Election Sees Republicans Dominate Florida Cabinet Seats

FLORIDA — In a decisive victory for the Republican party, Floridians elected an all-GOP Florida Cabinet.

In addition to re-electing Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, voters made lifelong farmer and former Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson commissioner of agriculture, replacing former Democratic Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried who resigned to run unsuccessfully for governor.

Florida Attorney General Race

In a political atmosphere that's become increasingly acerbic, Moody said her victory is a win for civility.

"'Game of Thrones' has nothing on Florida politics," she joked, referring to the bloody battles and cut-throat machinations in the HBO television series.

"But I think it's important that through the political noise, the pundits, the acrimony and the propaganda, we are choosing people to be stewards of our civilized society," she said.

She said sometimes the most profound lessons she learns are from her children, her grade school-aged son, Connor, and her oldest son, Brandon, who is now serving his country in the military.

She said one day while they were in the car, she heard Brandon tell Connor that "every day is a day to improve yourself."

"And that's what I pledge to do," Moody said. "By staying engaged, staying proactice and listening."

Moody won over her opponent, former Democratic State Attorney Aramis Ayala, with 60.69 percent of the vote.

Ayala chose not to have a campaign party, instead, watching the returns from home with her family.

Moody, 47, a fifth-generation Floridian, was born and raised in Plant City where she was a Strawberry Festival queen. She attended the University of Florida, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting in addition to her law degree. She later attended Stetson University College of Law, earning a master's of law in international law.

She began her legal career with the law firm of Holland & Knight where she practiced commercial litigation. In her spare time, she assisted domestic violence victims seeking protection in court.

She subsequently joined the United States Attorney’s Office prosecuting drug, firearm and fraud offenses. In 2006, at the age of 31, Moody became the youngest judge in Florida when she was elected circuit court judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County.

In 2019, Moody became Florida’s 38th attorney general. Since taking office she's led initiatives against human trafficking, currently serving as the chairwoman of Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking. She also successfully sued the pharmaceutical industry for its part in the opioid epidemic and has waged a war against dealers distributing deadly doses of fentanyl throughout Florida. She married to Drug Enforcement Agency Agent Justin Duralia.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Race

Patronis, 50, won his race against Democrat Adam Hattersley with 59.57 percent of the vote.

Patronis is a fourth-generation Floridian, born and raised in Panama City. He worked for years at Capt. Anderson’s, his family’s historic seafood restaurant in Panama City Beach. He earned his associate’s degree in restaurant management from Gulf Coast Community College and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida State University.

Patronis' public service career began with internships in the Florida Senate and the United Kingdom’s House of Commons. Following graduation, Patronis was appointed to the Florida Elections Commission, and he was later re-appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush. He represented Northwest Florida for eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, was appointed to serve on Florida’s Public Service Commission and the Constitution Revision Commission.

Patronis was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott as Florida's chief financial officer in 2017 and was elected to a four-year term in 2018.

Florida Commissioner Of Agriculture Race

Simpson, 56, is fifth-generation Floridian who was born in Lakeland and raised in Trilby in Pasco County. A lifelong Florida farmer, he owns a large-scale egg-laying operation that supplies eggs for Florida’s families through supermarkets across the state.

He was elected to the Florida Senate in 2012, and served as Senate majority leader from 2016 to 2018. He was elected Senate president on Oct. 15, 2019, and served on the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate Rules Committee and the Innovation, Industry and Technology Committee until his term in office ended in 2020.

He won his race over Democratic opponent, Naomi Esther Blemur, with 59.45 percent of the vote.

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