Al Lawson
Al Lawson | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 5th district | |
In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Corrine Brown |
Succeeded by | John Rutherford |
Minority Leader of the Florida Senate | |
In office 2008–2010 | |
Preceded by | Steven Geller |
Succeeded by | Nan Rich |
Member of the Florida Senate | |
In office November 7, 2000 – November 2, 2010 | |
Preceded by | Pat Thomas |
Succeeded by | Bill Montford |
Constituency | 3rd district (2000–02) 6th district (2002–10) |
Member of the Florida House of Representatives | |
In office November 7, 1982 – November 7, 2000 | |
Preceded by | Leonard J. Hall |
Succeeded by | Curtis B. Richardson |
Constituency | 9th district (1982–92) 8th district (1992–2000) |
Personal details | |
Born | Alfred James Lawson Jr. September 23, 1948 Midway, Florida, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Delores Brooks (m. 1975) |
Children | 2 |
Education | Florida A&M University (BA) Florida State University (MPA) |
Website | House website |
Alfred James Lawson Jr. (born September 23, 1948)
Lawson served in the Florida legislature for 28 years, from 1982 to 2000 in the Florida House of Representatives and from 2000 to 2010 in the Florida Senate (representing the 6th district), where he was elected to serve as the Democratic leader and rose to the rank of "Dean of the Senate" before his election to Congress. After two failed campaigns for Congress, Lawson defeated incumbent Corrine Brown in the 2016 Democratic primary and won the general election.
Early life and education
Lawson was born in
Lawson is an
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2010
Lawson ran for the Democratic nomination in Florida's 2nd congressional district in 2010, challenging seven-term incumbent Allen Boyd.[4] He narrowly lost to Boyd in the Democratic primary,[5] and Boyd lost to Republican newcomer Steve Southerland in the general election by more than 12 percentage points.[6][7]
2012
Lawson ran for the seat again, and won the Democratic nomination against Blue Dog-endorsed state representative Leonard Bembry. He lost to Southerland in the general election by less than 6 points.[8]
2016
A
The district's demographics appeared to be against Lawson. While it now included most of Tallahassee, the capital and its suburbs only accounted for 32% of the district's population, while the Jacksonville area-Brown's base-accounted for 61%.[10] But Lawson's candidacy received a significant boost in July 2016, when Brown was indicted on federal corruption charges.[11] He defeated Brown in the Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—on August 30. He then defeated Republican Glo Smith in the November 8 general election with 64% of the vote.[12]
Committee assignments
- Committee on Agriculture
- Subcommittee on Nutrition
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
- United States House Committee on Financial Services
Caucus memberships
Political positions
Gun policy
After the
Yemeni civil war
Lawson was one of five house Democrats to vote for the U.S. to continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia and to support the
See also
References
- ^ Florida, State Library and Archives of. "U.S. Congressional candidate Al Lawson, at right, speaking with Bob Fulford at a picnic of the Democratic Club of North Florida in Tallahassee, Florida". Florida Memory.
- ^ Gangitano, Alex (March 22, 2017). "Florida Democrat talks about his American Basketball Association career". Roll Call. CQ Roll Call. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "Religious affiliation of members of 117th Congress" (PDF). PEW Research Center. January 24, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Kam, Dara (February 5, 2009). "Palm Beach Post Blogs: Area news, sports, entertainment, business & more". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ Isenstadt, Alex (August 25, 2010). "Rep. Allen Boyd holds on in Florida". Politico. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
- ^ Helgoth, Ali (November 3, 2010). "Southerland defeats Boyd". The News Herald. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
- ^ "2010 General Election Results". Florida Division of Elections. November 3, 2010. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
- ^ "November 6, 2012 General Election, Official Results". Florida Division of Elections. November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
- ^ Caputo, Marc (December 15, 2015). "Lawson announces run for Congress". Politico.
- ^ "Daily Kos Elections congressional district redistribution analysis (post-2010 census)". Google Docs.
- ^ Kelly, Nora (July 8, 2016). "Representative Corrine Brown Indicted on Federal Charges". The Atlantic.
- ^ Gardner, Lynnsey; Moyer, Crystal (August 30, 2016). "After 12 terms in Congress, Corrine Brown defeated". WJXT. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- ^ "Membership". Congressional Black Caucus. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- ^ Leary, Alex (February 15, 2018). "Florida Democrats say school massacre a call for gun control". Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay, Florida. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ Patterson, Steve (November 7, 2016). "Al Lawson wins North Florida seat in Congress, replacing U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown". Jacksonville.com. Jacksonville, Florida. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ a b "Al Lawson, Jr.'s Voting Records on Issue". ISPY. Vote Smart. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ Mosendz, Polly (November 29, 2017). "Get Ready for Concealed Guns in All 50 States". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ Kruzel, John (December 7, 2017). "Concealed carry bill lets states regulate guns in schools". Politifact. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ^ Caplan, Andrew (February 21, 2018). "Your leaders: 4-1 against stricter gun laws". The Gainesville Sun. Gainesville, Florida. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- ^ Fuller, Matt; Ahmed, Akbar Shahid (December 12, 2018). "5 Democrats Bail Out Paul Ryan And Protect Saudi Arabia". Huffington Post.
External links
- Congressman Al Lawson official U.S. House website
- Campaign website
- Al Lawson at Curlie