Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could run for president without resigning, thanks to proposed amendment

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may be able to run for president without resigning from his current position, due to an election bill amendment filed on Tuesday by Republican State Senator Travis Hutson.

The amendment to SB7050 clarifies the qualification requirements for political offices and exempts individuals seeking the office of president or vice president from Florida's resign-to-run law.

The proposed amendment to the elections bill, SB7050, filed by State Senator Travis Hutson, aims to exempt those seeking the office of president or vice president of the United States from Florida's resign-to-run law, the National Review reported. This law currently requires political office holders to resign from their current position to qualify as a candidate for another office if the terms run concurrently.

According to the current law, an office holder's resignation is irrevocable and must be submitted at least 10 days before the first day of qualifying for the intended office. The amendment, if passed, would allow Governor DeSantis to run for president without having to resign from his position as governor of Florida.

DeSantis, who has not yet officially declared his candidacy, is widely seen as a top Republican challenger to former president Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination. The Florida House is expected to file its own version of the amendment later this week.

Since DeSantis won a landslide re-election victory in November, Republican leaders have expressed their willingness to amend the resign-to-run law. State House Speaker Paul Renner and State Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, both presiding over Republican supermajorities, have indicated their support for changing and clarifying the law.

Passidomo has also questioned if the law needs to be changed at all, stating that resign-to-run does not currently apply to presidential and vice presidential candidates due to differences in the qualifying process.

“In my view, it is already apparent that resign-to-run does not apply to presidential and vice presidential candidates,” Passidomo said, according to Florida Politics. “Under our law, the timeline for resigning is entirely based on qualifying. Presidential and vice presidential candidates do not have to qualify. Presidential and vice presidential nominees (other than write-in candidates) are decided by their respective political parties at national conventions. Currently, they do not have to complete a candidate’s oath, pay a qualifying fee, fill out a financial disclosure, or turn in any of the other qualifying documentation and paperwork required of candidates for other offices.”

Renner also believes that DeSantis would not have to resign under the existing law and looks forward to receiving the Senate's proposed amendment to clarify the legal interpretation.

In the past, Florida lawmakers have changed the resign-to-run law. In 2008, they amended the law to allow then-governor Charlie Crist to be considered as a running mate for then-GOP nominee John McCain. The law was reinstated in 2018, with a carve-out that allowed then-governor Rick Scott to run for his U.S. Senate seat.

Allies of former president Trump have tried to curb a potential DeSantis run by filing an ethics complaint against the governor that the DeSantis’ office described as “frivolous.”