Florida Senate approves law change that clears path for DeSantis 2024 bid

Senate Republicans in Florida passed an election law overhaul on Wednesday that would allow Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to run for president without having to resign from his position, bypassing the state’s resign-to-run rule.

The bill, SB7050, passed the Florida Senate on a party-line vote, 28 to 12, and now heads to the House. 

The larger package includes a number of notable changes to state election practices, including allowing political organizations to file finance reports less often and increasing the rate at which local election officials have to remove dead and eligible voters from voter rolls.

The amendment aimed at DeSantis, proposed by state Sen. Travis Hutson (R), would allow someone who is running for president or vice president to not have to resign.

DeSantis has not said whether he plans to run for president, but polling shows that he is the main rival to former President Trump, who is the front-runner, for the GOP’s 2024 nomination. He and Trump have clashed in recent weeks, with the former president attacking DeSantis’s tenure as governor in Florida and DeSantis dinging Trump on his leadership style and hush money payments.

DeSantis’s recent busy travel schedule, which included stops in key early nominating states in the Republican primary, indicates that the governor may be nearing an announcement of a campaign. He is also slated to appear in Israel this week, a nod that he is boosting his foreign policy chops before a potential run.