Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has a chance.
With President-elect Donald Trump expected to appoint Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State, DeSantis will soon have the power to temporarily appoint someone to fill Rubio’s seat in the US Senate.
That’s because Florida is one of 34 states in the country that authorizes governors to fill a vacancy in the Senate by electing a replacement who will hold that seat until the next regular elections are held.
Now legal questions are swirling about whether the Republican governor — who will leave his post in January 2027 due to term limits — could appoint himself to the U.S. Senate.
What does Florida law allow?
Florida law allows the governor to appoint a replacement for Rubio, and there is nothing in state law preventing DeSantis from appointing himself, said Mark Herron, a Tallahassee attorney who specializes in ethics and election law.
“The more likely and cleaner scenario would be for the lieutenant governor to appoint him,” Herron said.
That would mean DeSantis would resign as governor, allowing Miami Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez to take over his post and appoint him directly to the Senate.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the governor was considering such a move.
The appointment would last until 2026, when the next general election will take place. Then the appointee would have to win again in 2028 to secure a full term.
By then, the 2028 presidential race for the Republican nomination would be in full swing.
DeSantis — who campaigned for the Republican Party nomination earlier this year and dropped out of the race after one contest in Iowa — is still seen as a potential GOP candidate.
Are there political risks associated with a self-appointment?
History shows that voters do not take kindly to governors who appoint themselves to the U.S. Senate — or who resign and allow their successors to appoint them.
In 2009, NPR found that of all the governors who appointed themselves to the U.S. Senate, only one was able to win a subsequent election, showing that there are political risks associated with self-nomination.
In Florida, no governor has ever appointed himself to the U.S. Senate.
In 2009, then-Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist had the opportunity to do so, but instead chose his chief of staff, George LeMieux, to the post. Crist ran for the seat in 2010 and lost to Rubio.
This time, many political observers have identified DeSantis’ chief of staff James Uthmeier as a possible appointee.
Uthmeier was the governor’s presidential campaign manager and is seen as a possible seat warmer in the Senate role until 2026. This could potentially give DeSantis the opportunity to run for the Senate seat when his time as Florida governor is up.
