Reports have surfaced that Florida’s Republican leaders have suggested their willingness to change legislation to allow Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to run for President in 2024.
Florida State House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) and Florida’s Senate Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) agreed they would be willing to change legislation, revealing it would be a “good idea” to clarify that DeSantis wouldn’t be required to resign as Governor, should he become the GOP’s Presidential nominee.
During the midterms, DeSantis handily won a second four-year team, beating his Democratic rival by 20 points.
Speculation that DeSantis would pursue a Presidential run in 2024 has been ongoing. However, when discussing DeSantis’s potential bid, which is likely what is spurring the discussion around legislation changes, Passidomo didn’t mention DeSantis by name.
Instead, Passidomo told reporters, “if an individual who is Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it.”
The legislation change would be a departure from Florida’s current law, which requires someone running for a new office to submit an irrevocable resignation letter should the term of their new office overlap.
In 2008, the law was changed to accommodate then-Governor Charlie Crist’s ambitions of the vice Presidency, but those changes were reversed four years ago.
Former Governor Rick Scott also benefited from the 2008 carveout, which enables those whose terms are coming to an end to remaining in their current office. Scott’s term was coming to a close when he defeated Sen. Bill Nelson and remained in office until the day he was inaugurated.
However, DeSantis wouldn’t benefit from such a carve-out.
