October 13, 2025 • 9 mins
Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner joined Preston to talk about his fledgling campaign for the Sunshine State's highest elected office.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He is Jose I am Preston. Great to be with
you as always. Thanks for sharing time, whether you are
listening to us on old fashion radio or on that
new thing called your smartphone or your laptop or desktop
via iHeartRadio. We appreciate you joining us and we are
thrilled to have with us once again. He's the former
Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Sunshine State.
(00:23):
He is a US Navy veteran and running for governor.
He is Paul Renner. Paul, good to have you back
on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
How are you, sir, Great to be here, Preston, Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Tell me how's the fundraising going since you made the announcement?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Not too bad? Three point seven million in the first
thirty five days. So you, in a challenged math guy
like me can figure out that map, it's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
What's resonating, Paul? What aspect of your message do you
find making the biggest, biggest impact for you?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, people want to know what's going to happen after
Governor DeSantis leave, and he's been a leader, and people
feel like maybe we're going to slip back, and so
they want somebody with a lot of leadership background. They
hear that. I was in the military twenty years, served
in two wars, was a state attorney, fighting for victims,
fighting against violent offenders, and a successful two years a speaker.
(01:16):
People want results. They want the same kind of results
they had with the governor, and in those two years,
we had a very conservative and consequential two years, as
you know, and people want to keep pushing forward, and
they look at me and say, this is the guy
that can logically do that.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
When you look at the issues that are kind of
laying out in front of whoever the next governor is
what's number one?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, affordability, I think is what I hear from everybody.
You know, everything's more expensive, and there's things government can
fix or help to fix, and there's things we can't.
In many cases, government's the problem. And in DC they've
printed money, borrowed money over and over again. They can't
even get a budget passed. You know, in Florida, we
balance our budget, We've had record tax relief, we had
money to give back to the people who paid it,
(02:01):
and we paid down debt early in advance. I mean,
nobody's ever going to confuse us. For the federal government.
I can tell you that and we don't do shutdowns either,
So we are just very, very different. And people want,
you know, government to not overspend so that they can
have more in their pocket. And I think fundamentally to
this question of affordability is government should do less so
(02:22):
we can keep more, and government shouldn't grow faster than
our pocketbooks allow. So if government's growing by fifty percent,
you know, and our wages are going by ten percent
or fifteen percent, that's a problem and that's where people are.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
You know. One of the things I've commented on for
a long time doing this program, Paul, is that Florida
is a model. It proves first of all, the value
of a balanced budget amendment, that there's a constitutional mandate
to get the budget right here in Florida. And secondly,
it's a consumption tax state. There is no personal income
as tax, as you well know, and those two things
(02:56):
by themselves really can speak to the nation on how
to better run an efficient government effectively.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
You're absolutely right. And the very first thing I did
in my second year a speaker, which is unusual. You
usually don't hear bills on opening day. It's a lot
of pomp and circumstance. Everybody has their flowers on their
desk and so forth. We passed a request and put
Florida on the record as a state that wanted to
see the US Congress at not them a convention of
(03:27):
states pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as
well as a line item veto. I think you've seen
how the governor and I as governor, would be very
careful to make sure we don't have any waste in
our budget. It happens in the budgeting process, and to
give the president that power as well. But a balance budget,
you're right, Listen, Republicans like to spend money too. We
(03:47):
see that in Washington, DC. They can't help themselves, and
so having that discipline in the Constitution is critical.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
You can go to the website vote Renner dot com
if you'd like to get involved with the campaign some cash. Again,
it's vote Renterer dot com. I always encourage you don't
give to the party. I can't stand the Republican Party
because they still haven't figured out how to message, and
I've been in I've had a beef with them for
(04:15):
most of my adult life since becoming a Republican in
nineteen seventy eight. But if you want to support a candidate.
You could do that directly and again vote Renter dot com. Paul. Obviously,
we've got the affordability issue, and it spills into a
whole lot of things. It covers housing, and defining what
affordable housing is is always going to be a bit
(04:37):
of a challenge. But it also really spills into the
healthcare industry. We've talked at nauseum on this program about Obamacare.
How much impact can we negate of Obamacare while it
remains in effect.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Well, here's the problem is it's the rotten trunk on
the tree. And so people are talking now in the
Republican Party about, you know, working with Obamacare, you know,
refforming it. You know, basically it's going to be a
continuation of the subsidies you saw under Biden because it
just doesn't work. And so I'm still in the mind
that we need to repeal it, we need to replace
(05:16):
it with something that's free market based. Because you've seen
everything go up since Obamacare. Deductibles, copays are up, Coverage
is no better, and so it has not brought down
rates as it promised to do. You were not able
to keep your doctor if you wanted it. As you
were promised to do, and so over and over again.
The promises were not truthful. I think they knew that
(05:39):
going in, but it was a path to socialized medicine,
a path a single payer. If you look at you know,
costs for dental care, for example, less regulated by the government,
much more reasonable cost relative to medical care. We've got
to do that. We've got to make sure we have
a free market, more free market approach to healthcare. And
then the other thing we also need to focus on, well,
(06:00):
and I'll do that as governor, is make sure you know,
we're not feeding really bad stuff to our kids where
they become obese, where they have a lifetime of health issues.
And it's true for adults too. We want to live healthier,
longer lives, and so that can also help us bring
down costs.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Tell me your thoughts on how we kind of broaden
the marketplace. You know, there's talk of, you know, you
need to allow competition in the healthcare field, and that
has got to bring you know, more of a free
market approach to it, which is allowing people outside of
Florida to compete in Florida if they want to.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
I was a big proponent in file bills past bills
for shared savings. And the way that works is we're
not talking about you're in an ambulance and going into
the emergency room, but if it's if it's a surgery
like a knee surgery, hit surgery you schedule out. There
is an incredible cost differential depending on where you park
your car. Take an MRI, it's the same MRI machine.
(07:00):
There's a big difference between what you pay at one
location versus the other. And so he said, okay, let's
let patients capture some of that savings. That's what the
shared savings means, and so that they go somewhere that's
just as good and they save a little bit of money.
It puts them in the driver's seat of shopping their
care like we shop an automobile, like we shop a
house or any o their big purchase. We give them
(07:22):
the ability to put that money back in their pockets.
And by doing so, it means the high priced providers
have to bring that price down to what's reasonable. In
doing so is a way to introduce the market into
healthcare and start to bring costs down. If it's successful,
and we've seen that work at the state.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Level, joining us Paul Renner running for governor for the
state of Florida. The GOP nomination comes first. Paul, A
lot of people will say, well, the legislature's never going
to be too friendly to the idea of radical change
because they're just too many attorneys in the legislature. Your response, well,
I am one.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I'd like to think I'm a good one. I was
a prop cocuter, I was a business I'm a business attorney.
But h and it helps I think to understand kind
of how the laws are written. But there's a lot
of lobbyists out there. There's a lot of people. What
I learned when people say what are you surprised about,
is that if there's a good idea that's pure common sense,
that seems non controversial, there's somebody somewhere in tallahasse He,
(08:20):
just like Washington, DC, that wants to keep it just
the way it is, even though it's good reform. And
so as speaker, I was proud to really push against
that idea to say, look, I don't care if the
whole you know, lobby core is lobbied up on one side.
We're going to make sure we do what's right for
patients as we just discuss or consumers in the case
of insurance reform, and just go through that process and
(08:42):
say what's good to bring down costs, what's good for
human thriving and prosperity and these kinds of things when
it comes to affordability, and let's do those things. And
you know, let the special interest to stand on the
sideline and fight.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Last question for I know you got to run here,
but I'm curious. A new governor is going to come
in with new leadership in the House and the Senate.
Your thoughts on the future leaders on both of those bodies,
very very optimistic.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
We've got two great guys, Jim Boyd Sam Gearson coming
in as presiding officers below. That is a great group
of men and women in the House and Senate. You know, look,
if you look at the last two years and you
see the productivity we have, We've got a lot of good,
strong conservatives. We just got to bring that band back
together and keep pushing, and as governor, will have a
bold agenda to address these issues of affordability and all
(09:31):
the other issues that Florida faces going forward.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Thanks so much for the time today. Look forward to
talking with you again soon. Thanks Preston appreciate it. Paul
Renner with us this morning and again. You can go
to the website vote Renner dot com if you'd like
to learn more. Seventeen past the Hour
He is Jose I am Preston. Great to be with
you as always. Thanks for sharing time, whether you are
listening to us on old fashion radio or on that
new thing called your smartphone or your laptop or desktop
via iHeartRadio. We appreciate you joining us and we are
thrilled to have with us once again. He's the former
Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Sunshine State.
(00:23):
He is a US Navy veteran and running for governor.
He is Paul Renner. Paul, good to have you back
on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
How are you, sir, Great to be here, Preston, Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Tell me how's the fundraising going since you made the announcement?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Not too bad? Three point seven million in the first
thirty five days. So you, in a challenged math guy
like me can figure out that map, it's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
What's resonating, Paul? What aspect of your message do you
find making the biggest, biggest impact for you?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, people want to know what's going to happen after
Governor DeSantis leave, and he's been a leader, and people
feel like maybe we're going to slip back, and so
they want somebody with a lot of leadership background. They
hear that. I was in the military twenty years, served
in two wars, was a state attorney, fighting for victims,
fighting against violent offenders, and a successful two years a speaker.
(01:16):
People want results. They want the same kind of results
they had with the governor, and in those two years,
we had a very conservative and consequential two years, as
you know, and people want to keep pushing forward, and
they look at me and say, this is the guy
that can logically do that.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
When you look at the issues that are kind of
laying out in front of whoever the next governor is
what's number one?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, affordability, I think is what I hear from everybody.
You know, everything's more expensive, and there's things government can
fix or help to fix, and there's things we can't.
In many cases, government's the problem. And in DC they've
printed money, borrowed money over and over again. They can't
even get a budget passed. You know, in Florida, we
balance our budget, We've had record tax relief, we had
money to give back to the people who paid it,
(02:01):
and we paid down debt early in advance. I mean,
nobody's ever going to confuse us. For the federal government.
I can tell you that and we don't do shutdowns either,
So we are just very, very different. And people want,
you know, government to not overspend so that they can
have more in their pocket. And I think fundamentally to
this question of affordability is government should do less so
(02:22):
we can keep more, and government shouldn't grow faster than
our pocketbooks allow. So if government's growing by fifty percent,
you know, and our wages are going by ten percent
or fifteen percent, that's a problem and that's where people are.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
You know. One of the things I've commented on for
a long time doing this program, Paul, is that Florida
is a model. It proves first of all, the value
of a balanced budget amendment, that there's a constitutional mandate
to get the budget right here in Florida. And secondly,
it's a consumption tax state. There is no personal income
as tax, as you well know, and those two things
(02:56):
by themselves really can speak to the nation on how
to better run an efficient government effectively.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
You're absolutely right. And the very first thing I did
in my second year a speaker, which is unusual. You
usually don't hear bills on opening day. It's a lot
of pomp and circumstance. Everybody has their flowers on their
desk and so forth. We passed a request and put
Florida on the record as a state that wanted to
see the US Congress at not them a convention of
(03:27):
states pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as
well as a line item veto. I think you've seen
how the governor and I as governor, would be very
careful to make sure we don't have any waste in
our budget. It happens in the budgeting process, and to
give the president that power as well. But a balance budget,
you're right, Listen, Republicans like to spend money too. We
(03:47):
see that in Washington, DC. They can't help themselves, and
so having that discipline in the Constitution is critical.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
You can go to the website vote Renner dot com
if you'd like to get involved with the campaign some cash. Again,
it's vote Renterer dot com. I always encourage you don't
give to the party. I can't stand the Republican Party
because they still haven't figured out how to message, and
I've been in I've had a beef with them for
(04:15):
most of my adult life since becoming a Republican in
nineteen seventy eight. But if you want to support a candidate.
You could do that directly and again vote Renter dot com. Paul. Obviously,
we've got the affordability issue, and it spills into a
whole lot of things. It covers housing, and defining what
affordable housing is is always going to be a bit
(04:37):
of a challenge. But it also really spills into the
healthcare industry. We've talked at nauseum on this program about Obamacare.
How much impact can we negate of Obamacare while it
remains in effect.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Well, here's the problem is it's the rotten trunk on
the tree. And so people are talking now in the
Republican Party about, you know, working with Obamacare, you know,
refforming it. You know, basically it's going to be a
continuation of the subsidies you saw under Biden because it
just doesn't work. And so I'm still in the mind
that we need to repeal it, we need to replace
(05:16):
it with something that's free market based. Because you've seen
everything go up since Obamacare. Deductibles, copays are up, Coverage
is no better, and so it has not brought down
rates as it promised to do. You were not able
to keep your doctor if you wanted it. As you
were promised to do, and so over and over again.
The promises were not truthful. I think they knew that
(05:39):
going in, but it was a path to socialized medicine,
a path a single payer. If you look at you know,
costs for dental care, for example, less regulated by the government,
much more reasonable cost relative to medical care. We've got
to do that. We've got to make sure we have
a free market, more free market approach to healthcare. And
then the other thing we also need to focus on, well,
(06:00):
and I'll do that as governor, is make sure you know,
we're not feeding really bad stuff to our kids where
they become obese, where they have a lifetime of health issues.
And it's true for adults too. We want to live healthier,
longer lives, and so that can also help us bring
down costs.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Tell me your thoughts on how we kind of broaden
the marketplace. You know, there's talk of, you know, you
need to allow competition in the healthcare field, and that
has got to bring you know, more of a free
market approach to it, which is allowing people outside of
Florida to compete in Florida if they want to.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
I was a big proponent in file bills past bills
for shared savings. And the way that works is we're
not talking about you're in an ambulance and going into
the emergency room, but if it's if it's a surgery
like a knee surgery, hit surgery you schedule out. There
is an incredible cost differential depending on where you park
your car. Take an MRI, it's the same MRI machine.
(07:00):
There's a big difference between what you pay at one
location versus the other. And so he said, okay, let's
let patients capture some of that savings. That's what the
shared savings means, and so that they go somewhere that's
just as good and they save a little bit of money.
It puts them in the driver's seat of shopping their
care like we shop an automobile, like we shop a
house or any o their big purchase. We give them
(07:22):
the ability to put that money back in their pockets.
And by doing so, it means the high priced providers
have to bring that price down to what's reasonable. In
doing so is a way to introduce the market into
healthcare and start to bring costs down. If it's successful,
and we've seen that work at the state.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Level, joining us Paul Renner running for governor for the
state of Florida. The GOP nomination comes first. Paul, A
lot of people will say, well, the legislature's never going
to be too friendly to the idea of radical change
because they're just too many attorneys in the legislature. Your response, well,
I am one.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I'd like to think I'm a good one. I was
a prop cocuter, I was a business I'm a business attorney.
But h and it helps I think to understand kind
of how the laws are written. But there's a lot
of lobbyists out there. There's a lot of people. What
I learned when people say what are you surprised about,
is that if there's a good idea that's pure common sense,
that seems non controversial, there's somebody somewhere in tallahasse He,
(08:20):
just like Washington, DC, that wants to keep it just
the way it is, even though it's good reform. And
so as speaker, I was proud to really push against
that idea to say, look, I don't care if the
whole you know, lobby core is lobbied up on one side.
We're going to make sure we do what's right for
patients as we just discuss or consumers in the case
of insurance reform, and just go through that process and
(08:42):
say what's good to bring down costs, what's good for
human thriving and prosperity and these kinds of things when
it comes to affordability, and let's do those things. And
you know, let the special interest to stand on the
sideline and fight.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Last question for I know you got to run here,
but I'm curious. A new governor is going to come
in with new leadership in the House and the Senate.
Your thoughts on the future leaders on both of those bodies,
very very optimistic.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
We've got two great guys, Jim Boyd Sam Gearson coming
in as presiding officers below. That is a great group
of men and women in the House and Senate. You know, look,
if you look at the last two years and you
see the productivity we have, We've got a lot of good,
strong conservatives. We just got to bring that band back
together and keep pushing, and as governor, will have a
bold agenda to address these issues of affordability and all
(09:31):
the other issues that Florida faces going forward.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Thanks so much for the time today. Look forward to
talking with you again soon. Thanks Preston appreciate it. Paul
Renner with us this morning and again. You can go
to the website vote Renner dot com if you'd like
to learn more. Seventeen past the Hour
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