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
- 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
Tenure
On July 29, 2024, Lee was announced as one of seven Republican members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.[14]
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:[15]
- Committee on Homeland Security
- Committee on House Administration
- Subcommittee on Elections (Chair)
- Committee on the Judiciary
Personal life
Lee is married to Tom Lee, a former member of the Florida Senate. They have three children. They live in Brandon, Florida.[16] Lee is Protestant.[17]
References
- ^ “Florida New Members 2023”. November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ “Laurel Moore – Attorney in Tampa, FL”. www.attorneys.org.
- ^ “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.
- ^ “Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Laurel M. Lee As Florida Secretary Of State”. CBS Miami. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ “Two UF grads appointed to Hillsborough judgeships”. Tampa Bay Times. May 7, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ “Saint Peter Blog”. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ^ “Gov. Ron DeSantis names Tampa judge Laurel M. Lee Florida Secretary of State”. Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee Democrat. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ “Tampa Judge Replaces Official Who Resigned Over Blackface Photos”. Seminole Heights, FL Patch. January 28, 2019.
- ^ “Laurel Moore Lee”. www.fljud13.org.
- ^ Fineout, Gary (October 15, 2020). “Florida acts to remove felons from voter rolls as election looms”. Politico PRO. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ “Florida’s secretary of state to resign ahead of upcoming elections”. WKMG-TV. May 12, 2022.
- ^ “Former Fla. Secretary of State Lee joins crowded GOP field in U.S. House-15 race”.
- ^ “House leaders announce members of bipartisan task force investigating Trump assassination attempt”. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ “Laurel M. Lee”. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ “Rep. Laurel Lee – R Florida, 15th, In Office – Biography | LegiStorm”. www.legistorm.com. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- ^ “Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress” (PDF). Pew Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
External links
- Congresswoman Laurel Lee official U.S. House website
- Campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN
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