Florida House PASSES change in election law so Ron DeSantis can run for president without resigning from the governor's office
- Ron DeSantis can run for president without resigning as governor
- Florida's Republican controlled legislature changed the state law
- DeSantis hasn't said he's running but is widely expected to announce a bid
Ron DeSantis will not have to resign as Florida's governor to run for president under a bill approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature on Friday.
The measure is part of much broader elections bill and inserts an exemption to Florida's law requiring anyone seeking office to resign from one they already hold after qualifying as a candidate. Only an officeholder running for U.S. president or vice president would not have to resign.
The bill now goes to the Florida governor's mansion for DeSantis' signature.
Ron DeSantis can run for president without resigning as governor
Supporters say the bill is not specificially for DeSantis, who has not announced he's running for the Republican presidential nomination - but is widely expected to.
Democrats in the state called it a cynical attempt to clear the way for DeSantis to run for president while remaining as governor. His gubernatorial term would end in January 2027.
'We in this body are doing the governor´s bidding,' said Democratic state Rep. Angela Nixon '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.'
The provisions to change Florida's 'resign-to-run law' were introduced just days ago despite speculation for months DeSantis would run for president.
DeSantis is eyeing the first two weeks of June to formally jump into the presidential race, Bloomberg News reported citing people familiar with the deliberations.
The governor and his team are considering a campaign kick-off in the Florida governor's hometown of Dunedin — or in Ohio or Pennsylvania, swing states where he has family ties.
Publicly DeSantis has said he remains undecided about running for president this cycle. But he's been on a book tour to the important early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan, which many see as a precursor to a presidential campaign.
He trails former President Donald Trump in the polls for the GOP nomination however. And there is chatter among Republican donors that they may not support the Florida governor, questioning his qualifications.
DeSantis is currently on a tour of the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Israel intended to burnish his foreign policy credentials.
He's facing fire from all sides - Trump has hammered at him on the campaign trail and, back home in Florida, DeSantis is in a knife-match with Walt Disney Company, one of the biggest employers in the state.
On Thursday, a Fox News poll showed Trump with a whopping 32-point lead against second place finisher DeSantis, who earned 21 percent support to the former president's 53 percent.
Donald Trump leads in polls for Republican presidential nomination
Other than Trump and DeSantis, no other announced or potential Republican candidates garnered double-digit support from those surveyed in the new Fox News poll.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has not yet announced a run, came in third place to Trump and DeSantis, earning 6 percent – and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and once-Trump's ambassador to the UN who is officially running, came in fourth with 4 percent.
Longshot candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who made his millions in the biotech and investment firm fields, is coming in at 3 percent.
Meanwhile, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, both unannounced but rumored to be considering a run, are tied for sixth with 2 percent support among Republican primary voters.
