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Judge’s resignation sparks debate over DeSantis’s judicial power
Whether or not someone called an audible to keep the GOP’s grip on an important judicial seat in Tallahassee, Democrats cried foul following the abrupt announced resignation of Leon Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey.
Dempsey, citing family illness, submitted a letter of resignation to Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 14, 2026, just days after the latest campaign finance reports showed her challenger, Talley Kaleko, clobbering her in fundraising.
Her resignation, which is effective Dec. 28, 2026, just before her current six-year term ends, means Gov. Ron DeSantis will choose her successor rather than voters in the November election.
Dempsey issued a statement April 16 saying she was stepping down in eight months to help her mother, who she said has a “serious, degenerative medical condition” that recently worsened.
“This was not an easy decision, but after careful consideration and reflection, I have decided that the needs of my family must come before my own,” she wrote.
Under Supreme Court precedent, a judicial vacancy occurs when a letter of resignation is received and accepted by the governor, regardless of whether it will occur in the future. Under Florida law, the governor gets to appoint someone to fill the vacancy who serves until the next general election, in this case 2028.
The timing of Dempsey’s resignation — just days before judicial qualifying — thwarted an election in which she was seen by some as a vulnerable incumbent. Had she waited to resign until judicial qualifying, which runs April 20-24, experts say either an election would have proceeded or a lone candidate would have been automatically elected.
The Leon County Democratic Party blasted the move in a Facebook post after the Tallahassee Democrat broke news of Dempsey’s resignation. The party alluded to two other circuit court races that will remain on the ballot even as the Dempsey/Kaleko contest is removed.
“Just what we’ve been saying: the far right will do whatever it takes to circumvent elections and let DeSantis push his extreme partisan agenda onto the judiciary,” the Democratic Party wrote. “In 2026, voters will have an opportunity to remove Republican governors’ hand selected picks and elect judges that will restore balance and confidence in the bench.”
Evan Power, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and a candidate for Congress, defended Dempsey in a text message to the Democrat.
“Judge Angela Dempsey has served our community well over the past 20 years,” he wrote. “I appreciate her need to step away to take care of family. Anyone trying to politicize the needs of her family should be ashamed of themselves.”
‘It’s important that the voters and the citizens get to pick’
Judicial races in Florida may be nonpartisan, but they are not beyond the reach of partisan politicians trying to game the system to their advantage. DeSantis in particular has used a heavy hand to keep his conservative stamp on the courts.
In 2023, he waited more than seven months after the death of Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll to appoint Lance Neff to replace him, effectively extending the term of that seat. Neff was elevated in March to the 1st District Court of Appeal, leaving a vacancy that the governor also will fill.
During a March 31 signing of Missy’s Law in Tampa, DeSantis called on the Florida House to impeach Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper over a ruling that left a man free on bond who allegedly went on to kill his stepdaughter, 5-year-old Missy Mogle.
Baker-Carper, a former Democrat who now has no party affiliation, is running for re-election this year, so far without opposition. Her defenders fault prosecutors for not informing her of past investigations involving the murdered girl’s stepfather.
Dempsey, a former Republican turned NPA, was appointed to the bench in 2005 by then-Gov. Jeb Bush and first elected in 2008 after defeating William “Bill” Miller Jr. She was reelected in 2014 without opposition and reelected again in 2020 after a challenge from Kevin Alvarez. She filed for a third reelection campaign last October, raising just shy of $59,000 in the months since.
Meanwhile, Kaleko, a first-time candidate, raised nearly $120,000 in less than three weeks after filing to run March 12. After learning of Dempsey’s resignation and the removal of her race from the state’s election website, she said she was “stunned” but declined to comment further.
Kaleko and two other candidates for circuit judge, Stephanie Cager and Rashad Green, got vocal support from the Leon County Democratic Party, which is chaired by Ryan Ray, aide to Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, who’s running for mayor. All three judicial candidates are registered Democrats.
Cager is running against Circuit Judge Jason Jones, who was appointed by DeSantis, while Green is challenging Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh, who was appointed by former Gov. Rick Scott.
“Great momentum for Democratic judicial candidates!” the local Democratic Party posted on an article about Kaleko’s fundraising. “Republicans Dempsey, Marsh and Jones will lose to Kaleko, Green and Cager. Leon rejects Federalist Society influence and this wave will run all the way down.”
In a March 25 interview, Kaleko said she wasn’t part of the Democratic Party’s push to unseat Republican appointees and declined to even give her party affiliation, though she acknowledged it was public record.
“I don’t think it’s relevant to a judicial race at all,” she said. “For the system to work, I think it’s important that the voters and the citizens get to pick who they feel is qualified to be a judge. It’s not about politics.”
Contact Jeff Burlew at [email protected] or 850-599-2180.
