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Jeff Brandes
Jeff Brandes (Republican Party) was a member of the Florida State Senate, representing District 24. He assumed office on November 8, 2016. He left office on November 8, 2022.
Brandes (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Florida State Senate to represent District 24. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Brandes was first elected to the state Senate in 2012. He represented District 22 in the state Senate from 2012 to 2016. He served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 52 from 2010 to 2012.
Biography
Brandes earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Carson-Newman College. His professional experience includes working as a real estate broker and manager of his family's asset portfolio. Earlier in his career, he worked for Cox Lumber Co.'s real estate development team. Brandes served in the U.S. Army Reserve, during which he was called to active duty in Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
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.
2021-2022
Brandes was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Rules Committee
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Criminal Justice Committee, Vice Chair
- Senate Judiciary Committee, Chair
2019-2020
Brandes was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Legislative Budget Commission
- Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, Alternating Chair
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Criminal Justice Committee, Vice Chair
- Senate Rules Committee
- Innovation, Industry, and Technology Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Community Affairs |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Regulated Industries |
| • Rules |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Brandes served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Community Affairs, Vice chair |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Education Pre-K - 12 |
| • Judiciary |
| • Transportation, Chair |
| • Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Brandes served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Transportation, Chair |
| • Agriculture |
| • Education |
| • Health Policy |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Brandes served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education |
Issues
Presidential preference
2012
Jeff Brandes endorsed Rick Perry in the 2012 presidential election.[1]
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
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2022
Jeff Brandes did not file to run for re-election.
2018
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Florida State Senate District 24
Incumbent Jeff Brandes defeated Lindsay Cross in the general election for Florida State Senate District 24 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeff Brandes (R) | 54.3 | 116,415 |
 | Lindsay Cross (D) | 45.7 | 98,104 | |
| Total votes: 214,519 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 24
Lindsay Cross advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 24 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Lindsay Cross |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 24
Incumbent Jeff Brandes advanced from the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 24 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Brandes |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Florida State Senate 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 Jeff Brandes ran unopposed in the Florida State Senate District 24 general election.[2][3]
| Florida State Senate, District 24 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Jeff Brandes Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||
Incumbent Jeff Brandes ran unopposed in the Florida State Senate District 24 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Florida State Senate, District 24 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Jeff Brandes Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Florida State Senate 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. Judithanne McLauchlan was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Jeff Brandes was unopposed in the Republican primary. Brandes defeated McLauchlan in the general election.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Brandes Incumbent |
57.7% | 101,983 | |
| Democratic | Judithanne McLauchlan | 42.3% | 74,804 | |
| Total Votes | 176,787 | |||
2012
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2012
Brandes won election in the 2012 election for Florida State Senate District 22. Brandes defeated James Frishe in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012, and defeated Raymond Alan Baker (Write-in) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Brandes |
99.7% | 157,438 | |
| Independent | Raymond Alan Baker | 0.3% | 481 | |
| Total Votes | 157,919 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Jeff Brandes |
56.7% | 20,655 |
| James C. Frishe | 43.3% | 15,776 |
| Total Votes | 36,431 | |
2010
Brandes did not have any opposition in the August 24 primary. He defeated incumbent Bill Heller (D) in the November 2 general election.[9]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 52 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Jeff Brandes (R)
|
21,237 | 51.20% | ||
| Bill Heller (D) | 20,238 | 48.80% | ||
Campaign themes
2014
Brandes' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[10]
Economy & Jobs
- Excerpt: "It is imperative that Florida remains competitive in attracting new companies and growing small businesses. I realize that cutting taxes and decreasing regulation is the best way to achieve these goals."
Taxes & State Budget
- Excerpt: "I am in favor of cutting taxes whenever possible because government is not living within its means and is currently on an unsustainable course."
Education
- Excerpt: "I understand that education is not one size fits all, which is why he supports parental choice. Tallahassee needs to make education funding a priority, require a rigorous curriculum, and measure results for a successful outcome."
Second Amendment Rights
- Excerpt: "I understand that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is often under assault, and will defend it from attack in the Florida Legislature."
Obamacare & Stimulus
- Excerpt: "I will stand up to big government, fight Obamacare, reject any future Obama stimulus, and work to grow our economy and create jobs the right way."
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.
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.
|
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.
|
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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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.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 5.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Brandes and his wife, Natalie, have two children.
See also
- Florida State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Florida State Legislature
- Florida state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tampabay.com, "Another big Florida endorsement for Rick Perry?" August 10, 2011
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidates and Races," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "November 2, 2010, Election Results," November 2, 2010
- ↑ electjeffbrandes.com, "Issues," accessed October 23, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Florida State Senate District 24 2016-2022 |
Succeeded by Bobby Powell Jr. (D) |
| Preceded by - |
Florida State Senate District 22 2012-2016 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Florida House of Representatives District 52 2010-2012 |
Succeeded by - |
