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Kat Gates-Skipper Among Florida’s 29 Electors Who Voted for Donald Trump
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – President-elect Donald J. Trump won all 29 of Florida’s Electoral College votes on Monday at the state capitol, and Kat Gates-Skipper of Lake Wales was one of those Electors. She serves as the Co-Chair of Florida Veterans for Donald Trump.
Elector Kat Gates-Skipper, First Woman Marine in Combat Operations
Gates-Skipper served 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and Reserves. During her two decades of service, she was the first Woman Marine (WM) to stay overnight in the field for combat training, and the first to stay aboard a ship overnight. She was heavily involved in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and was the first WM in combat operations. Gates-Skipper has received countless awards and recognition for her service including the Marine Corps Distinguished Service Award. A voice and advocate for veterans, Gates-Skipper is a life member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Marine Corps League, where she is the only female and youngest Marine at her local detachment. Kat Gates-Skipper endorsed Donald J. Trump for President in November 2015.
Florida’s 29 Electors
The 29 electors are all Republicans, including Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senate President Joe Negron and members of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF).
Thousands of Letters Mailed to Electors
Credit: Kat Gates-Skipper
Gates-Skipper is among the 538 Electoral College members from around the United States who received thousands of letters asking them to vote for someone besides Donald Trump.
Gates-Skipper told Bay News that she has received about 15,000 letters asking her to change her electoral vote. She said she would not do that.
According to Sunshine State News, Gates-Skipper said she’d received everything from letters to postcards, attorney correspondence and even Christmas cards from “people from all walks of life” who wanted her to change her mind.
“It’s one thing to bother me and to overload my mailbox but then to send me Christmas cards, it’s like bribery without sending me the money,” she told SSN. “Believe it or not, I read each of these.”
Per SSN, Gates-Skipper said most people thank her for her service as a Marine and then recite electoral college rules to convince her of why Trump shouldn’t be president. She said she didn’t understand why people were choosing to reach out angrily.
“Four and eight years ago we were upset [about the election] but we didn’t do such things,” she noted in the SSN interview. “We just took our results and kept on going.”
As she proved Monday, their pleas did not change her mind.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN) — Senator LaVon Bracy Davis and Representative Mitch Rosenwald have filed legislation aimed at expanding access to the My Safe Florida Home Program by allowing homeowners to reapply when applications were previously deemed abandoned or withdrawn due to errors or omissions.
The measure, SB 1148/HB 1045, would modify program rules to permit subsequent applications when the original filing was rejected because of compliance-related mistakes, provided there is good cause and the applicant corrects the issue in a timely manner.
Expanding Access to Homeowner Assistance
The My Safe Florida Home Program is a state initiative that provides eligible Florida homeowners with inspections and grant funding to help strengthen their homes against storms while reducing insurance costs. The program is administered by the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Current rules allow for reapplication if an application was denied or withdrawn due to errors or omissions. However, the proposed legislation would also allow reapplication when an application was deemed abandoned or withdrawn because of similar compliance-related issues.
Addressing Bureaucratic Barriers
“At a time when Florida’s families are struggling with rising insurance costs, we cannot allow bureaucratic technicalities to block access to affordability tools,” said Bracy Davis, a Democrat from Ocoee.
The bill responds to concerns from homeowners who were unable to submit a new application after their original submission was closed due to misunderstandings or reasonable mistakes regarding program requirements.
Focus on Seniors and Low-Income Homeowners
Rosenwald, a Democrat from Oakland Park, said the legislation is intended to help vulnerable homeowners who rely on the program for financial relief.
“This program can be a lifeline for seniors and low-income homeowners,” Rosenwald said. “In response to Floridians reporting that they were blocked from submitting a new application because of a misunderstanding or reasonable mistake concerning program compliance, I filed this glitch bill.”
If approved, the legislation would ensure more homeowners have access to financial assistance aimed at strengthening homes and improving insurance affordability across Florida.
