Laurel Lee FL-15Laurel Lee FL-15

Current Position: US Representative of FL District 15 since 2023
Affiliation: Republican
District:  northeastern suburbs of Tampa, including parts of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Polk counties. The district includes Plant City and Zephyrhills, as well as parts of Tampa city proper, Brandon, and Lakeland. 
Upcoming Election:

Laurel Frances Lee was a judge on Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019 and was the 30th Secretary of State of Florida from 2019 to 2022. Lee was appointed Florida Secretary of State by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 28, 2019, replacing Mike Ertel

OnAir Post: Laurel Lee FL-15

Summary

Current Position: US Representative of FL District 15 since 2023
Affiliation: Republican
District:  northeastern suburbs of Tampa, including parts of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Polk counties. The district includes Plant City and Zephyrhills, as well as parts of Tampa city proper, Brandon, and Lakeland. 
Upcoming Election:

Laurel Frances Lee was a judge on Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019 and was the 30th Secretary of State of Florida from 2019 to 2022. Lee was appointed Florida Secretary of State by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 28, 2019, replacing Mike Ertel

OnAir Post: Laurel Lee FL-15

About

Source: Government Page

Congresswoman Laurel Lee was sworn into office in the United States House of Representatives on January 3, 2023.  She proudly represents the 15th District of Florida which encompasses eastern Hillsborough county including Thonotosassa and Plant City, and part of Brandon, as well as parts of Pasco and Polk counties including Zephyrhills and west Lakeland.

A wife, mother, and daughter of a two-star general in the United States Air Force, Laurel is committed to ensuring that the 15th District of Florida’s voice is represented in Congress. Laurel grew up in a military family, born at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. As a life-long public servant, Laurel is focused on bringing common-sense solutions to Washington that will encourage job growth, limit government overreach, secure our borders, and bolster our economic and national security.

Prior to her election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Laurel served as Florida’s 36th Secretary of State under the DeSantis Administration from January 2019 to May 2022. During her tenure, she worked to strengthen Florida’s elections infrastructure and cybersecurity defenses and ensured accurate and secure elections in the state. From 2013-2019, Laurel served as a Circuit Court Judge in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Court in Hillsborough County, appointed by then-Governor Rick Scott. Before becoming a judge, she served as a federal prosecutor for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida. As a federal prosecutor, she investigated and litigated False Claims Act cases and initiated and prosecuted a wide range of criminal offenses, including white-collar crime, violent crime, and offenses involving the sexual exploitation of children.

Laurel serves on House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees. Her main focus on these committees includes government accountability and transparency and protecting our nation from threats both abroad and at home.

During her first week in office, Laurel introduced the REINS Act to remove burdensome government regulations for Floridians. This legislation reins in harmful regulations, limits executive overreach, and protects all Americans from unelected and unchecked Washington bureaucrats.

Laurel is a graduate of the University of Florida where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1996 and received her law degree in 1999.

Laurel lives in eastern Hillsborough County with her husband, Tom, and their three children.

Personal

Full Name: Laurel M. Lee

Gender: Female

Family: Spouse: Tom; 3 Children: Regan, Brandon, Faith

Home City: Brandon, FL

Source: Vote Smart

Education

Bachelor’s, University of Florida

JD, University of Florida

Political Experience

Representative, United States House of Representatives, Florida, District 15, 2023-present

Secretary of State, State of Florida, 2019-2022

Candidate, United States House of Representatives, Florida, District 15, 2022

Professional Experience

Former Lawyer, Carlton Fields, Professional Association

Former Chair, Circuit Civil Division, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Florida

Former Chair, Civil Appellate Division, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Florida

Former Chair, Domestic Relations Division, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Florida

Former Chair, East County Civil Division, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Florida

Former Law Clerk, Judge James S. Moody, Jr, United States District Court

Former Assistant Federal Public Defender, Middle District Court of Florida, United States Federal Government

Former Assistant United States Attorney, Middle District of Florida, United States Department of Justice

Judge, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Florida, 2013-2019

Appointed by Governor Rick Scott, Judge, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Florida, 2013

Offices

Washington DC Office
1118 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515Phone: (202) 225-5626

Tampa District Office
17425 Bridge Hill Court
Suite 203
Tampa, FL  33647Phone: (813) 393-5077

Contact

Email: Government Page

Web Links

Politics

Source: none

Finances

Source: Vote Smart

Committees

Committee on the Judiciary

  • Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance

Committee on Homeland Security

  • Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection
  • Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security

Committee on House Administration

  • Subcommittee on Elections

Caucuses 

Everglades Caucus

Native American Caucus

Animal Welfare Caucus

Law Enforcement Caucus

Bipartisan Second Chance Caucus

Taiwan Caucus

Youth Sports Caucus

Congressional Western Caucus

New Legislation

Learn more about legislation sponsored and co-sponsored by Congresswoman Lee.

More Information

Services

Source: Government page

District

Source: Wikipedia

Florida’s 15th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress and is located in the northeastern suburbs of Tampa, including parts of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Polk counties. The district includes Plant City and Zephyrhills, as well as parts of Tampa city proper, Brandon, and Lakeland.

From 2003 to 2013, the prior 15th district contained most of Brevard County south of the city of Cocoa (including the Kennedy Space Center), all of Indian River County, most of Osceola County, and a very small portion of Polk County. The district took in the cities of Kissimmee, Melbourne, and Vero Beach, as well as Patrick Space Force Base. Boundaries were redrawn due to a lawsuit in 2015.[5] Much of this area is now the 8th district, while the current 15th takes in most of what was previously the 12th district.

From 2013 to 2017, the district included the northern parts of Hillsborough and Polk counties.[6][7] After court-ordered redistricting for the 2016 elections, it also included the southernmost parts of Lake County.

The district is currently represented by Republican Laurel Lee.

Wikipedia

Laurel Frances Lee (née Moore; born March 26, 1974)[1][2] is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representatives for Florida’s 15th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was a judge on Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019 and was the 30th Secretary of State of Florida from 2019 to 2022.[3]

Legal career

Lee began her legal career as an attorney for the Carlton Fields law firm in 2003 before becoming an assistant public defender in 2005.[4] Lee also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 2007 until her appointment by then-Governor Rick Scott to a judgeship on the Hillsborough County Circuit Court in 2013.[5][6] She was unopposed for election to a full six-year term in 2014.[7]

Florida Secretary of State

Lee was appointed Florida Secretary of State by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 28, 2019, replacing Mike Ertel, who resigned after less than a month in office when a 2005 photo of him wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume as a Hurricane Katrina victim surfaced.[8][9]

In October 2020, weeks before the 2020 election, Lee sought to purge felons from voter rolls if they had outstanding court debts. Politico called the move “a surprise, late-hour move that comes after more than 2 million people already have voted in the presidential battleground.” Lee’s decision was not distributed to the wider public, only to local election officials.[10]

In December 2021, Lee made a criminal referral to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody seeking an investigation into potentially fraudulent signatures collected by Las Vegas Sands in a petition drive to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot for the November 2022 elections that would expand casino gambling.[11]

On May 12, 2022, Lee announced she was resigning effective four days later, seven months before the 2022 election. She did not offer a reason for resigning.[12] On May 17, she announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Florida’s 15th congressional district in the 2022 elections.[13] She won the general election by a wide margin.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[14]

Personal life

Lee is married to Tom Lee, a former member of the Florida Senate. They have three children. They live in Brandon, Florida.[15] Lee is Protestant.[16]

References

  1. ^ “Florida New Members 2023”. November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. ^ “Laurel Moore – Attorney in Tampa, FL”. www.attorneys.org.
  3. ^ “Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Laurel M. Lee as Florida Secretary of State”. Office of the Governor of Florida. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  4. ^ “Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Laurel M. Lee As Florida Secretary Of State”. CBS Miami. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  5. ^ “Two UF grads appointed to Hillsborough judgeships”. Tampa Bay Times. May 7, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  6. ^ “Saint Peter Blog”. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  7. ^ “Gov. Ron DeSantis names Tampa judge Laurel M. Lee Florida Secretary of State”. Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee Democrat. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  8. ^ “Tampa Judge Replaces Official Who Resigned Over Blackface Photos”. Seminole Heights, FL Patch. January 28, 2019.
  9. ^ “Laurel Moore Lee”. www.fljud13.org.
  10. ^ Fineout, Gary (October 15, 2020). “Florida acts to remove felons from voter rolls as election looms”. Politico PRO. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  11. ^ LAWRENCE MOWER; MARY ELLEN KLAS (January 20, 2022). “FL elections officials suspect fraud in signature gathering | Miami Herald”. www.miamiherald.com. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  12. ^ “Florida’s secretary of state to resign ahead of upcoming elections”. WKMG-TV. May 12, 2022.
  13. ^ “Former Fla. Secretary of State Lee joins crowded GOP field in U.S. House-15 race”.
  14. ^ “Laurel M. Lee”. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  15. ^ “Rep. Laurel Lee – R Florida, 15th, In Office – Biography | LegiStorm”. www.legistorm.com. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  16. ^ “Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress” (PDF). Pew Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by

Secretary of State of Florida
2019–2022
Succeeded by

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida’s 15th congressional district

2023–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by

United States representatives by seniority
399th
Succeeded by


X

Laurel Lee FL-15

Current Position: US Representative of FL District 15 since 2023
Affiliation: Republican
District:  northeastern suburbs of Tampa, including parts of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Polk counties. The district includes Plant City and Zephyrhills, as well as parts of Tampa city proper, Brandon, and Lakeland. 
Upcoming Election:

Laurel Frances Lee was a judge on Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019 and was the 30th Secretary of State of Florida from 2019 to 2022. Lee was appointed Florida Secretary of State by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 28, 2019, replacing Mike Ertel

OnAir Post: Laurel Lee FL-15

Ross Spano

Current Position: US Representative of FL District 15 since 2019
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: 2021 US Senator

Ross has spent most of his career as a shareholder of his own law practice representing individuals and small businesses in Hillsborough County. In 2012, he felt called into politics and successfully ran to represent Florida’s 59th district in the Florida House of Representatives.

He served in the Florida legislature for three terms, during which he stood as a strong advocate for human trafficking victims and against human traffickers. Ross authored and passed more anti-human trafficking bills than any other member of the Florida House in history. He also strongly believes in the right to life, supporting our veterans, the 2nd Amendment, supporting small business, and limited government.

Source: Government page

OnAir Post: Ross Spano

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