Supreme Court allows Debbie Mayfield to run for Senate, rebuking Gov. DeSantis administration

Rep. Debbie Mayfield is back in the game.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Mayfield is eligible to run in the Special Election for Senate District 19 to replace Sen. Randy Fine, who is a current candidate for Congress. That means she will be able to seek the same seat she vacated last year after an eight year term, which triggered term limits.

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and the Division of Elections had disqualified Mayfield from the ballot, citing term limits barring her from seeking the office again. Byrd and his office argued in favor of disqualifying her from the ballot, repeating their claim that running would violate the term limits provisions in the Florida Constitution.

But the high court was not convinced, unanimously ruling that Mayfield’s filing “has met the statutory requirements” and that she “has a clear legal right to appear on the primary ballot.”

The court also agreed with Mayfield’s argument that the Secretary of State has a “ministerial obligation” and an “indisputable legal duty” to allow candidates who qualify for the ballot to run.

“That function is limited to assessing whether the required items have been properly and timely filed and whether each item is facially complete,” the court found, citing precedent to establish that the Secretary doesn’t have “discretion” to review perceived defects in ballot qualification.

The ruling was expedited for procedural reasons. Overseas and military ballots are to be sent out Friday, requiring a definitive decision. Byrd’s Office waited until Feb. 5 to say she wasn’t qualified, which the court recognized as not Mayfield’s fault.

And the jurists disagreed with the argument that constitutional language referencing term limits meant she couldn’t run for office again after an interruption in time. They instead ruled that because there was a gap in her service in the state Senate, she is now eligible to run again.

“If the people of Florida want other limitations on the time their elected officials may serve, they can incorporate such language explicitly through the constitutional amendment process. However, until they choose to do so, we cannot read a prohibition into the constitution that does not exist,” the majority opinion reads.

Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz and Justices Jorge Labarga, John D. Couriel and Meredith L. Sasso concurred in the majority opinion.

Justices Charles T. Canady, Renatha Francis and Jamie Grosshans go further, accusing Byrd of “an argument that distorts what the statute says about verified documents and that turns a blind eye to key portions of the statutory text.”

Florida voters approved term limits in a constitutional amendment in 1992. It stipulated that state Senators could not serve more than eight consecutive years. Because Mayfield left office, and then assumed another office, a subsequent term would not add to the consecutive years she had already served, and would instead begin a new clock on consecutive years in office.

Mayfield celebrated the ruling Thursday.

“Today, the Florida Supreme Court preserved democracy and will allow Brevard County voters the right to choose their next state senator. I’m grateful that my name will be on the ballot, and I will work hard to earn the support of our community. I’m committed to fighting alongside President Trump and our Republican leaders to advance the America First agenda,” she said, according to Florida Today.

Mayfield served in the Senate from 2016 to 2024, and could not seek another term in November due to term limits. She instead ran for and won a seat in the House last cycle representing House District 32.

But when Sen. Randy Fine, her successor in the Senate, resigned to run for Congress, Mayfield announced she would seek her old Senate seat in a Special Election. She had already submitted an irrevocable resignation from the House when the state disqualified her.

Other qualified candidates include former Melbourne City Council member Tim Thomas; Marcie Adkins, who challenged Fine for his House seat in 2020; and Mark Lightner III, a University of North Florida business graduate and Brevard County native.

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Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics contributed to this report.

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