Polk County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046,as of the 2020 census,and estimated to be 818,330,as of July 1,2023. Its county seat is Bartow,and its largest city is Lakeland. Polk County comprises the Lakeland–Winter Haven metropolitan statistical area (MSA). This MSA is the 77th-most populous one and the 89th-most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1,2012. The center of population of Florida is located in Polk County,near the city of Lake Wales. Polk County is home to one public university,one state college,and four private universities.
Bartow is a city and the county seat of Polk County,Florida,United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount,the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow,the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to die in combat during the American Civil War. It is part of the Lakeland−Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area,which had an estimated population of 787,404,as of July 1,2022. According to the 2020 Census,the city had a population of 19,309.
Fort Meade is a city in Polk County,Florida,United States. As of 2020,the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 5,100. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Lakeland is a city in Polk County,Florida,United States. Located along I-4 east of Tampa and west of Orlando,it is the most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release,the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lakeland is situated among several lakes including Lake Morton downtown and is sometimes locally referred to by the nickname "Swan City" due to its sizeable population of swans,all of whom are descendants of two mute swans given to Lakeland by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Lakeland is home to several colleges and universities. Lakeland Linder International Airport is in Lakeland as is the corporate headquarters of Publix,a supermarket chain.
Elizabeth Castor is an American educator and former politician. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and as Florida Education Commissioner,and she subsequently served as the President of the University of South Florida,and President of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Francis Asbury "Berry" Hendry was an American cattle rancher,politician in Florida,and served during the Third Seminole War,and the American Civil War in the Confederate States Army. Hendry was also a state senator for parts of Lee County,and Monroe County,as well as serving as a state representative for Lee County for six terms from 1893 to 1904. He was known by the nickname "Berry" and in later life as "Captain Hendry."
Ben Hill Griffin Jr. was a prominent American businessman,citrus producer,politician,and philanthropist who was a native and resident of Florida. He was an alumnus of the University of Florida,a former legislator,one-time candidate for governor,and a patron of college sports and higher education in Florida. Several of his grandchildren remain active in Florida politics. Griffin is the subject of the final chapter of John McPhee's work of creative nonfiction Oranges.
Virginia Shuman Young was a Fort Lauderdale politician,serving elected terms to the Broward County School Board,and the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. During her time on the City Commission,she served twice as Mayor and as Vice-Mayor from 1971–1973 and 1975-1981.
Rick Dantzler is an American lawyer,former Florida politician,and a member of the Democratic Party. From Winter Haven,Dantzler served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 to 1990,and in the Florida Senate from 1990 to 1998. He was Buddy MacKay's running mate in the 1998 Florida gubernatorial election;they lost to Jeb Bush and Frank Brogan. From 2014 to 2017,Dantzler was President Obama's appointed Florida State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency.
Kelli Stargel is an American politician who is a former Republican member of the Florida State Senate,representing the Lakeland area from 2012–2022. She has represented the 22nd district,encompassing northern Polk and southern Lake Counties,since 2016,after being redistricted from the 15th district. She previously served two terms in the Florida House of Representatives,representing northern Polk from 2008 to 2012.
Frank C. Attkisson was a Florida politician. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and as the mayor of Kissimmee,Florida from 1996 to 2000. Attkisson was a former County Commissioner for Osceola County,Florida,having been defeated in 2014.
Fort Meade Middle-High School or FMMSHS is a combined middle school and high school located in Fort Meade,Florida in Polk County,Florida. The school serves the city of Fort Meade and surrounding areas. The school is located on the northeast side of the city of Fort Meade at 700 Edgewood Drive North. The school enforces a dress code for grades 6-8. The school's teams compete as the Miners.
Carol G. Hanson was an American politician. Hanson served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 to 1994 as a Republican Party. In March 1995,she was elected Mayor of Boca Raton,Florida,a nonpartisan office,serving from April 1995 until March 2001.
Neil Combee is a Republican politician from Florida who represented parts of northern Polk County and northwestern Osceola County in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2017.
Colleen Burton is an American politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives for the 40th district from 2014 to 2022.
The 2018 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Republican attorney general Pam Bondi was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.
Wilhelmina Celeste Goehring Harvey was a philanthropist and the first female mayor of Monroe County,Florida. A "grand dame of Keys politics",she was frequently a public face of the Conch Republic. Outside of politics,she was a science teacher and scuba diver.
Clifford Scott Franklin is an American politician and businessman who has served in the United States House of Representatives since 2021. He represented Florida's 15th congressional district from 2021 to 2023,and has represented Florida's 18th district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Thelma Williams Farr Baxter was an American politician,schoolteacher,and business owner who served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1950 to 1956. A member of the Democratic Party,she was first elected after running unopposed to fill the seat vacated by her late husband,Paul Farr,who had died in a car accident. She ran for re-election the following year against four primary opponents;after no candidate received a majority of the vote,a runoff election was held,which Farr won. After leaving office in 1956,she continued to teach English and managed a family business.
The 2024 Florida House of Representatives elections was held on November 5,2024,as part of the 2024 United States elections. Florida voters elected state representatives in all 120 of the state's house districts.
