{"id":2062,"date":"2023-03-17T09:57:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T14:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2023-03-17T09:57:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T14:57:05","slug":"while-all-eyes-are-on-desantis-for-a-presidential-run-a-florida-law-still-stands-in-his-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=2062","title":{"rendered":"While all eyes are on DeSantis for a presidential run, a Florida law still stands in his way"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycallernewsfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/DCNF-large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20340%2046'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-64.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-2063\" width=\"340\" height=\"46\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-64.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2063\" width=\"340\" height=\"46\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-64.png 340w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-64-300x41.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-64-293x40.png 293w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to run for the GOP nomination in 2024, but a Florida law would require him to resign as governor before he runs.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The legislature would need to clarify and amend the bill to allow for a smoother entrance into the race, but no such bill has been filed, according to the office of Florida\u2019s Speaker of the House.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The legislative session began Tuesday and many speculate the governor will announce his candidacy once it concludes in May, so action on this bill is timely, Florida experts say.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is widely expected to run for president in 2024, but a state law bars him from doing so if he doesn\u2019t resign as governor first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state\u2019s legislative session began Tuesday, and a long list of bills are already on the docket for the next two months, except for a bill that would target the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/Statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0000-0099\/0099\/Sections\/0099.012.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Resign-to-Run<\/a>&nbsp;law, Florida\u2019s Speaker of the House\u2019s office confirmed with the Daily Caller News Foundation. The law would require DeSantis to resign from office before \u201cqualifying\u201d for a presidential run, but the legislature must clarify what the qualifications are, and the time to do so is now, Florida political experts told the DCNF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen is a person qualified, under Florida law, to be president of the United States?\u201d Jaime Miller, former executive director of the Florida Republican Party, told the DCNF. \u201cI think they will do it this session because there is a timeliness issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/03\/06\/ahead-likely-2024-announcement-desantis-will-head-early-primary-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">believe<\/a>&nbsp;DeSantis will make a presidential decision once this legislative session concludes in May, so it would make sense for the legislature to address this bill before then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Resign-to-Run law was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/floridapolitics.com\/archives\/260196-resign-to-run-bill-signed-into-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">altered<\/a>&nbsp;in 2007 when then-Gov. Charlie Crist sought the vice presidency, but was changed back in 2018 by then-Gov. Rick Scott, once again restricting Florida office-holders from seeking federal positions without resigning first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislature will \u201cclean up\u201d the bill\u2019s gray area via an amendment that specifically defines what qualifying for higher office means, said Miller. He believes they will clarify that a candidate doesn\u2019t qualify for president until they are the party nominee, which would give DeSantis some leeway in running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legal interpretation of the current law is that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/02\/24\/desantis-leads-polls-trump-field-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DeSantis<\/a>&nbsp;would only have to resign if he became the Republican nominee, however, a clarification is still likely, a Tallahassee-based lobbyist familiar with the legislative discussions told the DCNF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI 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\u2019s unsuccessful, he could come back and serve as governor,\u201d the lobbyist said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to disincentivize a sitting governor from running for the presidency for fear that \u2018if I lose the presidency, then I can\u2019t serve out my term as governor.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo previously&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/11\/22\/florida-legislature-desantis-presidential-run-00070538\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a>&nbsp;Politico that they would support legislation allowing the governor to run for president without having to resign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither office provided comment to the DCNF on if or when such a bill would be filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">No, it\u2019s more than \u201cfishing for support\u201d. <br><br>DeSantis can\u2019t announce he\u2019s running until the FL legislature changes the \u201cResign to Run\u201d law. The legislature is trying to change it *only* for him so he can run &amp; keep his job.<br><br>Session ends in May. He will likely file @ end of May. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rJliJ7VI5L\">https:\/\/t.co\/rJliJ7VI5L<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LauraLoomer\/status\/1630200338316763136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 27, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller noted that both chamber leaders have massive legislative agendas they want to push through, and doing the paperwork could wait until later on in the session. Amending the Resign-to-Run law wouldn\u2019t be considered a major policy change, and is merely a clarification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s maybe not even worthy of a whole bill. It\u2019s probably something that gets tacked on as an amendment somewhere, because it\u2019s not a major piece of legislation that\u2019s groundbreaking for the people of Florida. It\u2019s a definition fix in state law,\u201d said Miller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It will be interesting to see how early the legislature takes action on the Resign-to-Run law, Ben Torpey, Republican Florida political consultant, told the DCNF. They might focus on other major pieces of legislation first so that a possible DeSantis run doesn\u2019t take up the next two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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 \u201ccherry on top\u201d of their conservative agenda.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe has so much control over the legislature,\u201d said Torpey. \u201cDeSantis gets whatever the hell he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether Florida\u2019s legislature takes action on this law or not will be telling, Bryan Leib, a former GOP Congressional Candidate and advisory board member for Miami-Dade County, told the DCNF. A lack of legislation could indicate that DeSantis either isn\u2019t running or that he will resign and run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf leadership\u2019s telling you that they don\u2019t have anything on deck, maybe that\u2019s some tea leaves that we should be listening to,\u201d said Leib. \u201cIf you don\u2019t see anything within the next couple of weeks, I think people might start reading that as a signal that maybe he\u2019s thinking he\u2019s not going to run for president.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The public will likely be kept out of the inner workings of a change in the legislation until it is formally introduced and on the governor\u2019s desk, said Leib. DeSantis has plenty of allies in both chambers who will help him run for president if that\u2019s what he decides to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislature has likely been tight-lipped about a change to the law because they don\u2019t want to indicate to the public that the governor has made a decision to run, said the Tallahassee lobbyist.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/03\/06\/jamie-dimon-heaps-praise-florida-texas-pro-america-jp-morgan-chase\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Florida<\/a>&nbsp;has never had a president, so the legislature wouldn\u2019t want anything standing in the way of DeSantis running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019d be nothing better for the state of Florida than to have a president from here who\u2019s been a successful governor and such a pro-Florida person,\u201d said the Tallahassee lobbyist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DeSantis\u2019 team did not immediately respond to the DCNF\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Original Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizpacreview.com\/2023\/03\/08\/while-all-eyes-are-on-desantis-for-a-presidential-run-a-florida-law-still-stands-in-his-way-1338910\/\">https:\/\/www.bizpacreview.com\/2023\/03\/08\/while-all-eyes-are-on-desantis-for-a-presidential-run-a-florida-law-still-stands-in-his-way-1338910\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is widely expected to run for president in 2024, but a state law bars him from doing so if he doesn\u2019t resign as governor first. The state\u2019s legislative session began Tuesday, and a long list of bills are already on the docket for the next two months, except for a bill that would target the&nbsp;Resign-to-Run&nbsp;law, Florida\u2019s Speaker of the House\u2019s office confirmed with the Daily Caller News Foundation. The law would require DeSantis to resign from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-elections"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2064,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions\/2064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}