The current Governor’s tenure has seen restrictions imposed on abortion and maintained on adult-use marijuana.
But in comments to a conservative radio host based in New York, Ron DeSantis acknowledged that he expects more than half the state to vote for amendments supporting the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana and the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion.
“Even though I think we’ll keep them under 60, you know, both of them are likely to get in excess of 50% of the vote, and so we’re going against the headwinds here,” DeSantis said on the Shannon Joy Show.
The 60% threshold is meaningful. In 2006, 58% of people voted to ratify a rule requiring 60% support in order for proposed constitutional amendments to be successful.
Subsequent pushes regarding the supermajority requirement haven’t gotten traction up until now, but the high-dollar and high-profile challenges to the Republican power structure suggest the issue might be ripe for reconsideration in 2025.
Former President Donald Trump has complicated the messaging on both issues.
He dithered on opposing the abortion amendment, voicing opposition to Florida’s ban on the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. Trump simultaneously faced heat from Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who has blamed Trump’s Supreme Court picks for scuttling Roe v. Wade and stopping access to the procedure.
Trump, meanwhile, is supporting the recreational pot push.
Whether one or both of the amendments does better than Trump or U.S. Sen. Rick Scott on the ballot remains to be seen, but DeSantis has strenuously messaged against the amendments.
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