Gwen Graham, a former U.S. representative, is running for lieutenant governor on Democratic candidate David Jolly's gubernatorial ticket in the Nov. 3 general election.

Graham is the daughter of the late Florida Gov. Bob Graham. Jolly named her as his running mate on June 10, and the pair filed qualifying paperwork in Tallahassee the same day, according to WUSF. Graham said in her candidate questionnaire that she and Jolly align on housing, health care, education and opposition to data centers. Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove voters will see this race on their ballots.

Other candidates for lieutenant governor include Bryan Avila (Republican), Nicole Skelly (Libertarian), Benjiman Rojas (No Party Preference), Joe Van Vactor (No Party Preference), Juan Santana (No Party Preference), Rachel Rodriguez (No Party Preference) and Ruben A. Coto (No Party Preference).

Candidate information

  • Full name: Gwen Graham
  • Date of birth: Jan. 31, 1963
  • Birthplace: Miami Lakes, Florida, according to Wikipedia
  • Residence: Tallahassee, Florida, according to ClickOrlando. Her candidate questionnaire describes her as a resident of Miami Lakes.
  • Family: Married to Steve Hurm; mother of three children. Her father, the late Bob Graham, served as Florida governor and U.S. senator before his death in 2024, according to WUSF.
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1984); juris doctorate from American University Washington College of Law (1988)
  • Party: Democratic
  • Ballot status: Certified for the ballot

Experience and public service

Graham represented Florida's 2nd Congressional District after winning election in 2014. She defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, one of only two Democrats nationally to unseat an incumbent Republican that year. Her term ended Jan. 3, 2017, according to Wikipedia.

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

Graham said she joined U.S. Rep. John Lewis in his sit-in against gun violence and at the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.

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

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

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 Wikipedia.

On the issues

Housing and insurance: Graham said in her questionnaire that Florida's affordability crisis starts with housing. She 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.

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 on her campaign website that Florida pays its teachers the least in the country. She said the Jolly-Graham administration would embark on a 10-year effort to raise teacher pay and ensure all publicly funded choice schools meet the same academic and service standards.

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