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Chris Sprowls
Chris Sprowls (Republican Party) was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 65. He assumed office on November 4, 2014. He left office on November 8, 2022.
Sprowls (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Florida House of Representatives to represent District 65. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Sprowls is a former House speaker. On September 17, 2019, the Florida House elected Sprowls as House speaker.[1] He took office on November 17, 2020.[2]
Sprowls was a district-level delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Florida. He was one of 99 delegates from Florida pledged to support Donald Trump for three ballots.[3][4] As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.
In March 2017, Sprowls was appointed to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a 37-member commission that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution.[5]
Biography
Sprowls' professional experience includes working as a special prosecutor, assistant state attorney and state legislative aide.[6]
Florida Constitution Revision Commission
In March 2017, Sprowls was appointed to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) by the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Richard Corcoran, a Republican.[7]
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission is a 37-member commission provided for in the state constitution that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution.[8] The CRC refers constitutional amendments directly to the ballot for a public vote.[9] The commission convenes every 20 years.[8] Members of the commission travel to different parts of Florida to perform research and receive public testimony before recommending these ballot measures.[10]
The Constitution Revision Commission of 2017-2018 was composed of 37 members. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, appointed 15 members of the CRC. President of the Florida Senate, Joe Negron (R), appointed nine members. Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Richard Corcoran (R) appointed nine members. Jorge Labarga, chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, appointed three members.[11]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2019-2020
Sprowls was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Judiciary, Chair |
| • Rules and Policy |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Sprowls served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Health & Human Services |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
Chris Sprowls was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2020
See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 65
Incumbent Chris Sprowls defeated Kelly Johnson in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 65 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chris Sprowls (R) | 61.1 | 63,787 |
 | Kelly Johnson (D)  | 38.9 | 40,539 | |
| Total votes: 104,326 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Kelly Johnson advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 65.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Chris Sprowls advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 65.
2018
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 65
Incumbent Chris Sprowls defeated Sally Laufer in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 65 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Sprowls (R) | 59.3 | 49,134 |
| Sally Laufer (D) | 40.7 | 33,725 | ||
| Total votes: 82,859 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 65
Sally Laufer advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 65 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Sally Laufer | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 65
Incumbent Chris Sprowls advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 65 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Sprowls |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for the Florida House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 24, 2016.
Incumbent Chris Sprowls defeated Bernie Fensterwald in the Florida House of Representatives District 65 general election.[12][13]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 65 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Chris Sprowls Incumbent |
65.20% | 57,726 | |
| Democratic | Bernie Fensterwald | 34.80% | 30,814 | |
| Total Votes | 88,540 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||||
Bernie Fensterwald ran unopposed in the Florida House of Representatives District 65 Democratic primary.[14][15]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 65 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Bernie Fensterwald (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Chris Sprowls ran unopposed in the Florida House of Representatives District 65 Republican primary.[14][15]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 65 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Chris Sprowls Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Florida House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 26, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 20, 2014. Incumbent Carl Zimmermann was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Chris Sprowls defeated Debbie Faulkner in the Republican primary. Zimmermann was defeated by Sprowls in the general election.[16][17]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Chris Sprowls |
65.3% | 8,942 |
| Debbie Faulkner | 34.7% | 4,743 |
| Total Votes | 13,685 | |
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Sprowls did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Sprowls' website has emphasized the following campaign themes:[18]
Jobs and the Economy
- Excerpt: "Chris will work tirelessly to bring more jobs to Pinellas County and to Florida by leveling the playing field, defending local and small business, and never allowing government or lobbyists to pick who wins and who loses."
Public Safety
- Excerpt: "As a prosecutor in Pinellas County, Chris understands what it takes to keep our streets safe. Chris supports giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep our neighborhoods and our kids, secure and free."
Veterans & Their Families
- Excerpt: "Chris has seen what happens when veterans are left without an advocate, which is why he has championed pro-bono legal clinics for veterans and helped create the Veterans Law Institute located at Stetson University College of Law right here in Pinellas County. Chris also supports “Veterans Courts” which are designed to assist veterans who suffer from addiction, post-traumatic stress, or have trouble adjusting to life back home."
Healthcare
- Excerpt: "As a cancer survivor Chris knows what it means to need health care coverage. He believes that Florida should seek common sense state solutions to our health care struggles, giving patients more options, that include being able to select their own doctor. Chris believes no one should have to choose between medicine and food and believes we can do better for those with and without health insurance today."
Education
- Excerpt: "Chris believes that children should have the opportunity to excel in an environment that helps them learn. This means giving teachers the tools and the flexibility they need to be successful, while returning accountability and discipline to the classroom."
Protecting our Beaches, Parks, and Coastline
- Excerpt: "Protecting the beauty of our local beaches, the health of our coastline, and the many parks that grace our community is a priority Chris would take to the Florida House."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2014
Sprowls was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Florida CFO Jeff Atwater and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.[19]
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Sprowls was a district-level delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Florida. He was bound to Donald Trump.
Delegate rules
In Florida, delegates to the national convention were selected at congressional district conventions and the state executive meeting. All 99 delegates were bound for three ballots at the Republican National Convention to the winner of the statewide primary.
Florida primary results
- See also: Presidential election in Florida, 2016
| Florida Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
| Jeb Bush | 1.8% | 43,511 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 0.9% | 21,207 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0.1% | 2,493 | 0 | |
| Ted Cruz | 17.1% | 404,891 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.1% | 1,899 | 0 | |
| Jim Gilmore | 0% | 319 | 0 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 0% | 693 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 0.1% | 2,624 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 6.8% | 159,976 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.2% | 4,450 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 27% | 638,661 | 0 | |
| Rick Santorum | 0.1% | 1,211 | 0 | |
| Donald Trump |
45.7% | 1,079,870 | 99 | |
| Totals | 2,361,805 | 99 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Florida Department of State | ||||
Delegate allocation
Florida had 99 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 81 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 27 congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the candidate who won a plurality of the statewide vote received all of Florida's district delegates.[20][21]
Of the remaining 18 delegates, 15 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the candidate who won a plurality of the statewide vote received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were required to pledge their support to the candidate who won the state's primary.[20][21]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Florida scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 14.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators were scored based on their votes on health care, the economy, public schools, affordable housing, clean energy and water, reproductive rights, the freedom to vote and more.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 2 to April 30.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 14 to March 19.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 11.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 7 through May 8. There was also a special session from June 7 to June 9.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 11.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 1.
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See also
2020 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Florida House of Representatives District 65 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Tallahassee Democrat, "Next Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls tackles spending, climate change," September 17, 2019
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Florida Legislature: Not our role to contain the coronavirus," November 17, 2020
- ↑ Republican Party of Florida, "Florida GOP announces 99 delegates," May 14, 2016
- ↑ Republican Party of Florida, "Party Rules of Procedure," January 15, 2011
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedCRC - ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed August 15, 2014
- ↑ Partnership for Revising Florida's Constitution, "CRC Appointments," accessed June 5, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Florida Legislature, "The Florida Constitution," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ D'Alemberte, T. (2016). The Florida State Constitution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Holland & Knight, "Anna Marie Hernandez Gamez Appointed to Florida's Constitution Revision Commission," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ Florida Constitution Revision Commission, 2017-2018, "Commissioners," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidate listing for 2016 general election," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Florida Department of State, "Candidates and Races," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Florida Division of Elections, "August 30, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed September 22, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "2014 Florida Election Watch - Multi-County or District Offices," accessed September 3, 2014
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate Listing for 2014 General Election," accessed June 23, 2014
- ↑ Chris Sprowls, "Issues," accessed August 15, 2014
- ↑ Chris Prowls, "Endorsements," accessed August 15, 2014
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Florida House of Representatives District 65 2014-2022 |
Succeeded by Karen Gonzalez Pittman (R) |
