Alachua County is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census,the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville,the home of the University of Florida since 1906,when the campus opened with 106 students.
Rodney Warren Smith is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat,Smith was a member of the Florida Senate from Gainesville from 2001 until 2006. Smith ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida in the 2006 election but lost to Congressman Jim Davis. In 2010,Smith was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Florida as the running mate of Alex Sink in her campaign for Governor of Florida. From November 2010 through January 2013 Smith served as chairman of the Florida Democratic Party. In 2016,Smith again ran for a seat in the Florida Senate but was ultimately defeated by Keith Perry,a Republican and former state representative.
Karen Lee Loveland Thurman is a former U.S. Representative from Florida,serving five consecutive terms from 1993 to 2003. She is a Democrat and served as chair of the Florida Democratic Party from 2005 to 2010.
Josiah Thomas Walls was a United States congressman who served three terms in the U.S. Congress between 1871 and 1876. He was one of the first African Americans in the United States Congress elected during the Reconstruction Era,and the first black person to be elected to Congress from Florida. He also served four terms in the Florida Senate.
The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida,headquartered in Tallahassee. Former Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried is the current chair.
Steve Oelrich is an American law enforcement officer and former Republican member of the Florida Senate from 2006 to 2012,where he represented the 14th District,which included Alachua,Bradford,Columbia,Gilchrist,Levy,Marion,Putnam,and Union counties.
Perry Colson McGriff,Jr. was an American politician,retired insurance agent,and former All-American college football and baseball player. McGriff was a member of the Florida House of Representatives,Mayor of Gainesville and Democratic nominee for a seat in the Florida Senate.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut is an American Democratic politician who served on the Gainesville,Florida City Commission from 1987 to 1989 and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1990 to 2000,representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2000,Chestnut was elected to the Alachua County Commission in 2002,where she served until she lost re-election in 2010.
Christopher L. Smith was a Democratic member of the Florida Senate,who represented the 31st District,which includes eastern Broward County since 2012.
Charles S. "Chuck" Chestnut IV is a Democratic politician who currently serves as an Alachua County Commissioner,representing the 5th District from 2012 to the present. Prior to being elected to the Alachua County Commission,Chestnut served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2012,representing the 96th District.
Perry Eugene Thurston Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2016 to 2022. He represented the 33rd district,which includes Lauderhill,Lauderdale Lakes,North Lauderdale,Margate,Oakland Park,and surrounding areas in Broward County. He previously served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives,representing the Fort Lauderdale area from 2006 to 2014,and was the House minority leader in his final term. Thurston was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of Florida in 2014.
Stuart Craig Lowe was an American politician who served as Mayor of Gainesville,Florida,from 2010 to 2013;he previously served as Gainesville City Commissioner from 2003 through his becoming mayor. Lowe was the first openly gay mayor of the city.
The 2000 congressional elections in Florida were held on November 7,2000,to determine who would represent the state of Florida in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms;those elected served in the 107th Congress from January 3,2001,until January 3,2003. The election coincided with the 2000 United States presidential election.
Robert Milner "Rob" Bradley,Jr. is a Republican politician from Florida. He served as a member of the Florida Senate,representing parts of North Central Florida from 2012 until he was term-limited in 2020.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 8,2016 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Florida,concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primary elections for both the Republicans and Democrats took place on August 30,2016.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida were held on Tuesday,November 8,2016 to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state of Florida,one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices,including President of the United States.
In the elections to the Florida State Senate that were held on November 6,2018,20 of the 40 seats were contested in regular elections and two seats in special elections. The winners of the 20 regular elections will serve four year terms from November 6,2018,to November 6,2022,and the winners of the two special elections will serve two year terms from November 6,2018,to November 6,2020.
Henry S. Harmon was an attorney and politician in Florida after the Civil War. He was the first African-American to be admitted to the bar in Florida.
Edward L. "Ed" Jennings,Jr.,is a Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006,representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2006,Jennings was appointed as the Regional Director for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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.
