Shortly after winning the GOP nomination for Florida governor in 2018, Ron DeSantis decided it would be too much to serve in the US House while campaigning to become the state’s top executive, so he voluntarily resigned from his congressional seat.
“As the Republican nominee for governor of Florida, it is clear to me that I will likely miss the vast majority of our remaining session days for this Congress,” DeSantis wrote in a resignation letter to then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. “Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a salary.”
More than four years later, a bill awaiting the now-governor’s signature makes clear DeSantis does not have to take similar steps if he runs for president. Florida lawmakers last week moved to exempt candidates for president and vice president from a state law that says elected officials there must resign to run for another office, clearing the way for DeSantis to seek the White House without giving up the governor’s mansion.
DeSantis has not publicly addressed the measure. His office did not respond to a request for comment.
All spring, DeSantis’ likely 2024 campaign for president has lurked behind many of the bills Republican lawmakers have pushed through the GOP-controlled state House and Senate. DeSantis has put off an announcement about his future until after his state’s legislative session, scheduled to end Friday, and he is stacking GOP policy victories to potentially run on, including a six-week abortion ban and a permitless concealed carry law. It’s an advantage DeSantis has maximized against a field of candidates that currently includes three people with “former” in their title.
Democratic lawmakers took turns during debate on the bill teeing off on Republicans for giving DeSantis a green light to govern the country’s third-largest state from the campaign trail.
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