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Daniel Anthony Perez
2017 - Present
2026
7
Daniel Anthony Perez (Republican Party) is a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 116. He assumed office on October 8, 2017. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.
Perez was sworn in as State Speaker of the House on November 19, 2024, succeeding Paul M. Renner (R).[1]
Perez received a bachelor's degree in political science and government from Florida State University in 2009, and a law degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2012.[2][3] Perez began his career working as an associate attorney in private practice at the Downs Law Group from 2012 to 2014 and at Cole, Scott, & Kissane from 2014 to 2018. In 2018, Perez began working as in-house counsel for Doctors HealthCare Plans, a Florida-based health plan specializing in Medicaid.[4][5]
Perez first ran for the Florida House of Representatives in 2017, winning a special election to represent District 116. Perez defeated Jose Mallea (R) 55% to 45% in the primary, and defeated Gabriela Mayaudon (D) 66% to 34% in the general. As of 2025, Perez's campaign website said, "during his time in office, he has been instrumental in championing key legislation pertaining to child welfare, healthcare, family stability, education and election integrity."[6]
Republican representatives officially elected Perez as Speaker-designate in September 2023, and he was sworn in on November 19, 2024, following the 2024 elections.[7] In a speech at his swearing-in, Perez said, "[Floridians] need to know that our state’s insurance laws are not being written by and for the insurance companies. They want to own their homes, not be tenants to private equity firms. They want to open up a small business without jumping through endless bureaucratic hoops. They want to pick their own doctors and send their kids to good schools. And they want elected leaders who are on their side."[8]
At the start of Perez's tenure, Florida had a Republican trifecta. Perez came into conflict with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on several issues in 2025. In January, he, along with Senate President Ben Albritton (R), ended a special session called by DeSantis to vote on an immigration bill that the governor supported, then called their own special session to vote on an immigration bill supported by legislative leaders.[9] While drafting the state's budget during the regular session, Perez and DeSantis came into conflict over tax policy, with Perez wanting to cut sales taxes and DeSantis wanting to cut property taxes. USA Today's Gray Rohrer wrote, "As he seeks to cement his legacy in his last two years in office, DeSantis’ agenda is getting stymied on several fronts. And House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, is the one throwing most of the roadblocks in his path as the annual legislative session, now underway, approaches the halfway mark."[10]
Biography
Daniel Anthony Perez was born in New York, New York. As of January 2020, he lived in Miami, Florida. He received his bachelor's degree from Florida State University and his law degree from Loyola University New Orleans College. His career experience includes working as an attorney. He has served as the vice-chair for the Gaming Control Subcommittee. He was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2017.[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.
2023-2024
Perez was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Perez was assigned to the following committees:
- House Judiciary Committee, Chair
- Public Integrity & Elections Committee (decommissioned)
- House Budget Committee
2019-2020
Perez was assigned to the following committees:
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
2024
See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 116
Incumbent Daniel Anthony Perez defeated Nicolas Ramos in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 116 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Daniel Anthony Perez (R) | 68.7 | 52,964 |
| Nicolas Ramos (D) | 31.3 | 24,110 | ||
| Total votes: 77,074 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Nicolas Ramos advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Daniel Anthony Perez advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Perez received the following endorsements.
Pledges
Perez signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
The general election was canceled. Daniel Anthony Perez (R) won without appearing on the ballot.
2020
See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 116
Incumbent Daniel Anthony Perez defeated Bob Lynch and Manuel Rodriguez in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 116 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel Anthony Perez (R) | 62.8 | 48,804 |
| Bob Lynch (D) | 37.2 | 28,924 | ||
| Manuel Rodriguez (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 11 | ||
| Total votes: 77,739 | |||
| = 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
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Bob Lynch advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116
Incumbent Daniel Anthony Perez defeated Gabriel Garcia in the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel Anthony Perez | 58.8 | 9,177 |
 | Gabriel Garcia | 41.2 | 6,438 | |
| Total votes: 15,615 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 116
Incumbent Daniel Anthony Perez defeated James Harden in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 116 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel Anthony Perez (R) | 57.3 | 31,824 |
| James Harden (D) | 42.7 | 23,692 | ||
| Total votes: 55,516 | |||
| = 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 116
James Harden advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | James Harden | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116
Incumbent Daniel Anthony Perez defeated Frank Polo Sr. in the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 116 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel Anthony Perez | 80.5 | 8,696 |
 | Frank Polo Sr. | 19.5 | 2,110 | |
| Total votes: 10,806 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2017
A special election for the position of Florida House of Representatives District 116 took place on September 26, 2017. There was a special primary election on July 25, 2017. The filing deadline for this election was June 6, 2017.[12]
Candidates who successfully filed to run in this election included Democrat Gabriela Mayaudon and Republicans Jose Mallea and Daniel Anthony Perez.[13] Mayaudon was the only Democrat to file, so she automatically advanced to the September 26 special election. Mallea and Perez faced off in the Republican primary on July 25.
Perez defeated Mallea in the Republican primary.[14][15] Perez won the September 26 special election with over 65 percent of the vote.
The seat became vacant following Jose Felix Diaz's (R) resignation to run in the special election for Florida State Senate District 40 that was also scheduled on September 26, 2017. To comply with Florida's resign-to-run law, Diaz made it so that his resignation was effective on the day of the September 26 election.[16]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 116, Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Daniel Anthony Perez |
65.8% | 8,800 | |
| Democratic | Gabriela Mayaudon | 34.2% | 4,581 | |
| Total Votes | 13,381 | |||
| Source: Florida Department of State | ||||
| Florida House of Representatives, District 116, Special Republican Primary Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Daniel Anthony Perez |
54.8% | 3,579 | |
| Republican | Jose Mallea | 45.2% | 2,950 | |
| Total Votes | 6,529 | |||
| Source: Florida Department of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Daniel Anthony Perez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Daniel Anthony Perez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Daniel Anthony Perez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
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.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 8.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 7 to May 5.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 14.
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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.
|
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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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Florida House of Representatives District 116 |
Officeholder Florida House of Representatives District 116 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ CBS News Miami (YouTube), "One-on-One Conversation with Florida's new House Speaker," November 24, 2024
- ↑ Florida House of Representatives, "Daniel Perez," accessed May 12, 2025
- ↑ Legistorm, "Florida State Rep. Daniel Perez," accessed May 12, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Doctors Healthcare Plans Inc.," accessed May 12, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Daniel Perez," accessed May 12, 2025
- ↑ Perez's campaign website, "Home," accessed May 12, 2025
- ↑ WUSF, "A Miami Republican is poised to be Florida's next house speaker," September 18, 2023
- ↑ Clay Today, "Miami’s Daniel Perez sworn in as Florida’s Speaker of the House," November 21, 2024
- ↑ Tallahassee Democrat, "Florida lawmakers rebuke DeSantis, convene own immigration special session," January 27, 2025
- ↑ Tallahassee Democrat, "Florida Gov. DeSantis faces roadblocks as House Speaker Perez disrupts his agenda," March 31, 2025
- ↑ Florida House of Representatives "Representative Daniel Anthony Perez", accessed February 21, 2020
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Special Elections," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Two Republicans, one Democrat qualify for HD 116 race," June 6, 2017
- ↑ Florida Department of State, Florida Election Watch," accessed July 25, 2017
- ↑ Florida Politics "Daniel Perez defeats Jose Mallea in HD 116 GOP primary," July 25, 2017
- ↑ Sunshine State News, "Jose Felix Diaz to resign from House as part of SD 40 bid," May 22, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Florida House of Representatives District 116 2017-Present |
Succeeded by - |
