Gwen Graham

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This article is about the politician. For the serial killer, see Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood.
Gwen Graham
Gwen Graham 114th.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017
Preceded by Steve Southerland
Succeeded by Neal Dunn
Personal details
Born Gwendolyn Graham
(1963-01-31) January 31, 1963 (age 61)
Miami Lakes, Florida, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Mark Logan (Married 1985;
Divorced)
Stephen Hurm
Children 3 (with Logan)
Education University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill (BA)
American University (JD)
Website House website

Gwendolyn Graham (born January 31, 1963) is a former American attorney and politician of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. Representative for Florida's 2nd congressional district from 2015 to 2017. She is a candidate in Florida's 2018 gubernatorial election, one of the four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination.

She is a daughter of Bob Graham, a former United States Senator and Governor of Florida.

Early life and career

Graham was born in Miami Lakes, Florida[1] to Bob and Adele (née Khoury) Graham.[2] She has lived in Tallahassee since 1978, when her father became governor.[1] Graham graduated from Leon High School in 1980.[3]

Graham received her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984 and her law degree from American University's Washington College of Law in 1988.[4] After law school, she worked as an associate at the law firm Andrews & Kurth in Washington, D.C..[5][6]

In 2003, Graham joined her father's 2004 presidential campaign. When he dropped out of the race following a heart attack, Graham joined Howard Dean's presidential campaign, before ultimately helping coordinate John Kerry's campaign efforts in Florida.[7][8]

Graham worked for Leon County Schools as an administrator, including as director of employee relations.[9]

U.S. House of Representatives

In 2013, Graham announced her candidacy against incumbent Republican Congressman Steve Southerland in 2014.[10] The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced they would target the race and provide support to Graham.[11] Graham defeated Southerland in the November election by just over 2,800 votes.[12]

Prior to her swearing in, Graham said that she would oppose Nancy Pelosi for the top Democratic leadership position.[13] Graham voted for Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee instead.[14] Graham voted for Cooper again when the House voted on the new Speaker after John Boehner announced his resignation.[15]

Graham scores an 8-lifetime rating on the American Conservative Union's scale of 0 to 100. Graham was ranked as the 9th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the second most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).[16] She voted to stop accepting Syrian refugees until more stringent safeguards are in place.[17] Graham introduced a bill to help Israel develop an anti-tunneling defense system to detect, map, and destroy underground tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Israel.[18] Graham introduced a bill to prohibit members of Congress from using federal funds to pay for first-class airfare.[19]

Graham was one of 25 Democrats to vote against the Iran nuclear deal.[20] Graham voted to keep the military detention camp open at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.[20] Graham voted against enforcement of an Environmental Protection Agency clean-water rule saying that it would hurt farmers.[20] Graham says that the problems with the Affordable Care Act must be fixed,[21] She supports the legalization of medical marijuana without FDA testing but not recreational marijuana.[22] Graham is pro-choice, supports same-sex marriage, and opposes gun control.[22] She has voted for the Keystone XL pipeline.[23]

Committee assignments

Reaction to redistricting

In 2015, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the congressional redistricting plan was a partisan gerrymander in violation of the Fair Districts Amendment. The ensuring court-ordered redistricting shifted most of Tallahassee, which had anchored the 2nd and its predecessors for almost half a century, to the 5th district. Most of Graham's black constituents were drawn into the 5th as well. To make up for the loss in population, the 2nd was pushed to the south to take in territory from the heavily Republican 3rd and 11th districts. Graham now found herself in what was, on paper, one of the most Republican districts in the nation.[24] Had it existed under the redrawn lines in 2012, the 2nd would have given Mitt Romney 64 percent of the vote in 2012, making it on paper the third-most Republican district in the state.[25] By comparison, Romney carried the old 2nd in 2012 with 52 percent of the vote.[26]

Graham had only two options to continue representing at least some of her previous constituents in Congress. She could have run in the Democratic primary for the heavily Democratic, black-majority 5th District against that district's 24-year incumbent, Corrine Brown. Her home in Tallahassee is just outside the 5th's boundaries, but members of Congress only have to live in the state they wish to represent. The 5th had absorbed most of Tallahassee, as well as almost all of Graham's black constituents. However, had Graham run in the 5th, she would have been running in a district that would have been over 67 percent new to her. Had she sought a second term in the redrawn 2nd, she would have been running in a district that was more than 12 points more Republican than its predecessor, even though she would have retained 68 percent of her former territory.[24][26]

In a YouTube video emailed to her fundraising list, Graham announced that she would not run for reelection to the House in 2016, denouncing a process that resulted in Tallahassee being split into "two partisan districts." She said that she was considering running for Governor of Florida in the 2018 election.[27]

2018 gubernatorial election

On May 2, 2017, Graham announced her intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination in the 2018 election to serve as Governor of Florida.[28] She will be one of four Democrats seeking the party nomination.

Personal life

Graham lives in Tallahassee.[2] She married Mark Logan in 1985,[29] and they have three children together.[citation needed] While raising her children, Graham worked for 13 years as a self-described "stay-at-home mom."[9] Graham and Logan divorced, and Graham is now married to Stephen Hurm.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 2". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. January 6, 2015.
  15. ↑ King, Ledyard. "Rep. Gwen Graham votes against Pelosi – again". Tallahassee Democrat. October 29, 2015.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Leary, Alex. "Gwen Graham, Patrick Murphy only two Florida Dems to vote for Syrian refugee crackdown". Tampa Bay Times. November 19, 2015.
  18. ↑ "H.R. 1349: United States-Israel Anti-Tunnel Defense Cooperation Act". govtrack.us. March 10, 2015.
  19. ↑ "H.R.1339 - To prohibit the use of official funds for airline accommodations for Members of Congress which are not coach-class accommodations or for long-term vehicle leases for Members of Congress, and for other purposes". Library of Congress. March 6, 2015.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "H.R.1191 - Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015". Congress.gov. 05/22/2015.
  21. ↑ "Rep. Gwen Graham Talks Obamacare and Dep. of Homeland Security". WJHG-TV. March 4, 2015.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Daily Kos Elections congressional district redistribution analysis (post-2010 census)
  25. ↑ Florida election results by congressional district
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Daily Kos Elections 2008 & 2012 presidential election results for congressional districts used in 2012 & 2014 elections
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 2nd congressional district
2015–2017		 Succeeded by
Neal Dunn
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