Gwen Graham, a former U.S. representative and daughter of the late Gov. Bob Graham, is running for lieutenant governor on the Democratic ticket with gubernatorial candidate David Jolly.

Graham and Jolly filed qualifying paperwork in Tallahassee on June 10, according to WUSF. The general election is Nov. 3.

Seven other candidates are listed for the lieutenant governor race: 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) and Ruben A. Coto (No Party Preference), according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

  • Full name: Gwen Graham
  • Date of birth: Jan. 31, 1963
  • Birthplace: Miami Lakes, Florida
  • Residence: Tallahassee, Florida, according to ClickOrlando/WKMG. Graham described herself as "a resident of Miami Lakes" in her candidate questionnaire.
  • Family: Husband Steve (Stephen Hurm); three children. Daughter of the late Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator, who died 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

Experience and public service

Graham represented Florida's 2nd Congressional District from January 2015 to January 2017, according to Wikipedia. In 2014, she defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, one of only two Democrats nationally to unseat an incumbent Republican that year.

In Congress, Graham said in her questionnaire, she focused on public education, veterans issues and the environment. She served on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees. Graham said she worked to restore the Apalachicola Bay and opposed oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico alongside Jolly and Sen. Bill Nelson.

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

She 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 director of employee relations at Leon County Schools and as an associate attorney at Andrews & Kurth in Washington, D.C.

Graham said she continues the "Workdays" tradition 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 the Jolly-Graham administration would work to lower homeowner's 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 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 argued that voters should have more meaningful choices in general elections rather than having races decided during party primaries.