Know your vote. Take a look at your sample ballot now!

Jay McGovern

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
BP-Initials-UPDATED.png
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Jay McGovern
Image of Jay McGovern
Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Seminole High School

Bachelor's

United States Naval Academy, 1983

Graduate

Naval Postgraduate School, 1991

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

1979 - 2013

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Personal
Birthplace
Sanford, Fla.
Religion
Catholic
Profession
Engineer
Contact

Jay McGovern (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

McGovern completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jay McGovern was born in Sanford, Florida. McGovern's career experience includes working as an engineer. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1979 to 2013. McGovern earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1983 and a graduate degree from Naval Postgraduate School in 1991. McGovern has been affiliated with NSPE.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)

Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent John Rutherford defeated Jay McGovern and Gary Koniz in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 5 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Rutherford
John Rutherford (R)
 
63.1
 
267,471
Image of Jay McGovern
Jay McGovern (D) Candidate Connection
 
36.9
 
156,570
Image of Gary Koniz
Gary Koniz (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
23

Total votes: 424,064
Candidate Connection = 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. Jay McGovern advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 5.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5

Incumbent John Rutherford defeated Mara Macie in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 5 on August 20, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Rutherford
John Rutherford
 
67.1
 
48,628
Image of Mara Macie
Mara Macie Candidate Connection
 
32.9
 
23,792

Total votes: 72,420
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McGovern in this election.

2020

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Florida House of Representatives District 15

Incumbent Wyman Duggan defeated Tammyette Thomas in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 15 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Wyman Duggan
Wyman Duggan (R)
 
53.8
 
45,360
Image of Tammyette Thomas
Tammyette Thomas (D) Candidate Connection
 
46.2
 
39,000

Total votes: 84,360
Candidate Connection = 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 15

Tammyette Thomas defeated Jay McGovern in the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 15 on August 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tammyette Thomas
Tammyette Thomas Candidate Connection
 
59.8
 
8,014
Image of Jay McGovern
Jay McGovern Candidate Connection
 
40.2
 
5,383

Total votes: 13,397
Candidate Connection = 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

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Wyman Duggan advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 15.

2016

See also: Florida's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Ron DeSantis (R) sought re-election in 2016. He defeated William McCullough (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. DeSantis defeated G.G. Galloway and Fred Costello in the Republican primary, while McCullough defeated Jay McGovern, George Pappas, and Dwayne Taylor to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on August 30, 2016.[2][3]

U.S. House, Florida District 6 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRon DeSantis Incumbent 58.6% 213,519
     Democratic William McCullough 41.4% 151,051
Total Votes 364,570
Source: Florida Division of Elections


U.S. House, Florida District 6 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRon DeSantis Incumbent 61% 41,311
Fred Costello 24.7% 16,690
G.G. Galloway 14.3% 9,683
Total Votes 67,684
Source: Florida Division of Elections
U.S. House, Florida District 6 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngWilliam McCullough 36.6% 16,043
Dwayne Taylor 28.8% 12,625
Jay McGovern 19.1% 8,388
George Pappas 15.4% 6,762
Total Votes 43,818
Source: Florida Division of Elections

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Jay McGovern completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McGovern's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Jay, his wife, and their two adult daughters are Florida natives. He is an engineer and retired Navy helicopter pilot and Commanding Officer. While he is disappointed in the state of politics; he feels positive about America and believes we are stronger together.

He believes we need to put our Country ahead of our political party. He is also committed to a positive campaign -- no negative ads or name calling.

Jay is committed to Florida, its natural beauty and its citizens. He believes in science. He believes women should have the same freedom and bodily autonomy men enjoy. He’d like to reform our immigration system, specifically, increase legal immigration with an easier path to citizenship. Jay will continue efforts to lower consumers costs of living, including capping out-of-pocket medical expenses and prescription drug costs. He believes Medicare should include eyes, ears and teeth and everyone should have a safe and financially secure retirement. As a veteran Nation security is important to Jay. He recognizes that you cannot have a strong Nation with sick uneducated children. He will endeavor to improve public education and children’s healthcare.
  • We are stronger together! Politicians try to divide us but we have more in common with our Democrat and Republicans neighbors than they would have us believe. We share values and a love for our families, friends and Country.
  • If I am privileged to serve as your representative, everything I do will be tied to actions that strengthen our Nation and improve the lives of our fellow countrymen. Because we aren’t going back!
  • We aspire to put our Country ahead of our political party... this year we can do that with our vote. We are all tired of negativity and gloom. I am committed to a positive campaign -- no negative ads or name calling.
I am grateful to have had many role models in my life but my Father stands out among them. He was by most measures an ordinary man. To me he was an extraordinary man. He was a life long learner who had a nature curiosity about how things worked. He like to share his knowledge with others, he wasn't a natural teacher like his Father but, his enthusiasm made up for it! He also treated people from all walks of life with respect. In turn, I don't know if there was any man in our town with as little money or clout who was as highly respected as my Father.
My political philosophy might best be described as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. "To whom much is given, much is expected" paraphrased from Luke 12:48, is something I think of often and try to live by. Probably the most influential book in my life, to date, has been "Man's Search for Meaning", by Viktor Frankl.
Honesty and Curiosity. If your representative is not honest, he/she cannot be trusted. Trust is the basis for the social contract governing depends on. Further, if your representative is not curious, he/she cannot or will not seek understanding of problems and proposed solutions. Lack of curiosity results in a form of laziness where your representative just goes along with the crowd. I believe these two characteristics lacking in our representatives have resulted in a lot of talk and finger pointing without getting much resolved.
Listen to his/her constituents and then act on their behalf.
Enhance the upward mobility of the generations who will follow my generation.
I worked on the beach renting floats, chairs and umbrellas. Later I rented small motorcycles on the beach. I did that for four years until I graduated from High School and joined the Navy. I also worked in High School as a janitor and one Christmas season at Walt Disney World scooping ice cream.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. The story of how the book developed alone is enough to make it a favorite but the reflection it invokes is what makes it "the favorite".
Reading and spelling. I don't think I even understood phonics...I work on it but it certainly doesn't come naturally to me.
Unlike the Senate, each House member represents roughly the same number of Americans. It makes the House members much more closely tied to their constituents.
I think it benefits America if representatives have a broad range of experience rather than being full of a bunch of career politicians.
Keeping our technological lead across the spectrum of science from medical technology to space and computer hardware & software including Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Yes. I don't think the current dysfunction is the result of the term length. I wouldn't mess with the Constitution when I don't think that is the problem.
I believe Gerrymandering is a larger problem. With Gerrymandered district term limits tend to merely change the face of the representative not the ideas and actions of the representative. That said, I understand most people are frustrated with career politicians and see term limits as the solution. I'm not a career politician.
Charles Bennet (Democrat) represented NE Florida in the House with a balanced approach to Governing. He helped usher the US through its longest and most prosperous decades, navigating the cold war while finding a way to preserve land and parks for future generations. Following him, Tillie Fowler (Republican) did the same while making difficult budget decisions that allowed us to balance the federal budget on her watch.
Instead of a single story, I have had many people express frustration with trying to navigate a federal bureaucracy and receiving little or no support from their representative. Resulting in them feeling the system was rigged against them and that they were invisible to people in power.
These three strings go into a bar. The first one goes up to the bartender and asks for three beers. The bartender says "get out, we don't serve strings". He goes back to his friends and breaks the news. Undaunted, the second string goes up the the bartender and says, "my buddies and I would like three beers". The bartender says, "get out, I told your friend we don't serve strings." So he goes back to the table with his friends and says we need to leave. The third string says, "I have an idea." He ties himself into a knot and frays the end. Goes up to the bartender and says, "hey buddy, how's it going, three beers please." The bartender sets him up with three beers and then says, "wait, you're one of them strings." and the third string says, "I'm a frayed knot."
Congress hasn't passed a budget on time since 1996. I would work with my committee and the House leadership to get the biannual budget process working as it was intended. I would encourage my colleagues to hold their tongues regarding what they will and will not tolerate in the budget until the process has netted a budget draft. One of the major problems is that members verbalize some ultimatum and then later don't feel like they can compromise without looking foolish. In truth, they look foolish when they speak before allowing the budget process to happen.
Sparingly. It's clear it is currently used to score political points. Instead of distinguishing honorable representatives from dishonorable representatives in the case of internal investigations, currently it just builds a wall between the two major parties and wastes a lot of time and money.
I have not sought endorsements this cycle.
Science, Space and Technology and Armed Services
Transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of problem solving. As an engineer, I have to ensure that engineers and others who execute my solutions have all the information both to be successful in execution but also to understand my methodology and assumptions so they can build upon or improve my product. My methodology must be robust and supportable which leads to accountability. Providing my assumptions is transparency. It works the same way with financial transparency and accountability, we just often refer to that as an "auditable system" which of course is critical to building trust with taxpayers.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

McGovern's campaign website stated the following:

I’m a practical American who understands that right sized Government has a role in our lives. I want to represent you and enact practical solutions to keep America working and set us up for future success. You work hard, pay your taxes, and deserve quality representation and positive results.

I’m one of the majority of Americans who identify as somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum. I am socially liberal and fiscally practical. Gerrymandering doesn’t give those of us in the middle much of a voice – unless we turn out and vote!

I'm a Democratic running in a Republican leaning district because we can all see that partisan gridlock is getting us nowhere. We have learned, we cannot change the way the politicians act, we can only change our behavior. Specifically, how we vote. We cannot keep sending the same people to Washington and expect better results – we will merely get more of the same finger pointing excuses for not getting things done.

We need new representation to shift from the failed 19th Century “trickle-down” dogma – the belief that if we take care of big business, business will take care of us. We need 21st Century solutions that invest in people, human rights, small businesses, and innovation while being fiscally responsible.

BORDER SECURITY & IMMIGRATION

Why is it so hard for workers to legally come to the United States? Congress hasn’t enacted any meaningful immigration reform since Ronald Regan was President over 40 years ago. The world sure has changed since then. But old school Republican politicians don’t really want to fix immigration. They just want to fear monger around the issue, and recently proved this with votes against even considering a historic bipartisan immigration bill.

IT'S COMMON SENSE: A workable solution for illegal immigration would be to require a fee for work visas and expand the visa program. This would dramatically reduce illegal immigration and reduce taxpayer expense.

PERSONAL SAFTEY

More and more Americans feel unsafe as they go about their daily lives. Statistically, America is safe, but there are places where life shattering violence is too common. We must refocus policing to a “guardian” mentality, moving away from an “enforcement” mentality.

OUR FIRST RESPONDERS RISK THEIR LIVES EVERY DAY: In many cases, they respond to calls that are more dangerous because Congress has failed to adequately address gun violence, mental health, and society’s well being. We do not need to limit gun ownership to enhance gun safety. We can treat addiction like an illness not a crime. We can reduce crime by providing a positive vision and a path for people to become upwardly mobile again.

RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER

The overturning of Roe v. Wade was an attack on Women’s rights, and not something that will prevent abortions. In fact we have seen that it threatens IVF, and endangers the lives of abused girls and mothers in medical distress. The idea that the Government should dictate what a woman does with her body is the antithesis of Liberty. Most Americans feel abortions should be safe, legal, and very rare. Now we have learned they need to be safe, legal, rare and free of Government overreach. Republican politicians perpetuate a ruse that this is a States rights issue. IT'S NOT. it is a private issue not a government issue. We don't want politicians and lawyers in the business of family planning.

LIBERTY IS PARAMOUNT: To my friends and neighbors who have a deeply held belief that abortion is wrong; I am not asking for you to compromise your beliefs. I am asking that you not allow government to infringe on the liberty and privacy or our fellow Americans.

BACK TO A BALANCED BUDGET

To get back to sane governance, you need a representative in Congress who will do the hard work to stop the politics of continuing resolutions and threats to shutdown Government. Those tactics need to be replaced with rigorous debate through the bi-annual budget process.

JUST 24 YEARS AGO, THE BUDGET WAS BALANCED: We didn’t have to cut social security or compromise our National Security to do it. But it did call for compromise and tough decisions. As an engineer, I will take a practical approach and examine the budget and our spending. First, we need to understand what has changed in the last 24 years that have prevented Congress from balancing the budget. The threats to our National Security have evolved. Russia, China, Iran, and Terrorism remain real threats to Americans and our National Interests. The Global market has also evolved with new threats to intellectual property and cyber security. We have seen huge growth in the federal bureaucracy. The Department of Homeland Security was created, and border spending is at record highs. Congress passed two major tax cuts intended to pay for themselves with economic growth that have only that have added to the National debt.

Congress needs to stop the politics of continuing resolutions and threats to shutdown government. Those political tactics need to be replaced with rigorous policy debate throughout the bi-annual budget process.[4]

—Jay McGovern's campaign website (2024)[5]

2020

Candidate Connection

Jay McGovern completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McGovern's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

A Florida native, engineer and retired Navy Helicopter Pilot; I'm running to stop the legislature from suing, with taxpayer money, to overturn amendments passed by over 60% of the voters. These amendments include restoration of voting rights, buying conservation lands and to stop gerrymandering.

I served 30-years in the Navy, as a helicopter pilot and Commanding Officer. I have also worked in both public and private sectors as an engineer with large and small businesses, worked independently as well as on large teams having had the responsibility of leading as many as 1,000 employees.

In the midst of the pandemic, we have seen the best in each other and yet the worst from our leadership. We know the pandemic has changed our world, the future is uncertain. It's time to be bold in order to build the future we want.
  • As a veteran, I understands to build a strong nation, you need healthy educated children. We need world-class public education.
  • We can grow businesses AND a workforce who have wages that make housing affordable, rather than having to create "affordable housing".
  • We need to be better stewards of our environment. Build a generation of Floridians who explore rather than exploit nature.
Education, including technical training. College cannot represent the only path to financial security and solvency in retirement. The pandemic has changed both education and the workplace. We have an opportunity to rethink how we do things. It's time to be bold in order to build the future we want.

Economic opportunity, We don't have to choose between attracting businesses and protecting workers or consumers, we can do both. I will take my business acumen to Tallahassee to create policy and law that encourages business growth while respecting our environment and the needs of our workforce and consumers. It's time to put people before corporations.

Inclusion, too many Floridians are marginalized while the legislature panders to the politically connected. Suing to overturn amendments and reverse the will of the voters is a good example. It's time to be included, not dismissed.

Politically, Bob Graham (former Florida Governor and Senator). He has been an unassuming leader who maintained his connection with working Floridians through his "workdays". That connection with working people helped him be a consumer and environmental advocate while still facilitating Florida's economic prosperity.
I would recommend people read books across the political spectrum to find their political philosophy. By doing that, I gained an appreciation for other points of view and better ways to articulate mine to someone who is not predisposed to think like me.
To solve problems you have to have curiosity, be competent and have conviction.
Represent people, specifically constituents. While listening to them, find ways to balance competing priorities.
Renting chairs, umbrellas and Honda minibikes during the summer in New Smyrna Beach for King Concessions and Swift Cycles ('75-'79).

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2016

The following issues were listed on McGovern's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

  • Rebuild the Middle Class: The first element in rebuilding our economic strength is to grow the middle class and facilitate wage growth. The growing gap between the rich and the poor shows us that working Americans are hardworking and productive, and their companies are profitable. The leadership in many of those companies have not felt obligated to share the prosperity. What is worse, Congress has watched and at times facilitated the destruction of the middle class.
  • Social Security and Medicare: For over 50 years, Americans have included Social Security and Medicare in their retirement planning. We cannot allow Congress to weaken or privatize these vital programs. Seniors have paid into Social Security and Medicare, these are benefits they have earned and Congress must protect them. Further we need to expand Medicare coverage to include exams, treatments, and medical devices for eyes, ears, and teeth. Medicare should meet all the healthcare needs of our seniors. Eyes, ears and teeth are not currently covered by Medicare.
  • Strong National Defense: Republicans in Congress have a dangerously simplistic view of international affairs. DeSantis’ embrace of Donald Trump’s erratic proposals is beyond disturbing. I have lived in the Middle East, visiting nearly every country there and I understand that it is dangerous to paint the Middle East with one hateful paintbrush. We need to pursue and if necessary kill terrorists who plot to kill civilians but we also must realize there is an enormous difference between Radical Islamic Terrorists and the billions of peace seeking Muslims around the world.
  • Equality: Our founders stipulated that all men are created equal, yet today Republican politicians work hard to deny the LGBT community equality even though Americans realize these rights are self-evident. The LGBT community is part of our community.[4]
—Jay McGovern's campaign website, http://www.jaymcgovern.com/#issues

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.


Jay McGovern campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* U.S. House Florida District 5Lost general$44,584 $18,455
2020Florida House of Representatives District 15Lost primary$22,370 N/A**
Grand total$66,954 $18,455
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 12, 2024
  2. Florida Department of State, "Candidate Listing for 2016 General Election," accessed June 25, 2016
  3. Politico, " Florida House Races Results," August 30, 2016
  4. 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  5. Jay McGovern's campaign website, "Our focus," accessed September 24, 2024


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Neal Dunn (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Anna Luna (R)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
Republican Party (22)
Democratic Party (8)