Jim Davis (Florida politician)

Last updated
Jim Davis
JimDavis.jpg
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives
from Florida's 11th district
In office
January 3, 1997 –January 3, 2007

Davis was born in Tampa, Florida. He graduated from Jesuit High School of Tampa in 1975, and attended Washington and Lee University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979. He later attended the University of Florida's College of Law, received his Juris Doctor in 1982. He later credited his grandfather as an important influence on his life.[ citation needed ]

Career

Davis worked as a lawyer in private practice from 1982 to 1988, when he became a partner in the Tampa-based business law firm of Bush, Ross, Gardner, Warren & Rudy. Davis was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1989 and served until 1996, serving as House Majority Leader from 1995 to 1996. [1] [2] [3] [4]

US House

Davis entered the race for the Tampa-based 11th District in 1996, after Sam Gibbons—the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963—announced his retirement. Although Gibbons had endorsed Davis as his successor, Davis finished second in a four-way Democratic primary behind former Tampa mayor Sandy Freedman. He won the runoff with 56 percent of the vote.

He faced Republican Mark Sharpe in the general election. The race was initially thought to be close, especially since Sharpe had nearly defeated Gibbons in 1994 and held him to 52 percent in 1992. However, Davis won by a convincing 15-point margin, largely due to Bill Clinton carrying the district. After defeating an underfunded Republican in 1998, Davis faced only a Libertarian candidate in 2000 and 2004 and was completely unopposed in 2002.

Davis was one of the co-chairs of the New Democrat Coalition in the House of Representatives. The New Democrat Coalition is affiliated with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.[ citation needed ]

On October 10, 2002, Jim Davis was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.

2006 gubernatorial campaign

Davis campaigning in Wilton Manors U.S. Representative and gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis speaking at a campaign rally in Wilton Manors.jpg
Davis campaigning in Wilton Manors

Davis announced his candidacy for governor of Florida in 2005 and won the Democratic primary held on September 5, 2006. He defeated then-state Senator Rod Smith by a margin of 46 percent to 42 percent.

He received the endorsements of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.S. senator for Florida Bill Nelson, U.S. senator for Illinois Barack Obama, former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham, former Governor Buddy MacKay, former First Lady Rhea Chiles (wife of Lawton Chiles), former Tallahassee mayor and Florida Democratic Party chairman Scott Maddox, Miami-Dade Democratic Party chairman Jimmy Morales, and Representatives Alcee Hastings, Robert Wexler, Corrine Brown, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.[ citation needed ]

He lost the race to Attorney General Charlie Crist by a margin of 52–45.

Democratic primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jim Davis 405,879 47.32%
Democratic Rod Smith353,16141.17%
Democratic Carol Castagnero45,1615.267%
Democratic Glenn Burkett32,9843.85%
Democratic John M. Crotty20,6292.40%
Total votes857,814 100.00%
2006 Florida gubernatorial general election [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Charlie Crist/Jeff Kottkamp 2,519,845 52.20% −3.81%
Democratic Jim Davis/Daryl Jones 2,178,28945.10%+1.94%
Reform Max Linn92,5951.90%+1.90%
Independent John Wayne Smith15,9870.30%
Independent Richard Paul Dembinsky11,9210.20%
Independent Karl C.C. Behm10,4870.20%
Write-ins1470.00%0
Majority341,5567.10%−5.75%
Turnout 4,829,271
Republican hold Swing

Post-political career

As of 2023, Davis is employed at the law and lobbying firm Holland & Knight in Tampa.

In 2010, Davis was a member of and public speaker for Moving Hillsborough Forward, an organization formed to help pass a transit tax referendum on the general election ballot in Hillsborough County. [7] Though there was some speculation that he might potentially run for Mayor of Tampa in 2011, [8] he ultimately declined to run. Though then-Mayor Pam Iorio declared that Davis would be an "excellent" successor, [9] it was speculated that the defeat of the rail referendum by voters left Davis with no platform to run for Mayor on. [10] Davis is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One. [11]

Electoral history

Florida's 11th congressional district : Results 1996–2006 [12]
YearDemocratVotesPctRepublicanVotesPct3rd PartyPartyVotesPct
1996 Jim Davis108,52257.9%Mark Sharpe78,88142.1%
1998 Jim Davis85,26264.9%Joe Chillura46,17635.1%
2000 Jim Davis149,43384.6%(no candidate)Charlie WestlakeLibertarian27,19415.4%
2002 Jim DavisUnopposed100%(no candidate)
2004 Jim Davis191,78085.8%(no candidate)Robert Edward JohnsonLibertarian31,57914.1%

Personal life

Davis's wife is Peggy Bessent Davis. The couple have two children, Peter and William. He is a member of the Episcopal Church.

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References

  1. ↑ "Our Campaigns – FL State House 064 Race – Nov 08, 1988". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  2. ↑ "Our Campaigns – FL State House 64 Race – Nov 06, 1990". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. ↑ "Our Campaigns – FL State House 56 Race – Nov 03, 1992". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  4. ↑ "Our Campaigns – FL State House 56 Race – Nov 08, 1994". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  5. ↑ "September 5, 2006 Primary Election, Democratic Primary, Governor". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  6. ↑ "November 7, 2006 General Election, Governor and Lieutenant Governor". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  7. ↑ Robert Napper (August 2, 2010). "Powerful Tampa Bay Interests Campaign for Local Light Rail Funding". Moving Hillsborough Forward.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Mike Deeson (June 2010). "Tampa Mayor Race Gets Hotter: Bob Buckhorn is Running". WTSP 10 News.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ William March (November 16, 2007). "Iorio Suggests Davis Would Be 'Excellent' Successor". Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013.
  10. ↑ Peter Schorsch (November 5, 2010). "With rail referendum's defeat, Jim Davis not likely to run, so Tampa mayoral field will be set with Greco's announcement". Saint Petersblog. Archived from the original on 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  11. ↑ "Issue One – ReFormers Caucus". www.issueone.org. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  12. ↑ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
Florida House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 64th district
1988–1992		Succeeded by
Joe Tedder
Preceded by Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 56th district
1992–1996		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 11th congressional district
1997–2007		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the New Democrat Coalition
2001–2005
Served alongside: Ron Kind, Adam Smith 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida
2006 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative		Succeeded byas Former US Representative
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