Summary
Ashley Brooke Moody (born March 28, 1975) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 38th attorney general of Florida since January 2019. Moody previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney and a circuit court judge in Hillsborough County.
During her tenure as Florida attorney general, Moody has supported lawsuits to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, advocated against restoration of voting rights for former felons, and opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana. Moody was a significant supporter of then-President Donald Trump in Florida during the 2020 presidential election, and joined in the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit, which sought to contest the results of the election.
In January 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis selected Moody to succeed Senator Marco Rubio pending his confirmation to become United States Secretary of State.
Source: Wikipedia
OnAir Post: Ashley Moody – FL
News
Moody, 49, has served as Florida attorney general since 2019, easily winning two statewide elections for the position.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, setting her up to fill the seat of Sen. Marco Rubio, whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to be secretary of state.
Rubio was selected to serve in Trump’s administration shortly after Trump won the 2024 presidential race, handing DeSantis a Senate appointment that is likely to have ripple effects across Florida government and politics.
It has widely been expected in recent weeks that Moody would be the pick, while others, including Reps. Kat Cammack and Cory Mills, did talk to DeSantis about the position. DeSantis had said publicly he had reservations about appointing a member of the House because of the GOP’s slim majority in that chamber.
About
Source: Government page
Attorney General Ashley Moody, a fifth generation Floridian, was born and raised in Plant City, Florida. She attended the University of Florida where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and law degree. She later attended Stetson University College of Law earning a Masters of Law in International Law.
Attorney General Moody began her legal career with the law firm of Holland & Knight where she practiced commercial litigation. In her spare time, she volunteered assisting domestic violence victims seeking protection in court.
She subsequently joined the United States Attorney’s Office prosecuting drug, firearm, and fraud offenses. While a federal prosecutor, General Moody was commended by the DEA for prosecutorial excellence and outstanding initiative in drug law enforcement. She was also recognized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for her lead of “Operation Round-Up,” a targeted prosecution of violent and repeat offenders.
In 2006, at the age of thirty-one, Attorney General Moody became the youngest judge in Florida when she was elected Circuit Court Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County. As a judge, she founded the Attorney Ad Litem program recruiting volunteer attorneys to stand in the place of parents who did not appear in court with their children. She also developed a mentoring program for at-risk children within the juvenile delinquency system.
Attorney General Moody served as an adjunct professor at Stetson University College of Law and on the judicial faculty for Florida’s New Judges College, Advanced Judicial Studies, and the Circuit Judges Conference. She was a frequent lecturer on crime and justice as well as best practices for Florida attorneys. In 2015, Attorney General Moody was recognized by the National Legal Services Corporation for her significant contributions to pro bono legal service and was awarded the Florida Supreme Court’s Distinguished Judicial Service Award.
On January 8, 2019, Attorney General Moody became Florida’s 38th Attorney General. Since taking office as Attorney General, Moody has been recognized as a leader having served as a Commissioner on the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, as Chair of Florida’s Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse, and continues to serve as Chair of Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking.
Attorney General Moody and her husband, Justin, a federal law enforcement agent, have two sons, Brandon and Connor.
Web Links
Politics
Source: Wikipedia
Elections
On April 28, 2017, Moody resigned from the court to run for Florida attorney general in the 2018 election.[10][11] In the Republican primary, Moody defeated state representative Frank White, who attacked Moody for her prior registration as a Democrat.[12][13] In the general election, Moody defeated Democratic nominee Sean Shaw, a state representative, with 52% of the vote to Shaw’s 46%.[14]
Moody was re-elected in the 2022 election against Democratic nominee Aramis Ayala, winning by a 21-point margin.[
Finances
Source: Vote Smart
New Legislation
Issues
Voting rights
Moody opposes the restoration of voting rights for former felons. Following the passage of Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative in 2018, Moody, along with Governor Ron DeSantis, helped push a bill through the Florida Senate that would only restore voting rights to eligible felons once the felon has paid all of their court fees.
In September 2020, after billionaire Michael Bloomberg raised $16 million to pay 32,000 felons’ court fees, which would make them eligible to vote in the 2020 elections, Moody asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Bloomberg, claiming he potentially violated election laws.
More Information
Wikipedia
Early life and education
Moody was born in Plant City, Florida, on March 28, 1975.[2] She is the oldest of three children born to Carol and Judge James S. Moody Jr.[3]
Moody graduated from Plant City High School in 1993.[4] She received a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in accounting from University of Florida. While attending the University of Florida, she served as president of Florida Blue Key.[5] Moody earned a Master of Laws in international law from Stetson University College of Law, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida School of Law.[6]
Early career
Moody interned for Martha Barnett, the president of the American Bar Association,[3] and later joined the law firm Holland & Knight, working in civil litigation.[7]
In January 1998, Moody switched her party affiliation from Democratic to Republican as Republicans were set to have a majority in the Florida legislature.[8]
Florida governor Jeb Bush appointed Moody as the student representative on the Board of Regents, a now defunct body that ran the state’s university system.[8]
Moody was appointed an assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida.[7] In 2006, she was elected to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Hillsborough County.[9][10]
Attorney General of Florida (2019–2025)
Elections
On April 28, 2017, Moody resigned from the court to run in the 2018 Florida attorney general election.[11][12] In the Republican primary, she defeated state representative Frank White.[13][14] In the general election, Moody defeated Democratic nominee Sean Shaw, a state representative, with 52% of the vote to Shaw’s 46%.[15]
Moody was reelected in the 2022 election over Democratic nominee Aramis Ayala by a 21-point margin.[16][17]
Tenure
Health care
Moody kept Florida in a lawsuit that sought to have the Affordable Care Act deemed unconstitutional.[18][19]
Marijuana
Moody argued for the disqualification of a 2022 ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis in Florida, contending that it was misleading because the summary (which could not be longer than 75 words) did not clarify that cannabis would remain illegal under federal law.[20][21] The Supreme Court of Florida agreed in a 5–2 ruling, effectively killing the initiative, which had already received 556,049 signatures of 891,589 required to appear on the ballot.[22][23] Two months later, the court granted Moody’s request that a second ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis be disqualified from the 2022 ballot, in another 5–2 ruling that deemed the measure “affirmatively misleading”.[24][25]
In June 2023, Moody argued for the disqualification of a 2024 ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis in Florida, filing a 49-page legal brief that asserted once again that the summary failed to make clear that cannabis would remain illegal under federal law, among other arguments.[26] The challenge sought to strike down the initiative, which had received 967,528 of a required 891,523 valid signatures to appear on the ballot.[27] The Florida Supreme Court ruled 5–2 that the initiative would remain on the ballot.[28][29]
Voting rights
Moody opposed the restoration of voting rights for former felons.[30] After the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative passed in 2018, she and Governor Ron DeSantis helped push a bill through the Florida Senate that would restore voting rights to eligible felons only once the felons had paid all their court fees. In 2020, after Michael Bloomberg raised $16 million to pay 32,000 felons’ court fees, which would make them eligible to vote in the 2020 elections, Moody asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Bloomberg, claiming he potentially violated election laws.[31]
2020 presidential election
During the 2020 United States presidential election, Politico called Moody “one of Donald Trump‘s biggest surrogates” in Florida.[5] After Joe Biden won the election and Trump refused to concede, Moody took a leading role in aiding Trump’s attempts to contest the election.[32]
On December 9, 2020, Moody and 15 other state attorneys general announced their support for a lawsuit by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton asking the Supreme Court of the United States to invalidate the presidential election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which were all won by Biden.[33] There was no evidence of large-scale fraud in the election,[34][35] and the court decided 7-2 not to hear the Texas lawsuit.[36][37]
Moody was on the board of directors for the Rule of Law Defense Fund. In January 2021, the organization encouraged the gathering at the United States Capitol to call for a halt on the counting of the Electoral College ballots, which they contended were fraudulent. After the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, Moody removed any references to the Rule of Law Defense Fund from her online biography.[32]
COVID-19 pandemic
In 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Moody sued the federal government and the CDC for instituting requirements that cruise ships require 95% of passengers to be fully vaccinated.[38][39]
Abortion rights initiative
In January 2024, Moody petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to disqualify a ballot measure to expand abortion access, claiming its language could mislead voters.[40] The measure remained on the ballot but failed to garner the necessary 60% of the vote to amend the Florida Constitution.[41]
U.S. Senate (2025–present)
Appointment
On January 16, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis announced his intention to appoint Moody to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio, who was nominated to serve as Secretary of State in the second Trump administration.[42][43]
Senate tenure
Moody was sworn in on January 21, 2025, along with former Ohio lieutenant governor Jon Husted, by Vice President JD Vance. She was escorted by fellow Florida senator Rick Scott.[44]
In December 2025, Moody voted against extending Affordable Care Act health care premium subsidies.[45]
At a February 2026 press conference in Doral, Florida, Moody, Scott, and Representative Carlos A. Giménez praised the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.[46] Gimenez also said, “the Cuban regime is at the weakest point it’s been in a very, very long time”. Moody and Scott led Florida’s congressional delegation in sending Trump a letter urging him to uphold the existing moratorium on oil and gas leasing off Florida’s Gulf and east coasts, citing risks to the state’s tourism industry and military operations.[47]
In February 2026, Moody issued a statement of support for Trump’s initial strikes in the 2026 Iran war.[48] In March 2026, she voted against a war powers resolution that would have limited the war in Iran until congressional authorization was obtained.[49]
Committee assignments
Personal life
Moody is married to Justin Duralia, the deputy chief of the Plant City Police Department and a former Drug Enforcement Administration officer.[50][7] They have two children.[51]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | {{Cite web|url=https://www.votehillsborough.org/Portals/Hillsborough/Documents/2006-2012%20Election%20Results/2006_general_election_hillsborough.pdf |title=Hillsborough County 2006 General Election |website=Vote Hillsborough |access-date=September 9, 2020}}</ref>”}},”i”:0}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box winning candidate with party link”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_winning_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”party”:{“wt”:”Republican Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”Ashley Moody”},”votes”:{“wt”:”142,610″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”60.31%”},”change”:{“wt”:”N/A”}},”i”:1}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box candidate with party link”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”party”:{“wt”:”Democratic Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”Gary Dolgin”},”votes”:{“wt”:”93,854″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”39.69%”},”change”:{“wt”:”N/A”}},”i”:2}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box majority”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_majority”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”votes”:{“wt”:”48,756″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”20.62%”},”change”:{“wt”:”N/A”}},”i”:3}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box turnout”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_turnout”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”votes”:{“wt”:”236,464″},”percentage”:{“wt”:””},”change”:{“wt”:””}},”i”:4}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box end”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_end”},”params”:{},”i”:5}}]}’ style=””>| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | {{Cite web|url=https://results.elections.myflorida.com/Index.asp?ElectionDate=8/28/2018&DATAMODE= |title=August 28, 2018 Primary Election Republican Primary |website=Florida Department of State |access-date=September 9, 2020}}</ref>”}},”i”:0}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box winning candidate with party link”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_winning_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”party”:{“wt”:”Republican Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”Ashley Moody”},”votes”:{“wt”:”882,028″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”56.80%”},”change”:{“wt”:”N/A”}},”i”:1}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box candidate with party link”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:””},”party”:{“wt”:”Republican Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”[[Frank White (Florida politician)|Frank White]]”},”votes”:{“wt”:”670,823″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”43.20%”},”change”:{“wt”:”N/A”}},”i”:2}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box majority”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_majority”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:””},”votes”:{“wt”:”211,205″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”13.60%”},”change”:{“wt”:”N/A”}},”i”:3}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box turnout”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_turnout”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:””},”votes”:{“wt”:”1,552,851″},”percentage”:{“wt”:””},”change”:{“wt”:””}},”i”:4}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box end”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_end”},”params”:{},”i”:5}}]}’ style=””> | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | {{Cite web|url=https://results.elections.myflorida.com/Index.asp?ElectionDate=11/6/2018&DATAMODE= |title=November 6, 2018 General Election |website=Florida Department of State |access-date=September 9, 2020}}</ref>”}},”i”:0}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box winning candidate with party link”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_winning_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”party”:{“wt”:”Republican Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”Ashley Moody”},”votes”:{“wt”:”4,232,532″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”52.11%”},”change”:{“wt”:”-2.96%”}},”i”:1}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box candidate with party link”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”party”:{“wt”:”Democratic Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”[[Sean Shaw]]”},”votes”:{“wt”:”3,744,912″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”46.10%”},”change”:{“wt”:”+4.09%”}},”i”:2}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box candidate with party link”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”party”:{“wt”:”Independent (politician)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”Jeffrey Marc Siskind”},”votes”:{“wt”:”145,296″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”1.79%”},”change”:{“wt”:”N/A”}},”i”:3}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box majority”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_majority”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”votes”:{“wt”:”487,620″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”6.01%”},”change”:{“wt”:”-7.07%”}},”i”:4}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box turnout”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_turnout”},”params”:{“1”:{“wt”:”\n “},”votes”:{“wt”:”8,122,740″},”percentage”:{“wt”:””},”change”:{“wt”:””}},”i”:5}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box hold with party link no swing\n “,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_hold_with_party_link_no_swing”},”params”:{“winner”:{“wt”:”Republican Party of Florida”}},”i”:6}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box end”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_end”},”params”:{},”i”:7}}]}’ style=””> | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | {{Cite web |title=2022 General Election – Official Results: Attorney General |url=https://floridaelectionwatch.gov/StateOffices/AttorneyGeneral |website=Florida Election Watch}}</ref>”}},”i”:0}},{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box winning candidate with party link\n”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_winning_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“party”:{“wt”:”Republican Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”Ashley Moody (incumbent)”},”votes”:{“wt”:”4,651,279″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”60.59%”},”change”:{“wt”:”+8.48%”}},”i”:1}},{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box candidate with party link\n”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_candidate_with_party_link”},”params”:{“party”:{“wt”:”Democratic Party (United States)”},”candidate”:{“wt”:”[[Aramis Ayala]]”},”votes”:{“wt”:”3,025,943″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”39.41%”},”change”:{“wt”:”-6.69%”}},”i”:2}},{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box total\n”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_total”},”params”:{“votes”:{“wt”:”7,677,222″},”percentage”:{“wt”:”100.0%”}},”i”:3}},{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box hold with party link no swing\n”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_hold_with_party_link_no_swing”},”params”:{“winner”:{“wt”:”Republican Party (United States)”}},”i”:4}},”\n”,{“template”:{“target”:{“wt”:”Election box end”,”href”:”./Template:Election_box_end”},”params”:{},”i”:5}}]}’ style=””> | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
External links
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