Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini’s fight against the state‘s mandatory resign-to-run law while running for Congress is heading for a showdown Monday in a federal courtroom in Tallahassee.

“As written the law violates both the Qualifications clause of the U.S. Constitution and Article 10, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution,” the lawsuit states.

 Qualifying for the District 11 seat held by retiring Rep. Daniel Webster begins Monday and ends Friday.

Under Florida’s resign-to-run law, candidates seeking federal office who hold state or local elected positions must submit a resignation before qualifying. Failure to do so can trigger an automatic irrevocable resignation from the office they currently hold.

A 9 a.m. hearing Monday is key. Sabatini filed a motion for an injunction in May but the judge denied it. In denying the request, the judge said he was not convinced that the primary purpose of Florida’s resign-to-run law was to impose an additional qualification on candidates seeking election to Congress.

Sabatini is going back with new arguments.

Sabatini has filed his initial paperwork required by the Federal Election Commission. The statutory 10-day period to file a resignation letter “has now passed,” according to a motion he filed Wednesday.

Sabatini, a Mount Dora lawyer who lives in Howey-In-The-Hills, believes he has the right to continue serving as District 1 county commissioner pending the outcome of the Congressional race. “I have about 2 ½ years to go,” he said in a phone interview Saturday.

If Sabatini’s commission seat becomes vacant, Gov. Ron DeSantis would appoint a replacement to serve until the next election cycle.

Sabatini touts his experience in the Florida House on his campaign website and a two-year stint as chairman of the Lake County Republican Party.

He lists his platform as “deporting 30 million illegal immigrants,” banning members of Congress from stock trading, imposing term limits and combating inflation.

“I’m an Army veteran and America First conservative running for Congress because Washington is broken. The Radical Left is actively destroying this country, and the establishment Republicans refuse to fight back.”

The suit names Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s secretary of state Cord Byrd in their official capacity as defendants.

Sabatini was going to run for Webster’s seat in 2024 but dropped out after President Donald Trump endorsed the long-time Congressman for another term.

Webster, 77, a Republican, is former speaker of the Florida House. An engineer, he has served on Congressional transportation and infrastructure committees. He was elected to the U.S. House in 2011.

District 11 includes Lake, Sumter and portions of Orange County. “About half of Apopka,” Sabatini says.

Sabatini is one of several Republicans seeking to replace Webster in Florida’s 11th Congressional District. The field includes state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, former state Rep. Ralph Massullo, former congressional candidate Ernie Audino, businessman Chuck Sheridan and businessman John Moore. Carey Baker also entered the race this week. Baker previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and spent nearly two decades as Lake County’s property appraiser.