Florida lawmakers on Friday carved out an exemption to the state’s “resign-to-run” law that would allow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to run for president in 2024 without resigning from his post.
The exemption passed Florida’s Senate by a 28-12 vote earlier this week, and the state House approved it on Friday by a 76-34 margin.
Under Florida’s “resign-to-run” law, DeSantis would have been required to resign as governor before announcing a presidential run. Now, lawmakers exempt officeholders from the “resign-to-run” provision if they run for president or vice president.
This means that DeSantis, who was reelected to a four-year term in 2022, would not have to resign until his inauguration in 2025 if he makes a successful bid for the White House.
Ron DeSantis is widely expected to officially enter the Republican presidential primary next month at the end of Florida’s legislative session.
As Florida Rep. Michelle Salzman (R) explained:
The Senate bill settles the issue by making it abundantly clear that the “resign-to-run” law does not apply to persons seeking the office of president or vice president, and the bill explicitly exempts candidates running for president or vice president from the “resign-to-run” law, and defines the term “qualify” to mean all offices that are the President or Vice President.
However, Florida Democrats expressed concern that the legislation was giving DeSantis special privileges by carving out the exemption to state law.
Florida Rep. Ashley Gantt (D) said:
I think that we need to definitely make sure that we are consistent, and that we make sure that we don’t change the rules for who we like, or who we don’t like. The greater point of it all is we need to make sure that we continue to make Floridians or have Floridians have the ability to have access to the ballot.
“Why are we signing off on allowing Ron DeSantis the ability to not do his job?” State Rep. Angie Nixon (D) argued during the floor debate.
The bill now heads to DeSantis’s desk for his signature.
The Florida House approved the election law changes while DeSantis is wrapping up an international trip that many believe is a precursor to his presidential run. However, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday announced he would not be meeting with DeSantis, pawning off DeSantis to lower-ranking UK officials James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch.
The legislature’s move also comes amid declining poll numbers for DeSantis and increased concern among donors about DeSantis’s ability to compete in a presidential primary.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.
