Florida Senate set to remove hurdle to Gov. DeSantis' White House bid
TALLAHASSEE - Florida Republicans are poised to change state law to allow GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president without having to leave office, according to legislation filed Tuesday.
The proposal would exempt presidential candidates from Florida's so-called resign to run law, which prohibits elected officials from qualifying as a candidate for another office that would overlap with their current term.
The legislative move was anticipated but its formal introduction marks one of the clearest signals yet that DeSantis plans to run.
Republicans, who control a supermajority in the statehouse, have largely focused on the governor's conservative priorities during the current legislative session, approving bills that will likely form much of the governor's platform when he launches his White House bid.
The resign to run exemption was filed by a GOP ally of DeSantis as an amendment to a larger Republican election law package expected to reach the Senate floor on Wednesday. Republican leaders of the House and Senate have both expressed their willingness to change the law.
DeSantis is currently overseas as part of an international trade mission to Japan, South Korea, Israel, and the United Kingdom. The governor in recent months has also ramped up his travel to U.S. battleground states for speeches and meetings with Republicans.
Questions have swirled for weeks about whether lawmakers would pursue such a change. DeSantis has not formally announced a presidential bid but is widely expected to run next year.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried slammed the state's GOP for doing DeSantis' bidding.
"Yet again, Florida Republicans in the legislature are doing the bidding of Ron DeSantis to serve his selfish ambitions. This entire legislative session, DeSantis has pushed the legislature to pass his extreme agenda of banning abortion and legislation that could make it easier for criminals to carry guns to boost his national profile and win over the MAGA base ahead of a potential presidential run. This is just the latest example of Florida Republicans enabling DeSantis's pursuit of his national ambition as he fails Floridians on the issues that affect them most."
There is precedent for changing the Florida law to help clear a path for potential candidates for higher office. In 2007, the Republican-controlled Legislature changed the law to prevent problems for then-Gov. Charlie Crist, who was being considered as a possible running mate for Republican John McCain in 2008. Crist later became a Democrat and challenged DeSantis for reelection last year.
Only a handful of states have similar resign-to-run laws.