Ron DeSantis resigns congressional seat to focus on gubernatorial race
Reporting by Ed O'Keefe
Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, informed House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, on Monday that he will resign his seat to focus on his bid to be Florida governor, according to a senior congressional official.
DeSantis faces Democrat Andrew Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, in November in a race to succeed term-limited Gov. Rick Scott. The race is tight -- a poll released last week by Quinnipiac deemed it "too close to call," with 50 percent of likely voters favoring Gillum, compared to 47 percent for DeSantis. The poll also says that among Florida likely voters who named a candidate, 94 percent say their minds are made up
The 39-year old DeSantis has represented Florida's 6th Congressional District since 2013.