Connect with us

Politics

President Biden Announces 10 Key Nominations

Published

on

President Joe Biden on CHIPS and Science Act

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following 10 individuals to serve in key roles:

  • David R. Gilmour, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea
  • Scott Miller, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation and to the Principality of Liechtenstein
  • Marc R. Stanley, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic
  • Sam Bagenstos, Nominee for General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services
  • Melissa Dalton, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense and Global Security Affairs, Department of Defense
  • Alexia Latortue, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for International Markets, Department of the Treasury
  • Brent Neiman, Nominee for Deputy Under Secretary / Designated Assistant Secretary for International Finance and Development, Department of the Treasury
  • Alice Albright, Nominee for Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
  • Todd Harper, Nominee for Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration
  • Owen Hernstadt, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank

David R. Gilmour, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea
David R. Gilmour, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in N’Djamena, Chad. He is a former U.S. Ambassador to the Togolese Republic. He has served in the Bureau of African Affairs at the Department of State as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Africa, Director of East African Affairs, and Director of Public Diplomacy for Africa. He was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassies in Panama and Malawi, and Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Mission in Geneva. Other overseas assignments include Australia, Costa Rica, South Africa and Cameroon. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Partnership Excellence Award from the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships. Gilmour received a B.A. from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, and an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He speaks French and Spanish.

Scott Miller, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation and to the Principality of Liechtenstein
Scott Miller is an LGBTQ rights activist and philanthropist. As co-chair of the Gill Foundation’s board of directors, Miller directs the foundation’s national giving strategy to advance LGBTQ equality, including public education campaigns to ban conversion therapy and end discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. At the foundation, Miller also oversees local efforts to ensure equal opportunity for all Coloradans, including generous support for K-12 STEM education at numerous Colorado public schools. During the pandemic, Miller led efforts to provide over 5.6 million meals to tens of thousands of his fellow Coloradans to alleviate food insecurity. Together Miller and his husband, Tim Gill, are among the top contributors to LGBTQ equality issues in the United States. Previously, Miller served as an account vice president at UBS Wealth Management in Denver, Colorado. Miller earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in business administration from the University of Colorado Boulder. Upon graduation, he started his career as a management consultant for Accenture, followed by work as an event planner for global clientele.

Marc R. Stanley, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic
Marc R. Stanley is President of the Stanley Law Group and a board-certified civil trial lawyer in Dallas, Texas. A former president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, Stanley has served in leadership positions in dozens of local and national charitable and civic organizations throughout his career. He was a Council Member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and a Member of the Board of Visitors at the United States Air Force Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. He served for four years as Chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority and was Co-Chair of the Mayor’s Complete Count Outreach Committee for the U.S Census (City of Dallas). Stanley earned a B.B.A. at George Washington University, and a J.D. at the University of Texas-Austin. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Tikkun Olam Award by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

Sam Bagenstos, Nominee for General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services
Samuel R. Bagenstos currently serves as General Counsel to the Office of Management and Budget. He is on leave from his position as the Frank G. Millard Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. From 2009 to 2011, Bagenstos served as a political appointee in the Obama-Biden Administration’s Department of Justice, where he was Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Pursuant to an appointment by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, he chaired the Michigan Employment Relations Commission from 2019 to 2021. An expert in civil rights law, Bagenstos wrote the leading law school casebook on disability rights law and has engaged with state Medicaid systems as a lawyer, advocate, and consultant to promote community-based services for individuals with disabilities. He has argued four cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, including key matters under the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as Young v. UPS, a case that established new protections for pregnant workers. A graduate of the University of North Carolina and the Harvard Law School, Bagenstos clerked for Judge Stephen Reinhardt on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Melissa Dalton, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense and Global Security Affairs, Department of Defense
Melissa G. Dalton is currently the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities at the U.S. Department of Defense. She is responsible for advising the Secretary of Defense and other senior defense leaders on national security and defense strategy; the forces, contingency plans, and associated posture necessary to implement the defense strategy; nuclear deterrence and missile defense policy; and security cooperation plans and policies. Prior to her appointment to the Biden-Harris Administration in January 2021, Ms. Dalton was a senior fellow and deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) International Security Program and director of the Cooperative Defense Project. Her CSIS research focused on reinforcing the principled foundations of U.S. defense strategy and military operations, including the responsible role of the U.S. military in Defense Support of Civil Authorities. Prior to joining CSIS in 2014, Ms. Dalton served for a decade as a career civil servant in the Bush and Obama Administrations at DoD. Her assignments included senior advisor for force planning, special assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, policy adviser to the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, Afghanistan, and country director for Lebanon and Syria in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. She also served as an intelligence analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Alexia Latortue, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for International Markets, Department of the Treasury
Alexia Latortue is Deputy Chief Executive Offer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation where she helps shape MCC’s strategic vision, oversees the agency’s operations to deliver on programmatic priorities and leads the team. Ms. Latortue has over 20 years of experience in international development, with a focus on development finance, policy and making markets work for all people. Her work has covered private sector development, financial systems development, climate, infrastructure and economic inclusion.

Ms. Latortue was previously Managing Director for Corporate Strategy and a member of the Executive Committee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Prior to joining the EBRD, she served as the Obama-Biden Administration as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Development Policy at the Department of the Treasury, advancing inclusive growth and poverty reduction internationally through the multilateral development banks. Previously, Ms. Latortue spent 10 years with the World Bank where her last assignment was Deputy CEO of CGAP, a unit dedicated to advancing financial inclusion. She began her career with Development Alternatives, Inc.

Ms. Latortue earned a M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a B.S. from Georgetown University.

Brent Neiman, Nominee for Deputy Under Secretary / Designated Assistant Secretary for International Finance and Development, Department of the Treasury
Brent Neiman is the Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. His teaching and research focus on international macroeconomics, finance, and trade. He is a co-founder of the Global Capital Allocation Project and serves as the director of the Initiative on International Economics at the Becker Friedman Institute and a co-director of the Initiative for Global Markets at Chicago Booth. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a research fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research, and is an associate editor of The American Economic Review, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, and The Journal of International Economics.

Neiman previously served as the staff economist for international finance on the White House Council of Economic Advisers and has worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, at McKinsey and Company, and at the McKinsey Global Institute. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s degree in mathematical modelling from Oxford University, where he was a Thouron Scholar, and received his PhD in economics from Harvard University.

Alice Albright, Nominee for Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
Alice Albright serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education, a multilateral partnership and fund dedicated to improving education outcomes for the most marginalized children in low income countries. Before joining GPE, Ms. Albright served in the Obama-Biden Administration from 2009 to 2013 as the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. From 2001 to 2009, Ms. Albright served as the Chief Financial and Investment Officer for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. While there, Ms. Albright led GAVI’s innovative finance efforts, including the launch the International Finance Facility for Immunization, a program to enhance GAVI’s ability to finance the purchase of vaccines. Previously, Ms. Albright worked as a banker with a focus on emerging markets and held a variety of positions at Citicorp, Bankers Trust Company, JP Morgan, and the Carlyle Group.

Ms. Albright has served on a number of boards and working groups in the development, education, and gender arenas. Currently, she serves on the UK’s G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, the Board of Williams College, and the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has been decorated as an Officier de L’Order de L’Etalon by President Kabore and a Commandeur, Ordre National du Lion by President Macky Sall.

Ms. Albright graduated from Williams College with a BA in History, with honors, and received an MIA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Todd Harper, Nominee for Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration
Todd Harper has specialized in financial services policy during his more than 25 years of government service and has led the NCUA Board as Chairman since January 2021. He also chairs the interagency Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Mr. Harper joined the NCUA Board in April 2019 and is the first NCUA staffer to become a Board Member and Chairman. From 2011 to 2017, he led the agency’s Office of Public and Congressional Affairs and served as the chief policy advisor to two NCUA Chairmen. Previously, as staff director for the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises in the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Harper contributed to the efforts after the financial crisis to enact the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. As legislative director to former Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski of Pennsylvania, he also worked on bipartisan legislation concerning credit union capital rules, terrorism risk insurance, auditing standards and subprime mortgage lending. A member of the LGBTQ community, Mr. Harper earned an M.P.P. from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a B.S. with high distinction in business analysis from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Owen Hernstadt, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank
Owen Herrnstadt is the Chief of Staff to the International President and Director of Trade and Globalization at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. As Chief of Staff, he assists in running one of the largest manufacturing and transportation unions in the United States. As Director of Trade and Globalization, he develops policy for international trade, economic investment, international labor standards, and human rights matters. He also teaches employment and labor law at the Georgetown University Law Center and has taught international employment and labor at American University’s Washington College of Law.

Mr. Herrnstadt is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board, U.S. Export-Import Bank Federal Advisory Committee, and the U.S. State Department Federal Advisory Committee on International Economics. He also served as Co-Chair of the State Department’s Stakeholder Advisory Board on OECD Guidelines and as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. He has testified, written articles and made presentations on labor and employment law, international employment and labor law, corporate social responsibility, trade, manufacturing policy, human rights, and industrial relations in the U.S. and abroad.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Florida

Sam Garrison Proposes Florida House Committees on Technology, Public Integrity and Long-Term Policy

Published

on

The speaker-designate’s proposed structure would create a Policy & Strategy Committee, elevate technology oversight and reestablish a committee focused on ethics and public corruption.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN) — Florida House Speaker-designate Sam Garrison outlined proposed changes to the chamber’s committee structure Thursday, calling for greater attention to long-term policy, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and public integrity during the 2026-28 legislative term.

In a Nov. 5 memorandum to House members provided to Florida National News, Garrison said the proposal preserves most of the existing structure while making changes intended to improve coordination and examine the lasting consequences of legislative decisions.

“I am committed to making committee time meaningful,” Garrison wrote. “I want you to dig into ideas, hear from the public, and truly study your colleagues’ bills because behind every bill, every policy, and every budget item are people — our people.”

New Committee Would Examine Long-Term Policy and Costs

Garrison proposed creating a Policy & Strategy Committee to coordinate major initiatives involving multiple committees or state agencies.

The committee would draw on the expertise of subject-matter committees to examine how major reforms would operate and what they would cost. Its proposed jurisdiction includes long-range planning and fiscal stability, and it could consider legislation with a fiscal impact.

Garrison said the committee would provide a forum for considering challenges that extend beyond an individual legislative session or term.

“I want the House to consider where Florida needs to be in five or 10 or 20 years and what steps we should take now to get there,” he wrote.

Technology Oversight Would Become a Full Committee

The proposed Advanced Technology & Digital Security Committee would replace the previous term’s Information Technology Budget & Policy Subcommittee.

The full committee would focus on state technology governance and modernization, including agencies’ ability to implement legislation. Its responsibilities would also include:

  • Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
  • Cybersecurity and digital privacy.
  • Data governance.
  • Critical infrastructure security.

Garrison distinguished the committee’s policy and oversight responsibilities from spending decisions. The Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees would continue to consider technology funding.

“These issues affect both state government and the Floridians and businesses that rely on technology every day,” Garrison wrote.

He said the goal is to make informed technology decisions that prevent costly failures.

Public Integrity Committee Would Return

Garrison also proposed reestablishing the Public Integrity Committee, emphasizing ethics, integrity and investigations into public corruption.

The committee would consider related matters involving lobbying, financial disclosure and conflicts of interest.

“Floridians should be able to trust their government to act in the public interest,” Garrison wrote. “A dedicated committee will allow Members to examine the laws and standards that protect that trust.”

The Rules & Calendar Committee would retain responsibility for House rules, floor procedures and member conduct, according to the memorandum.

Most of the Existing Structure Would Remain

Garrison said most of the current committee structure would remain intact. Other changes would update committee names and bring related issues under shared jurisdictions.

The proposed adjustments are intended to help lawmakers examine connections among state policy, local decisions and their effects on residents.

The memorandum referred members to attached documents detailing the proposed structure and jurisdictions. It did not identify committee chairs or member assignments.

Public Input and Legislative Review Emphasized

Garrison urged members to use committee meetings to hear from the public, examine their colleagues’ proposals and consider the people affected by legislation and spending decisions.

“Our committee process should give you the opportunity to contribute and every proposal the careful consideration it deserves,” he wrote. “I look forward to working with you over the next two years.”

Continue Reading

Florida

DeSantis’ Political Star Rises as Florida GOP Holds Statewide Offices Amid National Defeats

Published

on

Republicans retain Florida’s statewide leadership despite Democratic gains in the Legislature, giving the outgoing governor a platform in the debate over the GOP’s future.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN) — Gov. Ron DeSantis pointed to Florida’s Republican victories Wednesday as evidence that his governing approach helped withstand a national Democratic surge, highlighting the state as a remaining Republican stronghold after major defeats elsewhere.

Speaking a day after the election, DeSantis described the national Republican losses as approaching an “extinction-level event.” He contrasted those setbacks with Florida, where Republicans retained the governor’s office, all three Cabinet offices and the U.S. Senate seat on the ballot. abcnews.com

The results give DeSantis a platform to promote his record as Republicans assess their future. However, narrower statewide margins and Democratic legislative gains complicate any claim of an unqualified Republican mandate.

Florida Holds Statewide Republican Leadership

Republican Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly for governor, while U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody defeated Democratic challenger Angie Nixon. Republicans also won the races for attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner.

The sweep left Florida Democrats without a statewide victory despite a more favorable national environment for their party. floridaphoenix.com

DeSantis, who was not on the ballot, argued that Florida Republicans benefited from the record established during his administration. His assessment places the state’s performance at the center of a broader question: What can Republicans learn from the places where they retained power?

DeSantis’ Political Star Gains Visibility

DeSantis’ remarks offered a defense of his governing approach as Republicans confronted the election’s consequences.

He credited Florida’s resilience to policy achievements and voter trust, while emphasizing that his immediate focus remained completing his term. wusf.org

Florida’s results strengthen his opportunity to participate in the national leadership debate. They do not, by themselves, establish that Republican voters have chosen him to lead the party or that he will launch another presidential campaign.

The distinction matters: Electoral success in Florida provides a political argument, while a national campaign would require support extending well beyond the state.

Texas Defeats Increase Florida’s Importance

DeSantis singled out Texas as a particularly consequential Republican setback. Once a dependable foundation of GOP strength, Texas delivered Democratic victories in the governor’s race, a U.S. Senate contest and other statewide offices.

He warned that those losses could weaken Republicans nationally for years. www.orlandoweekly.com

Against that backdrop, Florida’s Republican sweep gives its leaders greater prominence. The state’s emerging role as a Republican “Southern Star” is an interpretation of that contrast, rather than a designation DeSantis used.

For the outgoing governor, Florida offers evidence of political durability during a difficult election. For the national party, it offers a case to examine alongside the states where Republican support collapsed.

DeSantis Credits Amendment 3 With Turnout

DeSantis also credited voter-approved Amendment 3, the property tax measure, with attracting voters who subsequently supported Republican candidates.

He said implementation would require further legislative action and discussed protecting homeowners’ savings from being offset by other local charges. cbs12.com

His explanation remains an assessment of the election. Determining how much the amendment affected turnout and individual races would require additional analysis.

Democratic Legislative Gains Temper GOP Celebration

Florida’s statewide sweep did not prevent Republican losses elsewhere on the ballot.

Democrats gained seats in the Legislature and ended the Republican supermajority in the state House. Their leaders argued that the close statewide contests demonstrated Florida remained competitive and warranted greater national investment. floridaphoenix.com

Republicans therefore emerged with continued governing authority but less room for complacency. Retaining statewide offices and losing legislative ground are both part of the election’s outcome.

2018 Offers Democrats a Benchmark

Florida Democrats’ 2018 results provide a historical comparison between narrowly losing a statewide contest and winning governing authority.

Republican Ron DeSantis won the governor’s race with 4,076,186 votes, or 49.6%, while Democrat Andrew Gillum received 4,043,723 votes, or 49.2%. DeSantis prevailed by 32,463 votes, approximately 0.4 percentage points. results.elections.myflorida.com

In the agriculture commissioner’s race, Democrat Nikki Fried won 4,032,954 votes, or 50.04%, defeating Republican Matt Caldwell, who received 4,026,201 votes, or 49.96%. Fried’s winning margin was 6,753 votes, approximately 0.08 percentage points. uselectionatlas.org

2018 statewide raceCandidatePartyVotesPercentage
GovernorRon DeSantis — winnerRepublican4,076,18649.6%
GovernorAndrew GillumDemocratic4,043,72349.2%
Agriculture commissionerNikki Fried — winnerDemocratic4,032,95450.04%
Agriculture commissionerMatt CaldwellRepublican4,026,20149.96%

Table lists the two leading candidates in each race. Governor’s percentages include votes cast for other candidates. results.elections.myflorida.com

Those results give substance to the discussion about investment and competitiveness. Campaign funding can support organization and outreach, but these election totals alone do not establish how much national spending influenced either outcome.

Gillum nearly captured the governor’s office; Fried secured a statewide Cabinet seat. That difference remains central to evaluating political progress: Smaller losing margins can indicate opportunity, while victories determine who exercises authority.

A Stronger Platform, With Challenges Ahead

Florida’s results give DeSantis a stronger position from which to argue that his approach deserves attention within the Republican Party.

Yet the election also supplied a warning for his party at home. Republicans preserved statewide leadership while Democrats demonstrated greater strength in legislative contests.

As Donalds prepares to succeed him, DeSantis leaves with Florida’s Republican governing structure intact. Whether that record becomes the foundation for a larger national role will depend on how Republican voters and leaders respond to the party’s defeats.

Continue Reading

Florida

Florida Republicans sweep statewide races; Democrats break House supermajority

Published

on

Republicans retain the governor’s office, all three Cabinet posts, both legislative chambers and both U.S. Senate seats, while Democratic gains end the GOP’s House supermajority.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN) — Republicans swept Florida’s statewide races Tuesday and retained control of both legislative chambers, extending Democrats’ statewide losing streak despite gains that ended the GOP’s supermajority in the Florida House.

Republican Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly for governor, while U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody defeated Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon. Republicans also won the races for attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner. www.fox13news.com

The results preserve Republican control of the governor’s office, all three Cabinet posts and both of Florida’s U.S. Senate seats. Republican Sen. Rick Scott, reelected in 2024, was not on this year’s ballot. www.rickscott.senate.gov

Democrats have not won a statewide election since Nikki Fried captured the agriculture commissioner’s office in 2018. www.wlrn.org

Florida statewide results and winning margins

Unofficial returns available Nov. 4 showed Republicans winning all five statewide contests. The figures reflect separate reporting snapshots; totals and margins may change before certification.

OfficeRepublican: votes (percentage)Democrat: votes (percentage)GOP vote marginMargin in percentage points
GovernorByron Donalds: 4,132,334 (50.02%)David Jolly: 4,024,639 (48.71%)107,6951.31
Attorney generalJames Uthmeier: 4,177,901 (50.93%)Jose Javier Rodriguez: 4,024,563 (49.07%)153,3381.86
Chief financial officerBlaise Ingoglia: 4,151,579 (50.94%)Annette Taddeo: 3,997,932 (49.06%)153,6471.88
Agriculture commissionerWilton Simpson: 4,160,577 (51.08%)Joey Mendoza Atkins: 3,984,621 (48.92%)175,9562.16
U.S. SenateAshley Moody: 4,207,947 (50.87%)Angie Nixon: 3,969,186 (47.99%)238,7612.88

Source: Florida Department of State’s Election Watch. The governor’s race was the closest of the five. Other candidates account for the remaining vote shares where applicable. Governor

Democratic gains end Republican House supermajority

Republicans retained their legislative majorities, but Democratic gains ended the GOP’s House supermajority.

The Florida Democratic Party reported a net gain of 15 House seats and a Republican-to-Democratic flip in Senate District 10, where John Lowndes defeated Jason Brodeur. Florida Democratic Party

Among the House pickups listed by the party were Eric Gray in District 35, Darryl Block in Dist,rict 36, Jane Aman in District 37, Nik Dean in District 38 and Jarod Fox in District 39. Other listed victories included Todd Delmay in District 101 and Lucia Baez-Geller in District 106. Florida Democratic Party

The party’s district list marked 16 House seats as Republican-to-Democratic flips, while its announcement reported a net gain of 15. Gross pickups and net gains measure different things; the net figure also accounts for Democratic losses. News Service of Florida reported Republicans were positioned to recapture House District 87 from Democrat Emily Gregory. Florida Democratic Party

House District 33, where Democrat Daniel McDow faced Republican Monique Miller, remained close enough for a recount, leaving the final legislative tally unsettled. WUSF

Ending the House supermajority limits Republicans’ ability to act without Democratic support on matters requiring a two-thirds vote. Republicans nevertheless retain control of legislative leadership and the ordinary lawmaking agenda. WUSF

GOP registration advantage exceeds 1.5 million

Republicans entered the election with a substantial voter registration advantage.

Florida’s Sept. 30 report listed 5,678,755 active registered Republicans and 4,133,397 Democrats — a Republican lead of 1,545,358. Another 3,345,188 voters had no party affiliation, and 514,782 belonged to minor parties. dos.fl.gov

The GOP’s statewide winning margins were far smaller than its registration advantage. But registration totals do not reveal how individual voters cast their ballots, and the results alone cannot separate the effects of turnout, crossover voting and support from unaffiliated voters.

Gillum’s 2018 showing tops Jolly’s current result

Former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum received more votes, a larger vote share and a smaller losing margin in 2018 than Jolly recorded in the unofficial 2026 returns.

Gillum received 4,043,723 votes, or approximately 49.19%, against Ron DeSantis’ 4,076,186 votes, or 49.59%. His certified defeat was 32,463 votes, approximately 0.40 percentage points. results.elections.myflorida.com

Jolly’s current tally is 4,024,639 votes, or 48.71%, leaving him 107,695 votes behind Donalds. Governor

Gillum received 19,084 more votes and finished 0.48 percentage points higher than Jolly’s current showing. His losing vote margin was 75,232 smaller.

Jolly, a former Republican congressman, left the GOP in 2018, became an independent and later joined the Democratic Party before launching his gubernatorial campaign in 2025. www.pbs.org

The comparison involves different electorates and political conditions, and Jolly’s totals remain unofficial. It does not establish that his previous Republican affiliation caused his defeat.

Certification still ahead

Florida’s Elections Canvassing Commission is scheduled to certify statewide results Nov. 17. Outstanding ballot processing and any required recounts could change the unofficial totals before then. Time line

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement Ticket Time Machine ad
Advertisement Orlando Regional REALTOR Association logo
Advertisement Parts Pass App
Advertisement Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando
Advertisement
Advertisement African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida
Advertisement FNN News en Español
Advertisement Indian American Chamber of Commerce logo
Advertisement Florida Sports Channel

FNN Newsletter

Trending