Florida Senate quietly tees up Resign to Run repeal

The Senate of Florida, without fanfare or even announcement, introduced a bill to repeal Florida’s Resign to Run Law. They did this on the very day a Manhattan Grand Jury returned a true bill of indictment against Donald Trump.

The Resign to Run law and its repeal measure

Laura Loomer, investigative journalist and twice candidate for Congress, broke the news yesterday on her Twitter account.

Readers can find the bill here. Thus far only a preliminary draft exists, saying:

The Legislature intends to revise laws relating to elections.

But only one law can be in view: Title IX, Florida Statutes, Section 99.012, also known as the Resign to Run Law. One can read the full text here. The law plainly says that no person shall run for election in Florida for any office, the term of which runs concurrently with any office he presently holds. If he wants to run, he must resign – irrevocably and ten days before “qualifying” to run for the second office.

Loomer has criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) repeatedly and often scathingly for, as he believes, skating on the Resign to Run Law. Make America Great Again, Inc., Trump’s Super Pac, filed an ethics complaint against DeSantis on that very ground. The Governor’s office summarily dismissed that complaint. In the meantime, sixteen key donors told DeSantis he ought to wait until the 2028 election season.

DeSantis has not yet filed formally to run for President, nor formed the exploratory committee that is the first step in such a campaign. But he has taken trips across the country and even to foreign countries, trips that look like campaign stops. This behavior has led critics to accuse him of campaigning in all but name, to skirt the law.

Reaction

Reaction has been overwhelmingly less than favorable. The only favorable reaction has come from DeSantis partisans and “Never Trump” voters. Many of these are making much of the alleged affair the Manhattan District Attorney alleges that Trump had with a known actress in pornographic films, and paid her off with campaign money to keep quiet. But most seem to suspect the Florida Senate of collaborating with DeSantis, and despise both him and them for it.

Separately, Gov. DeSantis hinted that he would refuse extradition, should New York State try to force that issue. But Trump’s lawyers have suggested that Trump might waive extradition and surrender voluntarily to New York authorities.