Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t said whether or not he will run for president in 2024, state lawmakers are willing to change state law to smooth the way for him.
“Both House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), both of whom were sworn into their new posts on Tuesday, agreed it would be a ‘good idea’ to make it clear that DeSantis would not have to resign if he wound up becoming the GOP nominee,” Politico reports.
Florida Legislature poised to change law to aid a DeSantis presidential run – POLITICO https://t.co/IGqkCfhNg1
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) November 22, 2022
Florida’s top Republican leaders say they are willing to change state law to smooth the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president in 2024.https://t.co/yLWGSPN6pT
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) November 23, 2022
“If an individual who is Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it,” Passidomo told reporters.
“I really do. That’s a big honor and a privilege, so it is a good idea.”
Cont. from Politico:
Florida law requires anyone running for a new office to put in an irrevocable letter of resignation ahead of qualifying if the terms of the two offices overlap. The law was changed in 2008 to open the door for then-Gov. Charlie Crist to seek the vice presidency, but legislators reversed course four years ago and put back in a place a requirement that someone seeking federal office would have to resign ahead of the actual election.
The 2008 law did include a carve-out for someone whose term is about to end, but that would not apply to DeSantis. The carve-out allowed then-Gov. Rick Scott, who defeated incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson that year, to remain in office until the day DeSantis was inaugurated.
Renner said that proved state legislators had been “inconsistent” about the state’s resign-to-run law, and that was one reason he was open to changing it again.
POLITICO reported earlier this month that those close to DeSantis say he has not made a final decision about running for president, but that if he does, he would likely wait until after the 2023 session that starts in March.
That would also be the time the Florida Legislature, which now has a GOP supermajority in both chambers, would consider changes to state election law. Florida legislators routinely pass election law changes in non-election years.
As WeLoveTrump previously reported, a new poll by Emerson College shows President Trump defeating Governor Ron DeSantis quite easily in the 2024 Republican primary.
The poll showed Trump has 55% of Republican votes compared to DeSantis’s 25%.
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