Trump, DeSantis, Dems shake up race.

President Donald Trump turned the Florida governor’s race on its head just before the holidays when Trump threw his support behind a Republican many Floridians don’t even know.

In a pre-Christmas tweet, Trump declared that Ron DeSantis, a congressman from Flagler County, “would make a GREAT Governor of Florida.”

Trump called the 39-year-old former Navy lawyer “a brilliant young leader” who “loves our Country and is a true FIGHTER!”

With a few strokes of his ALLCAP keys, Trump essentially dumped Twitter droppings all over the gubernatorial ambitions of Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

One day, those two guys were viewed as Republican front-runners. The next, Republicans all over America — including some with very deep pockets — were backing DeSantis.

A Politico headline told the story: “Billionaire kingmakers swarm Florida governor’s race after Trump endorsement.” How fortunes change. Now, Trump’s support for DeSantis wasn’t totally surprising. DeSantis, after all, is a Tea Party favorite who has repeatedly praised Trump, knocked the media and pushed to cut funding for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. And it’s well known that Trump most loves those who first love him.

Still, DeSantis’s “Leadership Team” now includes GOP power players such as Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson and Orlando timeshare king David Siegel.

Putnam quickly went from looking like the GOP heir apparent to looking like Bill McCollum — another career politician adored by the establishment but who lost the governor’s race to a previously unknown rabblerouser named Rick Scott.

And Corcoran — a guy who loves to talk about shaking up the establishment — suddenly looks like a piker, now that America’s Shaker-in-Chief backed someone else. (It didn’t help Corcoran that the Tampa Bay Times also revealed he had been living high on the hog, enjoying private planes, cigars and pricey restaurants with money donated by some of the very special interests he’s vowed to take on.)

Suddenly, the Republican primary looks wide open.

But there’s also something interesting happening on the other side of the aisle where Democrats may have something they haven’t had in years … a chance.

Normally, I wouldn’t bet on Florida Democrats if they were the only candidates in the race.

Seriously, these people could find a way to lose the Daytona 500 if they were given a 499-mile head start.

Even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in Florida, Dems have managed to win only one statewide race in the past

decade. That’s only one more victory than the Florida Party of Socialism and Liberation (with its 241 members) notched during the same time.

Finally, though, Democrats have some new things going for them this year.

They have an energized base that is already flipping districts and winning tough races all over America as voters do what they usually do — look to balance things out when one party controls everything.

And, in a bit of a surprise, the Democrats also have some decent candidates.

In 2014, the Democrats’ best hope rested on the shoulders of Charlie Crist — a Democrat who wasn’t even a Democrat the last time he’d run for office and lost.

This year, however, the Democratic field is led by former Congresswoman Gwen Graham — the daughter of Bob Graham, one of the most popular governors in modern Florida history — who is knowledgeable on the issues and has campaigning in her blood.

Democrats also have a couple of dark horses — Philip Levine, the Miami Beach mayor with a net worth reportedly around $100 million, and Orlando businessman Chris King, who is trying to spark a fire with his faith-based liberalism, arguing that God compels us to do better on everything from the environment to neglected children.

Frankly, there’s no telling yet how this thing will shake out. There are other candidates out there. Some of the folks above will fade long before Election Day. What matters most — what I’ll be studying — is the track records of all these people. Not their ads. Not their tweets or their donors. What they’ve actually done.

But the exciting news is that Florida’s race is wide open.

Thanks to the winds of political change. Thanks to unusually organized Democrats. And thanks to Donald Trump.