Gwen Graham, a former U.S. representative and daughter of the late Gov. Bob Graham, is running for lieutenant governor on the David Jolly ticket in the Nov. 3 election.

Jolly, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, named Graham as his running mate on June 10. The pair filed qualifying paperwork in Tallahassee the same day, according to WUSF. Graham said in a candidate questionnaire submitted to the Gables Courier that she and Jolly align on key issues including housing, healthcare, education and opposition to data centers.

Seven other candidates appear on the ballot for lieutenant governor:

  • 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)
  • Ruben A. Coto (No Party Preference)

Candidate information

  • Full name: Gwen Graham
  • Date of birth: Jan. 31, 1963
  • Residence: Tallahassee, according to ClickOrlando, where she lives with her husband Steve Hurm
  • Education: Graduate of Leon High School in Tallahassee, according to Wikipedia. Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1984); juris doctorate from American University Washington College of Law (1988)
  • Family: Daughter of the late Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator, who died in 2024. Graham said in her questionnaire that she is a mother of three and a product of the Florida public school system.

Experience and public service

Graham won Florida's 2nd Congressional District seat in 2014, defeating Republican incumbent Steve Southerland. According to Wikipedia, she was one of only two Democrats nationally to unseat an incumbent Republican that year. 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 questionnaire. Graham said she worked to restore Apalachicola Bay and opposed oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico alongside Jolly. She said they co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Bill Nelson.

Graham ran for Florida governor in 2018, finishing second in a seven-person Democratic primary with 31.3% of the vote. She lost 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 started by her father called "Workdays," spending full shifts working alongside Floridians at their jobs. She performed more than 50 Workdays during her campaigns for Congress and governor, according to Wikipedia.

On the issues

Housing and insurance: Graham said in her questionnaire that the Jolly-Graham administration would create a state catastrophic fund to remove hurricane coverage from the private insurance market, aiming to reduce homeowner premiums. She said they would fully fund the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund to expand workforce and affordable housing.

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

Public education and teacher pay: Graham said on her campaign website that Florida pays its teachers the least in the country. She called it "the wrong direction for Florida's future." In her questionnaire, Graham said the administration would pursue a 10-year plan to raise teacher pay and require all publicly funded choice schools to meet the same academic and service standards.

Congressional redistricting: Graham said she would be open to exploring an independent redistricting commission, according to NBC Miami. She argued that voters should have more meaningful choices in general elections rather than having races decided in party primaries.