Laurel Frances Lee (née Moore; born March 26, 1974)[1][2] is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representatives for Florida's 15th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was a judge on Florida's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019 and was the 30th Secretary of State of Florida from 2019 to 2022.[3]
Laurel Lee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 15th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Scott Franklin (redistricting) |
| 30th Secretary of State of Florida | |
| In office January 28, 2019 – May 16, 2022 | |
| Governor | Ron DeSantis |
| Preceded by | Mike Ertel |
| Succeeded by | Cord Byrd |
| Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida | |
| In office May 5, 2013 – January 28, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Rick Scott |
| Preceded by | Daniel Sleet |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Palermo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Laurel Frances Moore March 26, 1974 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Tom Lee |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | House website |
Legal career
editLee began her legal career as an attorney for the Carlton Fields law firm in 2003 before becoming an assistant public defender in 2005.[4] Lee also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 2007 until her appointment by then-Governor Rick Scott to a judgeship on the Hillsborough County Circuit Court in 2013.[5][6] She was unopposed for election to a full six-year term in 2014.[7]
Florida Secretary of State
editLee was appointed Florida Secretary of State by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 28, 2019, replacing Mike Ertel, who resigned after less than a month in office when a 2005 photo of him wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume as a Hurricane Katrina victim surfaced.[8][9]
In October 2020, weeks before the 2020 election, Lee sought to purge felons from voter rolls if they had outstanding court debts. Politico called the move "a surprise, late-hour move that comes after more than 2 million people already have voted in the presidential battleground." Lee's decision was not distributed to the wider public, only to local election officials.[10]
In December 2021, Lee made a criminal referral to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody seeking an investigation into potentially fraudulent signatures collected by Las Vegas Sands in a petition drive to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot for the November 2022 elections that would expand casino gambling.[11]
On May 12, 2022, Lee announced she was resigning effective four days later, seven months before the 2022 election. She did not offer a reason for resigning.[12] On May 17, she announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Florida's 15th congressional district in the 2022 elections.[13] She won the general election by a wide margin.
U.S. House of Representatives
editTenure
editOn July 29, 2024, Lee was announced as one of seven Republican members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.[14]
Committee assignments
editFor the 118th Congress:[15]
Personal life
editLee is married to Tom Lee, a former member of the Florida Senate. They have three children. They live in Brandon, Florida.[16] Lee is Protestant.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Florida New Members 2023". November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Laurel Moore - Attorney in Tampa, FL". www.attorneys.org.
- ^ "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Laurel M. Lee as Florida Secretary of State". Office of the Governor of Florida. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Laurel M. Lee As Florida Secretary Of State". CBS Miami. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Two UF grads appointed to Hillsborough judgeships". Tampa Bay Times. May 7, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Saint Peter Blog". Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ^ "Gov. Ron DeSantis names Tampa judge Laurel M. Lee Florida Secretary of State". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee Democrat. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ "Tampa Judge Replaces Official Who Resigned Over Blackface Photos". Seminole Heights, FL Patch. January 28, 2019.
- ^ "Laurel Moore Lee". www.fljud13.org.
- ^ Fineout, Gary (October 15, 2020). "Florida acts to remove felons from voter rolls as election looms". Politico PRO. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ LAWRENCE MOWER; MARY ELLEN KLAS (January 20, 2022). "FL elections officials suspect fraud in signature gathering | Miami Herald". www.miamiherald.com. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ "Florida's secretary of state to resign ahead of upcoming elections". WKMG-TV. May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Former Fla. Secretary of State Lee joins crowded GOP field in U.S. House-15 race".
- ^ "House leaders announce members of bipartisan task force investigating Trump assassination attempt". CBS News. July 29, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ "Laurel M. Lee". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "Rep. Laurel Lee - R Florida, 15th, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- ^ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). Pew Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
External links
edit
- Congresswoman Laurel Lee official U.S. House website
- Campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN