Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has an opportunity.

With president-elect Donald Trump expected to name Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, DeSantis will soon have the power to temporarily appoint someone to fill Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate.

That’s because Florida is one of 34 states in the country that authorize governors to fill a Senate vacancy by picking a replacement who will hold the seat until the next regularly scheduled general election is held.

Now, legal questions swirl as to whether the Republican governor — who is set to 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 that would preclude DeSantis from appointing himself, said Mark Herron, a Tallahassee-based attorney who specializes in ethics and election laws.

“The more likely or cleaner scenario would be to have the lieutenant governor appoint him,” Herron said.

That would mean that DeSantis would resign as governor, allowing Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, of Miami, to take his post and appoint him directly to the Senate seat.

DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on whether the governor was considering such a move.

The appointment would last until 2026, when the next general election is scheduled to be held. Then, the appointee would have to win again in 2028 to secure a full term.

By that time, the 2028 presidential race for the GOP nomination would be well underway.

DeSantis — who earlier this year campaigned for the GOP presidential nomination and bowed out of the race after one contest in Iowa — is still seen as a potential GOP presidential contender.

Are there political risks to 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 have their successors appoint them.

In 2009, NPR found that of all the governors that had appointed themselves to the U.S. Senate, only one was able to win a subsequent election, showing that there is political risk to self-appointments.

In Florida, no governor has ever appointed themselves to the U.S. Senate.

Back in 2009, then-Republican Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had the chance to do so, but instead picked his chief of staff, George LeMieux to the post. Crist ran for the seat in 2010 and lost — to Rubio.

This time around, many political observers have pointed to 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 would possibly give DeSantis the option to run for the Senate seat himself when his time is up as Florida governor.

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