Johnson says he has urged Florida Republican to stay in Congress

Florida Politics ^ | February 11, 2026 | Jacob Ogles

[Miami Rebel]

As speculation swirls about just how long U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn will remain in the House, his staff steadfastly says he has no plans to resign.

Eleanor Allison, a spokesperson for Dunn, said the Congressman has no plans to leave office before the end of his term. “Those rumors are not originating from this office,” she said.

She pointed to a statement released by Dunn when he announced in January he will not seek re-election and would “conclude my service after five meaningful terms,” suggesting he planned to serve until January when a new Congress is sworn in.

The comments from Allison were the second conversation with Florida Politics in two days. On Tuesday, a reporter at the office was initially told the Congressman would be unavailable most of the day. When Dunn left the office to go to a House Energy and Commerce Committee meeting, where he serves as Vice Chair and where several personal priorities were up for under consideration in a markup, Florida Politics approached him and asked if he intends to resign early.

But Allison quickly approached, and Dunn referred questions to the Communications Director.

“Ellie is who knows everything here,” he said.

Allison told Florida Politics that Dunn had no plans to resign, and that she had no knowledge of any conversation. She later reiterated the same thing by phone to the Tallahassee Democrat’s Jim Rosica.

But rumors, particularly in Tallahassee, have persisted. Lawmakers close to Dunn have speculated he will resign before the end of his term, and a senior Republican strategist told Florida Politics that Dunn will announce an early retirement next week for a “time certain” that will be before the Midterm.

That could prompt a Special Election even while the 2026 Midterm race is already underway for Dunn’s successor.

Dunn’s health is fueling speculation around his departure. Other sources close to Dunn believe he wants to serve out his term but may be unable to.

The Panama City Republican turns 73 next week and is walking with a knee brace, and often a cane. That follows a number of health concerns for the Congressman, including bouts with COVID. Allison declined to speculate about Dunn’s health, saying that only the Congressman could address that topic.

Of course, even if he resigned abruptly, the timing of a Special Election this late in the cycle may prove prohibitive. A Florida Department of State source said at a minimum, it would likely take 130 days to conduct a Special Election once called. Another source suggested the time could be reduced to about 120 days.

A chief concern is a 45-day advance requirement for the Primary to send out military and absentee ballots, which must be ready to print before then with a list of qualified candidates.

Florida’s statewide Primary is scheduled for Aug. 18.

But the state has rushed elections recently. After the resignations last year of U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, Gov. Ron DeSantis called quick Special Elections, citing a tight Republican majority in the U.S. House. He called on the Florida Secretary of State to formulate an election schedule in November.

U.S. Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine won those Special Elections on April 1 and were sworn into office immediately.

Several candidates have already filed for Dunn’s seat and could run in a Special Election, though they would likely run concurrently as they also ran in the November election.

Republicans in the running include lawyer Keith Gross; business owner Nicholas Lewis; Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power; Austin Rogers, the former General Counsel for U.S. Sen. Rick Scott; and law enforcement veteran Audie Rowell. Democrats include Yen Bailey, Amanda Green and Nic Zateslo, though speculation has surrounded whether former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham could also seek the Democratic nomination.

Of note, DeSantis last year rushed the Special Elections in two heavily Republican seats, but has not always been in a hurry. When Democratic U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings died in office, DeSantis allowed nine months to pass between his death and the Special Election to replace him.

The Florida Legislature is considering a bill (SB 460) that would require the Governor to announce a Special Election at the “earliest feasible date” following an opening. It has passed through Committees unanimously to date, signaling a veto-proof majority even if DeSantis vetoed the legislation.

But it may not impact this election anyway, as the effective date for the bill is July 1. That’s well after the existing federal candidate qualification period.

Reportedly, DeSantis has not been interested in calling an early Special Election to replace Dunn. The topic is expected to come up in conversation between DeSantis and President Donald Trump in an upcoming meeting.

But it all may be moot if Dunn has no plans to quit.

Of note, Republicans currently hold 218 seats in the U.S. House, compared to 214 held by Democrats. That has left Speaker Mike Johnson with little wiggle room on passing controversial bills, and he has told press he needs “unanimity every day.” Deaths have already impacted the size of the Republican and Democrat caucuses this year, and the Speaker has reportedly discouraged early resignations.

That said, Florida law allows officials to resign at a date certain. That came into play, for example, when Waltz left his seat to become White House National Security Officer but still was sworn into a new term in Congress even as a campaign unfolded to replace him. Waltz stayed only a short time before vacating the seat, but that prevented a delay in the election before his exit from office.

That means Dunn could announce he is quitting without vacating the seat until closer to the date of a Special Election.

Of note, while Dunn’s staff has emphatically shot down rumors of an early exit, he did not outright deny the rumor to Florida Politics. And less than two hours after Allison denied a second time that Dunn had plans to leave, Meredith Lee Hill of POLITICO asked Dunn at the House floor if he would serve out his term.

“No comment,” Dunn told the reporter.

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TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: congress

[DIRTYSECRET]

And if he croaks unannounced?

How do we insure we don’t pull a Ruth Ginsberg? Age limits-no. It’s in the hands of the lazy voters.