Florida House Passes Law That Would Allow Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for President Without Resigning – On Friday, an election reform bill was passed by Florida legislators, which would enable Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to contest for presidency in 2024 without having to relinquish his governorship. The state Capitol, which is dominated by Republican supermajorities in both chambers, had expected the modification to the “Resign to Run” law in the Sunshine State.
At present, Florida mandates that individuals running for higher office must relinquish their current elected position once they become eligible for the ballot. However, the bill passed on Friday exempts “any person seeking the office of President or Vice President of the United States” from the “Resign to Run” law. The legislation now awaits Governor DeSantis’ signature.
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Supporters of the modification contend that it is not specifically targeted at DeSantis, who has not yet declared his 2024 presidential ambitions but is anticipated to announce his candidacy after Florida’s legislative session concludes on May 5. “I can’t think of a better training ground than the state of Florida for a future commander in chief,” Republican state Rep. Tyler Sirois said Friday.
Republican Senate President Kathleen Passadomo said last year that having a Florida governor run for the nation’s highest office would be a “big honor” and that the state’s chief executive should be exempted from Florida’s “Resign to Run” law. “If an individual who is Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it,” Passadomo said last November. “I really do. That’s a big honor and a privilege, so it is a good idea.”
Republicans are being accused by Democrats who are against the amendment of supporting DeSantis, and they assert that the 44-year-old politician must not be permitted to run for president while serving as the governor of the third-largest state in the country. “This is not just a clarification, this is an intentional move to curry favor,” Democratic state Sen.
Shevrin Jones said Thursday. “You’re not doing this because it’s the right thing to do. You’re doing it because you can.” “We in this body are doing the governor´s bidding,” Democratic state Rep. Angela Nixon said. “He needs to resign to run if he wants to run for president, period. Last time I checked, being governor is a full-time job. Running for president takes a lot of work.”
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DeSantis shot down reports on Thursday that he’s reached a decision to run for president in 2024, calling them “inaccurate.” “If there’s any announcements, those will come at the appropriate time. But if anyone’s telling you that somehow they know this or they know that, that’s just inaccurate because there’s not been any decisions made,” he said while on the Israel leg of a whirlwind international trip that has also taken him to Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
