TALLAHASSEE, FL- Despite his insistence that he has no interest in running, Republicans in the Florida legislature are exploring changing a Florida law which would force the uber-popular governor of the state, Ron DeSantis, to resign as governor if he threw his hat into the ring for the 2024 Republican nomination, The Blaze reports.
Under Florida law, elected officials are required to tender their resignation if they seek another office where the term would overlap that of their current office.
“No person may qualify as a candidate for more than one public office, whether federal, state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other,” the Florida law says.
“No officer may qualify as a candidate for another state, district, county, or municipal office if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other without resigning from the office he or she presently holds.”
“The resignation is irrevocable,” it further states.
Despite DeSantis insisting he plans on finishing out his term as governor, to which he was just reelected to in a landslide over former Gov. Charlie Crist, Florida Republicans are attempting to amend the law so that if DeSantis does change his mind, he would not be impacted.
Two of Florida’s leading Republicans, House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo expressed the belief that it is a “good idea” to protect DeSantis if he indeed decides to run for president, Politico reported.
“If an individual who is Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it,” Passidomo said. “I really do. That’s a big honor and a privilege, so it is a good idea.”
In the case of Speaker Renner, he believes the law requires some tweaking due to the fact Florida lawmakers have been “inconsistent” about the state’s “resign-to-run” statute.
“You will find me to always try to hone toward being principled and consistent,” Renner said. “This is one area that, going back in history—you don’t have to go very far on a kind of two-second Google search—we’ve been totally inconsistent on. If you think that’s based on anything in your hypothetical, you would be right, and I’ll be very open and transparent about that.”
The law has been previously amended, having been so changed in 2008 when it was designed to allow Crist, then serving as governor, to seek the vice presidency as John McCain’s running mate.
Crist, then a Republican was never tapped for the position, with McCain selecting then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate in the ill-fated campaign against Barack Obama.
The law was thereafter changed back in 2018, where the “resign-to-run” provision was reinstated.
Any decision by DeSantis to run could be affected by the announcement of former President Donald Trump that he will seek the Republican nomination in 2024.
However despite that, a number of Republicans are floating DeSantis as a viable candidate to run in 2024, especially after he tromped Crist by around 20 percentage points in November’s election.
DeSantis is extremely popular within Republican circles, with some noting he is “Trump without the personality flaws.” The Florida governor has not been afraid to go against the establishment and so-called “politically correct” but largely unpopular issues such as critical race theory and sexual indoctrination of children.
He famously has fought against the Walt Disney Corporation, which criticized him and the Florida legislature after the passing of HB-1557, the Parental Rights in Education bill, which a release said “reinforces parents’ fundamental rights to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children.”
The bill, which mainstream media and radical leftists dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, “prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through 3rd grade and prohibits instruction that is not age appropriate for students…”
The bill built upon the Parents Bill of Rights bill signed into law in 2021 by DeSantis.
“Parents’ rights have been increasingly under assault around the nation, but in Florida we stand up for the rights of parents and the fundamental role they play in the education of their children,” DeSantis said when the bill was signed. “Parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school, and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old.”
Despite the rhetoric from radical leftists that the bill prohibits use of the word “gay” in schools, nowhere in the bill is that even hinted at.
After the bill was signed, Disney slammed the bill and DeSantis personally, which led him to dissolve the Walt Disney Corporation’s special status as part of the “Reedy Creek Improvement” tax district.
That decision is currently tied up in litigation. The special district allowed the Disney Corporation to establish their own zoning rules and regulations, run their own police and fire departments, and a number of other special privileges.
The district, according to CNN, incorporates about 25,000 acres in Orange and Osceola counties. Wikipedia notes the district “acts with the same authority and responsibility as a county government.”
In recent polling, DeSantis has closed the gap among Republicans with Trump, and in fact in some states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, has pulled ahead of the former president.
Many believe that DeSantis would enjoy broad appeal to more center-right Republicans and independents, as well as some moderate Democrats, while still enjoying popularity with most of the far-right, except the “Trump or nobody” contingent.
Things could get really interesting in the next twelve months. If DeSantis does decide to take a shot at the Republican nomination, it would likely wait until after the 2023 legislative session that begins next March.
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