Gwendolyn Graham (born January 31, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 2nd congressional district from 2015 to 2017.
[12] Graham was one of just two Democrats in the entire country to defeat an incumbent Republican that year, beating Southerland in the November election by more than 2,800 votes.
[13] Prior to her swearing in, Graham said both parties need new leadership in Congress and that she would not vote for Nancy Pelosi to be speaker of the House.
[19] Graham advocated for congressional reforms, including legislation to prohibit members of Congress from using federal funds to pay for first-class airfare[20] and a bill to prevent future government shutdowns.
[22] Graham joined Florida Democrats Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, and Alcee Hastings in opposing the Iran nuclear deal.
[32][33] On the environment, Graham co-sponsored bipartisan legislation with Congressman David Jolly and Senator Bill Nelson to oppose oil drilling off the beaches of Florida.
[36][37] Graham voted in favor of having the Environmental Protection Agency re-examine its Waters of the United States rule with more input from those it would affect.
[38] She used public records to help expose and investigate Governor Rick Scott's response to a massive sinkhole in Central Florida.
[40] In 2015, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the congressional redistricting plan was a partisan gerrymander in violation of the Fair Districts Amendment.
[41][43] In a YouTube video emailed to her fundraising list, Graham announced that she would not run for reelection to the House in 2016, denouncing a process that resulted in Tallahassee being split into "two partisan districts".
[44] On May 2, 2017, Graham announced her intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination in the 2018 election to serve as governor of Florida.
[45] Graham's message focused on improving Florida's public schools, protecting the environment, and supporting economic policies counter to those of Governor Rick Scott, such as raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and implementing required paid sick leave.
[48] In her campaigns for Congress and Florida's governorship, she is continuing the Workdays tradition established by her father, where the Grahams spend a shift working alongside Floridians at their jobs.
[51] On April 16, 2021, it was announced that Graham would be nominated to serve as assistant secretary of the United States Department of Education for legislation and congressional affairs.