Republican candidates are already throwing their hats into the ring for the 2024 Presidential nomination.
Conservative commentators have speculated that Ron DeSantis will be the next Republican to announce his candidacy.
But Ron DeSantis might have to make this major move if he wants to run for President in 2024.
Republicans are still waiting for DeSantis to announce his 2024 run
Right now, the Republican Primary has three contenders—Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy. All of them will push hard on culture war issues in an effort to restore sanity to the American public.
But there’s still one name missing that a lot of culture warriors want to see.
And that is Ron DeSantis.
The Florida Governor has been a strong fighter against cultural insurrection in the public education system. He’s pushed back on major corporations and even pushed back on left-wing ESG standards that threaten the retirement of workers in the state.
Shown by years of record population growth, mostly stemming from a mass exodus out of Democrat-run states, DeSantis has become a rising star of the Republican Party.
Everyone anticipates he will run in 2024, but there’s one thing that’s currently holding him back.
DeSantis might not actually be able to run for President and serve as Governor
Under Florida law, DeSantis cannot legally run for federal office while he is still Governor. That means the Florida Governor cannot run for President without tendering his resignation.
The statute reads, “Any officer who qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office he or she presently holds if the terms, or any part thereof, run concurrently with each other.”
However, there is a question about the timing because the law is convoluted.
It says that DeSantis would be required to resign “at least ten days before the first day of qualifying for the office he or she intends to seek.”
While legal experts dispute the “qualifying” date, the majority agree that it would be on June 17th, which is the deadline to qualify for most offices.
“Ambiguity” might leave DeSantis with only one option
Since that date would leave DeSantis out of most of the primaries, it might actually rely on the individual states he is qualifying to run in.
Aubrey Jewett, a professor at the University of Central Florida, argues that seeking a Party’s nomination might not be the same thing as qualifying for the Presidency.
“There’s some ambiguity, if the law doesn’t change, when Governor DeSantis would be required to file his resignation,” he said, before adding that “it’s confusing.”
But Jewett hinted that there might be another path forward, as DeSantis could attempt to pass legislation to circumvent this statute.
Florida lawmakers might not be willing to push back a rule change
Aubrey Jewett, along with another legal expert, Susan MacManus, believe that DeSantis could use the Republican-controlled legislature in Florida to pass a bill that would wipe out the restriction.
MacManus said “only a few Republicans have spoken against the idea,” which makes her think it’s possible.
MacManus also believes that DeSantis might make problems for anyone who would try to stop the bill if it is introduced. It’s better to back the sitting Governor “if you want to get your bills through.”
Jewett also thinks that the sitting Governor has leverage.
“Republicans don’t want to cross him. It could come back to haunt them, particularly in a Primary,” he said.
DeSantis is in an interesting position and whatever happens next might shock a lot of people.
Patriot Political will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
