First Lady of Florida | |
---|---|
Style | First Lady |
Residence | Florida Governor's Mansion |
Inaugural holder | Rachel Donelson Jackson |
Formation | March 10, 1821 |
Website | flgov.com |
The first lady of Florida is the hostess of the Florida Governor's Mansion, usually the spouse of the governor of Florida, concurrent with the governor's term in office. Casey DeSantis is the current first lady of Florida, assuming the position on January 8, 2019, as the wife of 46th and current Florida governor Ron DeSantis, with whom she has three children.
Rhoda Elizabeth Waller Gibbes, the mother of Florida governor Albert Gilchrist, served as first lady of Florida from 1909 to 1912, and pushed for a monument to the American Civil War Battle of Olustee. [1]
In 2019, Casey DeSantis established the First Lady's Medal for Courage, Commitment, and Service. [2]
James Oscar Davis III is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. He is a Democrat and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2007, representing Florida's 11th congressional district. He was the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida in the 2006 election, but was defeated by Republican Charlie Crist.
Reubin O'Donovan Askew was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. Trade representative from 1979 to 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. He led on tax reform, civil rights, and financial transparency for public officials, maintaining an outstanding reputation for personal integrity.
Richard Keith Call was an American attorney, politician, and slave owner who served as the 3rd and 5th territorial governor of Florida. Before that, he was elected to the Florida Territorial Council and as a delegate to the U.S. Congress from Florida. In the mid-1830s, he developed two plantations in Leon County, Florida, one of which was several thousand acres in size. In 1860 he held more than 120 slaves and was the third-largest slaveholder in the county. He was also a Southern Unionist opposed to Florida's secession during the American Civil War.
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.
Columba Bush is a Mexican-American philanthropist. As the wife of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, she served as the First Lady of Florida from 1999 to 2007.
The 2006 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a third consecutive term. The election was won by then-Republican Charlie Crist, the state's Attorney General. The election was notable in that for the first time, the state elected a Republican governor in three consecutive elections.
Louis Frey Jr. was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 until 1979. He represented Florida's 5th congressional district from 1969 to 1973 and the 9th district from 1973 to 1979, until he ran unsuccessfully in 1978 for the Republican nomination for governor to succeed the term-limited Democrat Reubin Askew of Pensacola.
The Florida Governor's Mansion is a historic U.S. residence in Tallahassee, Florida, and the official residence of the governor of Florida. On July 20, 2006, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Mary Call Darby Collins was an American historic preservationist who was the first lady of Florida from 1955 to 1961 as the wife of Governor LeRoy Collins.
John Wallace was a teacher, lawyer, political leader and judge in Florida. Wallace served in the Union Army after being freed by federal soldiers during the American Civil War. He served in the Florida Legislature during the Reconstruction era. He also became a lawyer and argued cases before the Florida Supreme Court. He putatively wrote "Carpetbag Rule in Florida: The Inside Workings of Civil Government in Florida After the Close of the Civil War". At the time of his death, he had held public office longer than any other African-American elected official.
Ricky L. Polston is an American lawyer who served as a justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 2008 to 2023. He served as the chief justice of the court from July 2012 to June 2014. He is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law.
Jeanette Marie Nuñez is an American businesswoman and politician serving as the 20th lieutenant governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she represented Miami-Dade County in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018, also serving as speaker pro tempore for her final two years in the office. Nuñez is the first Latina to serve as Florida lieutenant governor.
Ronald Dion DeSantis is an American politician serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Florida. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Florida's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. DeSantis was a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, withdrawing his candidacy in January 2024.
Dane Eagle is an American politician from Florida. A Republican, Eagle was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis as Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in September 2020. Eagle was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020, where he represented Cape Coral in Lee County and served as Majority Leader and Majority Whip. Eagle resigned from the House to accept his appointment as head of DEO. Eagle unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Congress in Florida's 19th congressional district in the 2020 election.
The 2018 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside an election to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Incumbent two-term Republican governor Rick Scott was term-limited and could not run for a third term, and he successfully ran for Florida's Class I Senate seat.
Jill Casey DeSantis is an American former news journalist, television show host, and the current first lady of Florida as the wife of Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
The 2022 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Florida, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Party governor Ron DeSantis won re-election in a landslide and defeated the Democratic Party nominee, former U.S. representative Charlie Crist, who previously served as governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican and later as an Independent. No Democrat has been elected governor of Florida since 1994.
William Edward Kilcrease was a state legislator in Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives in 1850 and the Florida Senate in 1852, 1854, and 1855. He had a cotton plantations in Gadsden County. He owned slaves.
The 2026 Florida gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Florida, alongside the elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who will be ineligible from running because of term limits by the Florida Constitution, cannot seek re-election to a third consecutive term.