20 major road projects and lately joined DeSantis to announce that testing on electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft will be underway by the end of the year at the SunTrax test facility in Polk County.
