Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart is a Cuban-American attorney and politician. He was the U.S. representative for Florida's 21st congressional district from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. He retired from Congress in 2011 and his younger brother,Mario Díaz-Balart,who had previously represented Florida's 25th congressional district,succeeded him. He is currently chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute. After leaving Congress,he started a law practice and a consulting firm,both based in Miami,Florida.
Charles Joseph Crist Jr. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2012;he was previously a Republican before becoming an independent in 2010.
Dixon Alan Hays is a politician who was elected Supervisor of Elections for Lake County,Florida,in 2016. He previously was a member of the Florida State Senate from 2010 to 2016 and a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010. He is a Republican.
Charles S. Dean Sr. is a Republican politician who served as a member of the Florida Senate,representing the 5th District,which includes Baker,Citrus,Columbia,Dixie,Gilchrist,Lafayette,Levy,western Marion,Suwannee,and Union Counties in North Florida,from 2012 to 2016,previously representing the 3rd District from 2007 to 2012. Before winning election to the Senate,Dean served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 43rd District from 2002 to 2007.
Dennis Alan Ross is an American businessman and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. A Republican from Florida,his district was numbered as Florida's 12th congressional district during his first two years in Congress,and it was numbered as the 15th district during his last six years in Congress.
Ed Hooper is a Republican member of the Florida Senate,representing the 21st District,which includes Clearwater and Largo in northern Pinellas County and western Pasco County,since 2018.
Jason T. Brodeur is a Florida State Senator representing the 10th district,which consists of Seminole and a small part of Orange County. Before the redistricting that took effect with the 2022 election,he represented the old 9th district. A Republican,Brodeur also serves as the president and CEO of the Seminole County Chamber,which advocates for pro-business practices in Seminole County and across the state of Florida. He previously served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018. From 2010-2012,he represented the 33rd District. During his final six years in the Florida House,Brodeur represented the 28th District,which consists of eastern Seminole County.
Frank Artiles is a Cuban-American Republican politician from Florida. He served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives,representing parts of Miami-Dade County from 2010 to 2016,before being elected to the Florida Senate in 2016. He resigned from the Senate on April 21,2017,after using racial slurs and other profanities against fellow senators.
Jeffrey P. Brandes is an American politician who served as the Florida State Senator from the 24th district from 2016 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party,he has been elected from the Pinellas County area to the Florida Senate since 2012,representing the 22nd district from 2012 to 2016. Brandes previously served as the Florida State Representative for the 52nd district from 2010 to 2012.
Travis Hutson is a Republican member of the Florida Senate,representing the 7th district,which includes Flagler,St. Johns,and northern Volusia County,since 2016. He previously represented the 6th district from 2015 to 2016. Hutson also served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 until he was elected to the Senate.
Blaise Ingoglia is an American politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida Senate,representing the 11th district,since 2022. A member of the Republican Party,he previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2014 to 2022 in the 35th district,as well as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida from 2015 to 2019.
Carlos Guillermo Smith is an American community activist,lobbyist,and politician. A Democrat,he served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from District 49,which covered the University of Central Florida area.
Venden "Vince" Leach is an American politician from Arizona. A Republican,he was a member of the Arizona State Senate from 2019 to 2023,representing District 11. From 2015 to 2019,he was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 11.
Joe Gruters was the Chairman of the Florida Republican Party from 2018 to 2022,and is a member of the Florida Senate representing the 22nd District,which consists of Sarasota County and part of Charlotte County. He was previously a member of the Florida House of Representatives. Earlier in his career,Gruters worked on the campaign of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan as campaign manager and was vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota.
Mike Beltran is an American politician in the state of Florida. He is a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives representing the state's 57th district,which includes part of Hillsborough County.
Michelle Salzman is a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives representing the state's 1st District,which includes the northern portion of Escambia County. She was elected to the seat in November 2020,after she defeated Democratic candidate Franscine Mathis in the general election. Prior to that she defeated incumbent Mike Hill in the Republican primary in August 2020.
Senate Bill 86,also titled SB 86:Student Financial Aid or An act relating to student financial aid was a proposed 2021 Florida educational funding bill that would have made major changes to the implementation and administration of the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The bill drew considerable controversy due to its proposals.
The 2022 elections for the Florida State Senate took place on Tuesday,November 8,2022,to elect state senators from all 40 districts. Although on ordinary years,20 senators are elected at a time on a staggered basis,races following redistricting elect all 40 members to ensure that each member represents an equal number of constituents. The Republican Party expanded their Senate majority from 24 to 28,gaining a supermajority in the Senate. The concurrently held House elections also resulted in a supermajority,giving Republicans supermajority control of the legislature.
Since the passage of Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act,commonly known as the Don't Say Gay bill,The Walt Disney Company has been involved in a feud with Florida governor Ron DeSantis and the state's Republican Party. While initially a donor to some of the politicians who voted in favor of the Act,after its passage Disney spoke out against the bill and called for it to be repealed.
The Parental Rights in Education Act,commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law,is a Florida state law passed in 2022 that regulates public schools in Florida. The law is most notable for its controversial sections which prohibit public schools from having "classroom discussion" or giving "classroom instruction" about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through third grade or in any manner deemed to be against state standards in all grades;prohibits public schools from adopting procedures or student support forms that maintain the confidentiality of a disclosure by a student,including of the gender identity or sexual orientation of a student,from parents;and requires public schools to bear all the costs of all lawsuits filed by aggrieved parents.
