Speculation has already run rampant on who Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will appoint to replace Sen. Marco Rubio if Rubio becomes President-elect Trump’s secretary of state.
President-elect Trump is expected to nominate GOP Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Fox News Digital reported this week, shifting focus to the state of Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis will be tasked with appointing a replacement in the Senate.
Rubio was re-elected in 2022 to serve another six-year term in the Senate, which means DeSantis’ choice to replace him would serve until a special election is held in 2026 that would determine who serves in Rubio’s seat for the last two years of his term.
Whoever DeSantis appoints to serve until 2026 is eligible to run in that special election to serve until 2028, when another election will take place.
DeSantis can appoint whoever he desires to fill the seat, including himself or his wife Casey, and many names have already surfaced as potential replacements barring a last-minute change of heart from Trump.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody
Moody is the Republican Attorney General of Florida and has held the role since 2019. The Republican 38th Attorney General of the state was re-elected in 2022 after defeating Democrat Aramis Ayala.
Since being elected as Attorney General, she has served as a commissioner on the Presidential Commission of Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Moody also served as chair of Florida’s Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman
“Many GOP senators are talking about Judge Roy Altman for Marco Rubio’s replacement”, Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson reported on Tuesday.
