If DeSantis Tries to Run for President as Sitting Governor, ‘There Are Going to Be Lawsuits’: Professor

'I don't see a way around this for DeSantis other than changing the law'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd during an election night watch party at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 8, 2022. Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tries to run for president in 2024 without first resigning his office, a constitutional professor says there will be lawsuits.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, a Republican, said he thought it would be a good idea to look into changing state law to pave the way for the newly reelected DeSantis to run for president in 2024. Renner suggests DeSantis “may be able to run now without resigning under current law,” but that the state Legislature should correct any ambiguity.

The Law

Florida Statute 99.012 states that “no officer may qualify as a candidate for another state, district, county, or municipal public office if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other without resigning from the office he or she presently holds.