A controversial state judge in Tallahassee, Florida, drew a well-funded opponent that threatened her re-election bid — so she came up with a scheme to cancel the election from happening at all, according to a report.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey “submitted her resignation letter to the Governor’s Office, a step that closed the door on her 2026 reelection campaign – and could short-circuit the election for her seat.”
“The move came a day after the Tallahassee Democrat reported on an impressive fundraising haul by Talley Kaleko, a Tallahassee attorney who filed last month to challenge Dempsey, currently in the circuit civil division,” said the report. “It also came just before the weeklong qualifying period for judicial office starts on April 20.”
Kaleko raised around $120,000 to campaign, compared to Dempsey’s $25,000.
Dempsey’s resignation is not effective until December, which would mean Gov. Ron DeSantis would get to choose her replacement, bypassing a judicial election altogether.
According to the report, Dempsey, who has served since being appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2005 and was elected three times, has a track record as a legal ally of DeSantis: “In 2023, Dempsey recognized what’s known as ‘executive privilege’ in Florida law to allow DeSantis to avoid disclosing the identities of the ‘legal conservative heavyweights’ he consults before selecting state Supreme Court justices.”
DeSantis’s appointments to the high court have allowed him to effectively dictate the meaning of constitutional amendments and statutes as needed, most notably disregarding the Fair Districts Amendment when pushing the legislature to pass an aggressive congressional gerrymander after the 2020 Census. He is now pushing for another round of redistricting.
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