Renner, a Palm Coast resident, was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2022 to 2024.
Updated 4:25 p.m. Sept. 3
Paul Renner is running for governor.
The former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives filed on Sept. 3, in a bid to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis as governor of the third most populous state in the nation. Renner, a Republican, is a 20-year military veteran and attorney by trade.
Originally, he said, knowing that he had a record of success in the Florida Legislature from 2015 to 2024, he had been considering what other candidate he might support for governor. Since he termed out in 2024, he said, “I was pretty happy making money, having fun with my kids.”
But, he said he doesn’t want the state to go backward, after the progress it’s made.
The decision to run, he said, comes after “a lot of prayer” and gaining support from his family.
Cost of living
When asked about his priorities, the first was clear: “Right now, affordability, cost of living, is top of mind for a lot of people.”
In his tenure in the Florida House, Renner helped pass reforms to stem the rise of homeowners insurance costs. He also helped pass an inflation-based adjustment to the Homestead Exemption, which limits the increase in taxes despite increasing property values.
“So, I was thinking about property taxes before the topic became cool,” he said.
He doesn’t believe there will be enough support statewide to eliminate property taxes completely, but he has other ideas for how to limit the growth of local government and taxes.
“At the state level, we’re almost the cheapest, as far as the lowest cost per capita, but that’s not true at the local level, where property taxes have increased at twice rate as the rest of the nation,” he said. That puts a hardship on seniors who have been in their homes for decades, but who haven’t seen an increase in their income.
Supporting state infrastructure and water quality have to be priorities, he said.
Aligning with DeSantis
Renner praised DeSantis, saying that the two of them were often aligned. Like DeSantis, Renner would be a governor who gets involved in state issues, even when the job description doesn’t necessarily suggest it, if he feels it’s needed to protect conservative values.
“What I think is unique and special is the governor didn’t need to get involved in fighting these radical amendments, like pot and abortion,” Renner said, when asked what he has learned from DeSantis. “And it wasn’t part of the speaker of the house’s job duties to do that, either. But if the left is coming after the Florida that we love, this governor has proven he will stop them, and so have I.”
Similarly, DeSantis and Renner worked to stop “woke administrators and teachers” who were not aligned with most Florida parents’ views on education, Renner said.
Like DeSantis, Renner said he wouldn’t be “sitting at my desk” waiting for people to come to him. Instead, he will be proactive. “It’s something people can rely on because they’ve seen me do it,” Renner said.
State reactions
Meanwhile, DeSantis, during an appearance Wednesday in Valrico, said he isn’t supporting Renner’s candidacy.
“I'm not supporting Paul Renner, you know, I think it was an ill-advised decision to enter,” DeSantis said.
Byron Donalds’ campaign responded to Renner’s announcement by pointing to the Trump endorsement.
“Byron Donalds will be Florida’s next governor because he is the proven conservative fighter endorsed by President Trump,” Ryan Smith, Donalds’ chief strategist, said in a statement.
Donalds has already lined up endorsements from most of Florida's Republican congressional delegation, and his political committee, Friends of Bryon Donalds, had raised nearly $20.5 million as of June 30. Donalds had raised another $1.81 million for his campaign account.
Former Congressman David Jolly is the only high-profile Democrat who has formally entered the gubernatorial race.
Views on local government
Regarding local governments, Renner said he would like to see any tax or fee increase to be passed by two-thirds of the local elected board, not just by a majority.
“I’d also like to have the taxpayers have a chance to say, ‘We don’t allow that,’” he added. "Taxpayers should be the backstop."
Some local governments, particularly around Miami, have “gone wild” with tax increases, he said.
“I’m a no-tax guy,” he said. “We have to have restraints. … Government should never grow faster than people’s wages grow.”
Local government needs to focus on the things only government can do well: public safety, infrastructure, water quality, and conservation.
“You do the things you must do, and do it really well,” he said.
The next governor will be chosen on the November 2026 ballot.
— Jim Turner, of the News Service of Florida, contributed to this story.
