resign-to-run.md

flowchart TD
    A[Officeholder wants to run for another office] --> B{What office do they currently hold?}

    B --> C[Federal Office\ne.g. US Representative\nUS Senator]
    B --> D[State Office\ne.g. TX State Rep\nCA Assembly Member]

    C --> E{What are they running for?}
    D --> F{What are they running for?}

    E --> G[Any office\nfederal or state]
    E --> H[Any office\nfederal or state]

    G --> I[✅ No resignation required\nFederal officeholders are governed\nby federal law — state resign-to-run\nlaws have no authority over them]
    H --> I

    F --> J[Another state office\ne.g. Governor, State Senate]
    F --> K[Federal office\ne.g. US Senate, US House]

    J --> L[⚠️ Check state law\nMost resign-to-run states\nrequire resignation]
    K --> M{Does state resign-to-run law\ncover federal races?}

    M --> N[Yes — in some states\ne.g. Texas]
    M --> O[No — in other states]

    N --> P[⚠️ Must resign\nbefore filing or\nbefore election day]
    O --> Q[✅ No resignation required]

    style I fill:#2d6a4f,color:#fff
    style Q fill:#2d6a4f,color:#fff
    style P fill:#9b2226,color:#fff
    style L fill:#ae2012,color:#fff

    subgraph realworld [Real World Examples]
        R["🟢 Jasmine Crockett\nUS Rep → ran for US Senate\nNo resignation needed\n(federal → federal)"]
        S["🔴 TX State Rep → runs for Governor\nMust resign under TX law\n(state → state)"]
        T["🔴 CA Assembly Member → runs for CA Senate\nMust resign under CA law\n(state → state)"]
        U["🟢 US Senator → runs for Governor\nNo resignation needed\n(federal → state, state law can't bind them)"]
    end

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