OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Many political observers are anticipating that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will contend for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination shortly after the state’s current legislative session ends later this year. But there is one hurdle that would need to be cleared first, according to a report published on Thursday.
The Florida legislative session kicked off on Tuesday with a multitude of bills already scheduled for review over the next two months. However, a bill aimed at the Resign-to-Run law was notably absent from the docket, according to Florida’s Speaker of the House office, as confirmed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The law mandates that DeSantis must resign from his current position before qualifying for a presidential run, but the legislature must first clarify the qualifications required. Political experts in Florida believe that the time to do so is now, the outlet added.
“When is a person qualified, under Florida law, to be president of the United States?” Jaime Miller, former executive director of the Florida Republican Party, told the news agency. “I think they will do it this session because there is a timeliness issue.”
With many speculating that DeSantis will make a decision on his presidential candidacy after the legislative session concludes in May, it would be prudent for the legislature to address the Resign-to-Run bill beforehand, the report continued.
The Resign-to-Run law underwent changes in 2007 when then-Governor Charlie Crist contended for the vice presidency. However, in 2018, then-Governor Rick Scott restored the previous restriction, prohibiting Florida officeholders from seeking federal positions without first resigning.
According to Miller, the legislature plans to address the ambiguity in the bill by introducing an amendment that clearly defines what it means to “qualify” for higher office. He anticipates that the amendment will specify that a candidate only qualifies for the presidency once they become the party’s official nominee. This clarification could potentially give DeSantis some leeway in his candidacy, the DCNF reported.
Although the current law is legally interpreted to require DeSantis’ resignation only if he becomes the Republican nominee, a Tallahassee-based lobbyist familiar with legislative discussions told the news agency that a clarification is still probable.
“I think the legislature is going to fix it to say that he would not have to resign until he took the oath of office for the presidency, and therefore, if he’s unsuccessful, he could come back and serve as governor,” the lobbyist said. “You don’t want to disincentivize a sitting governor from running for the presidency for fear that ‘if I lose the presidency, then I can’t serve out my term as governor.’”
Previously, House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo told Politico that they would back legislation that permits the governor to run for president without the necessity of resigning.
Miller pointed out that both the leaders of the House and Senate have significant legislative agendas that they are keen to enact, and that dealing with the Resign-to-Run law can be postponed until later in the session. Amending the law would not be deemed a major policy shift, but rather a clarification, the outlet said.
“It’s maybe not even worthy of a whole bill. It’s probably something that gets tacked on as an amendment somewhere, because it’s not a major piece of legislation that’s groundbreaking for the people of Florida. It’s a definition fix in state law,” Miller told the DCNF.
According to Ben Torpey, a Republican Florida political consultant, it remains to be seen when the legislature will address the Resign-to-Run law. They may choose to prioritize other major pieces of legislation initially to prevent a potential DeSantis run from dominating the next two months.
The DCNF added:
The legislature might wait until the final weeks of the session to clarify this law so it aligns with an expected presidential announcement from DeSantis, said Torpey. It would be the “cherry on top” of their conservative agenda.
“He has so much control over the legislature,” said Torpey. “DeSantis gets whatever the hell he wants.”
