Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visits Ohio in support of congressional term limits
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Photo by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped by the Ohio Statehouse Tuesday to lend his support to imposing congressional term limits. The effort would require a constitutional amendment, and Ohio's resolution calls for a convention of the states to draft it. The approach has never been tried before and presents several unknowns — brushed aside by the Florida governor and Ohio lawmakers.
Ohio's proposal isn't even the only convention for which DeSantis is beating the drum. He was in Idaho about six weeks ago calling for a balanced budget amendment.
Desantis' visit comes amid a growing feud with Republicans in the Florida legislature. The governor and state legislative leaders both want to cut taxes, but the governor wants to focus on property tax cuts while House Speaker Daniel Perez is eyeing the state sales tax. Florida is one of nine states with no income tax.
Perez criticized DeSantis for hopping on a private plane 'paid for taxpayers by the way' when he could be hammering out a budget deal with Florida lawmakers.
'If he were to spend more time here in this Capitol having conversations with myself and other members of the House he'd understand my position — why we are in that position,' Perez said. 'And if he's able to convince us otherwise and have us move in another direction, maybe his direction, he has every opportunity to do so.'
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He added the Florida House is ready for 'tough conversations' while the governor is not.
'There's no difference between him and any seventh grader in Miami-Dade County right now who tweets,' Perez said.
The last time DeSantis stopped by Ohio he was campaigning for then-U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance while not-so-subtly laying track for his own 2024 presidential campaign. On Tuesday, he insisted his visit 'has nothing to do with running for anything.'
Freshman state Rep. Heidi Workman, R-Rootstown, is sponsoring the Ohio House Joint Resolution calling for a constitutional convention.
'Voters are tired of Washington politicians spending decades in office disconnected from the people they're elected to serve,' Workman said. 'They want change, and they're looking for that change right now.'
DeSantis served three terms in Congress before running for governor, and said that experience left a mark.
'The incentives to do really good policy are just skewed away from that,' he said. 'People get up there and basically, they're told, 'You got to pay your dues.''
Workman pointed to polling — notably, conducted by the pro-term limits organization U.S. Term Limits — indicating 78% of Ohioans want to set a ceiling on congressional service.
'This is not a partisan issue — it is a people issue,' Workman argued. 'Across Ohio and across the country, the demand for congressional term limits is strong and bipartisan.'
Twelve states that have so far advanced a joint resolution calling for a convention. Every single one of them is controlled by Republicans.
The problem with hosting a constitutional convention is that there's little to restrain what the convention's members decide to do. Article V of the U.S. Constitution is explicit on how you call a convention, but silent on what happens once delegates start debating.
Harsh penalties and gag orders: Lawmakers discuss plans for long-shot constitutional convention
To fill that void, two Ohio Republicans floated potential felony charges and a gag order to keep debates on track, as they considered a different constitutional convention proposal last year.
DeSantis dismissed concerns about a 'runway' convention, putting his faith in the ratification process that would follow.
'It is the same no matter if Congress or the state proposes (an amendment),' DeSantis said. 'It requires three-quarters of the states of this country, 38 states, to ratify an amendment to the Constitution. I don't think 38 states are going to ratify the work of a, quote, runaway convention.'
He added there's nothing stopping Ohio from allowing the governor to recall delegates or place other requirements on their activity.
Still, with DeSantis himself backing convention efforts for term limits and a balanced budget, it's not hard to imagine a convention exceeding its initial mandate. Asked about those different interests DeSantis argued both ideas could clear the required 34-state threshold before backtracking and suggesting Congress would likely step in to draft it's own amendment if states got close.
'I do anticipate, in both instances, that you would likely force Congress to act prior to getting the 34 states — I just think practically that will happen,' DeSantis said. 'But I'm also not somebody that believes somehow the states aren't capable of proposing an amendment.'
Florida Phoenix reporter Christine Sexton contributed to this story.
Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.
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