(USNewsMag.com) – It has been commonly assumed that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will campaign for the presidency of the United States in 2024, yet he’s prohibited from doing so by state law, “Resign-to-Run,” unless he first resigns from his position as governor of Florida.
The office of the Speaker of the House in Florida said that a lengthy number of measures for the legislative session for the state are currently scheduled, with the exception of a measure to make a change to the Resign-to-Run statute.
DeSantis would have to retire from office before he could qualify to run for president. The Resign-to-Run rule was modified in 2007 and reverted back to its original intent in 2018.
DeSantis would only be required to step down if he becomes the GOP candidate, according to the existing law’s reading, but clarifying language is still possible. The legislature plans to amend the law so he will not be forced to retire as governor unless and until he is sworn into office as president.
The former Florida GOP Party director, Tim Miller, predicted that an amendment would be added to the measure to clarify what “qualifying for higher office” meant. He thinks they should make it clear that a candidate would become eligible to run for president when they become the party’s nominee.
Both Kathleen Passidomo, Senate President, and Paul Renner, House Speaker, have already said they would back legislation enabling the Florida governor to campaign for the presidency without resigning from office.
Miller said that a clarification, rather than a radical shift in policy, is all that would result from revising the Resign-to-Run statute.
A prior Republican Congressional candidate, Bryan Leib, has indicated that the state legislature’s response to this proposal would be instructive. The absence of legislation may suggest that DeSantis is not going to run for president or plans to resign to compete for president.
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