Gwen Graham, daughter of the late Florida Gov. Bob Graham, is running for lieutenant governor on David Jolly's gubernatorial ticket in the Nov. 3 general election.

Graham, a former U.S. representative, was named as Jolly's running mate on June 10. The pair filed qualifying paperwork in Tallahassee the same day, according to WUSF. Graham is on the Democratic ticket.

Seven other candidates are listed for the lieutenant governor race: Bryan Avila (Republican), Benjiman Rojas (No Party Preference), Joe Van Vactor (No Party Preference), Juan Santana (No Party Preference), Nicole Skelly (Libertarian), Rachel Rodriguez (No Party Preference) and Ruben A. Coto (No Party Preference), according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

  • Full name: Gwen Graham
  • Date of birth: Jan. 31, 1963
  • Birthplace: Miami Lakes, Florida
  • Residence: Tallahassee, Florida, with her husband Steve
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1984); law degree from American University Washington College of Law (1988)
  • Family: Mother of three; daughter of the late Bob Graham, who died in 2024

Experience and public service

Graham defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland in 2014 to represent Florida's 2nd Congressional District, one of only two Democrats nationally to unseat a Republican incumbent that year, according to Wikipedia. She served in Congress until January 2017.

In Congress, Graham said she focused on public education, veterans issues and the environment. She served on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees, according to her candidate questionnaire. Graham said she worked with the state's congressional delegation to restore Apalachicola Bay, co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Bill Nelson and opposed oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Graham ran for Florida governor in 2018, finishing second in a seven-person Democratic primary with 31.3% of the vote, losing to Andrew Gillum by 47,289 votes.

She served as assistant secretary for legislation and congressional affairs at the U.S. Department of Education from October 2021 to January 2025. Before entering politics, Graham worked as director of employee relations at Leon County Schools and as an associate attorney at Andrews & Kurth in Washington, D.C.

Graham continues a tradition called "Workdays" established by her father, spending full shifts working alongside Floridians at their jobs. She performed more than 50 Workdays during her campaigns for Congress and governor, according to her biography.

On the issues

Housing and insurance: Graham said the Jolly-Graham administration would work to lower homeowners insurance costs by creating a state catastrophic fund that removes hurricane coverage from the private market. She said they would fully fund the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund to expand workforce and affordable housing and remove barriers to increasing supply.

Health care: Graham said she would work with legislative leaders to expand Medicaid and access to primary care through community health clinics, nonprofits and federally qualified health centers.

Public education and teacher pay: Graham said the administration would pursue a 10-year effort to raise teacher pay and ensure all publicly funded choice schools meet the same academic and service standards. "Florida pays its teachers the least in the country. That breaks my heart. And it's the wrong direction for Florida's future. These are people who have given their lives to the young people of Florida, and we have to find the resources to pay them what they deserve," Graham said on her campaign website.

Congressional redistricting: Graham said she would be open to exploring an independent redistricting commission to draw political boundaries, arguing that voters should have more meaningful choices in general elections, according to NBC Miami.