Governor blames faulty ‘resign to run’ law for lack of elections to replace Randy Fine, Joel Rudman

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 5/5/23-Gov. Ron DeSantis during a news conference after the 2023 legislative session concluded, Friday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

A new week begins with new clarity from Gov. Ron DeSantis on why Special Elections haven’t been called to replace a state Senator and Representative running for Congress in Special Elections this year.

Florida’s Governor said at a press conference at the Capitol that the state’s “resign to run” rule complicated the calendar in setting up Special Elections in Senate District 19, which Randy Fine is departing to run to replace Mike Waltz in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, and in House District 3, which incumbent Joel Rudman is leaving to pursue the seat vacated by current television host Matt Gaetz.

“The problem is you have the resign to run, and so by the time those letters are submitted, you can’t stand up the Special Election to be the same as those dates. We couldn’t get it done,” DeSantis said. 

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued DeSantis for having “violated his mandatory duty under the Florida Constitution and state law by failing to call a special election” and “effectively disenfranchising voters in House District 3 and Senate District 19.”

Rudman is already out of the House, while Fine leaves on March 31. But state law inhibits the process, DeSantis said.

“You’ve got to give people time to qualify,” DeSantis said. “If I just would have demanded a date, it just wouldn’t have ended up adding up properly. So once you know that, you can’t physically seat anybody in time for the Session.”

The Governor said Secretary of State Cord Byrd is working to set dates for those elections.

“The problem is when you set the congressional, you don’t know who’s going to end up resigning to run when you do that. If I already knew that, then maybe I could have done it. But you have to wait for that process to fly out under Florida law and then do it,” DeSantis said.

He added that the application of “resign to run” is “ridiculous” given “you don’t actually resign until the election’s over anyways.”

“I think they should just chuck the whole thing,” the Governor said, noting that legislators are always campaigning anyway.

“My preference would have been to do it the same time. It’s just (that) resign to run doesn’t work that way,” DeSantis added.

Republicans hold supermajorities in the Senate and House, so there is likely little threat to statewide priorities. However, local bills and appropriations projects in Fine’s and Rudman’s districts may be a heavier lift in 2025.

The state has tweaked the language of resign to run laws in recent years, including clarifying that DeSantis would not have to resign his own office when running for President beginning in mid-2023. Time will tell if 2025 brings more alterations to statute.