Kendrick Brett Meek (born September 6, 1966) is an American politician and current fossil fuel industry spokesperson,[1] who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 17th congressional district from 2003 to 2011.

Meek was the Democratic nominee in the 2010 Senate election,[2] coming in third behind Republican Marco Rubio and independent candidate Charlie Crist.

Meek was a star football player in college and also founded the Young Democrats at Florida A&M, later serving as President of the organization.

He later served on the security detail for Democratic Lieutenant Governor, Buddy MacKay and subsequently launched his political career.

Meek, along with fellow member Rep. Tony Hill, staged a sit-in protest in Governor Jeb Bush's office in January, 2000.

[12] The sit-in lasted for 25 hours, with the central issue being a newly implemented "One Florida" plan to end official race/gender preferences in state government.

Then-Florida governor Jeb Bush and state legislature Republicans opposed the bill because it was unclear how much the amendment would cost: "While this may be a worthy goal, we still have to ask the question, where will the money come from?"

[20] During his time in Congress, Meek consistently opposed the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding of elective abortion.

[19] In a statement in the Congressional Record, Meek said:[19]"This proposed amendment is not directed at any real problem, other than the apparent need of the Republican leadership to gin up political support for their candidates.

It is sad that the Republican leadership is not as interested as they say they are in 'protecting' the institution of marriage as they are in waging a campaign to divide and distract the American people from the real issues that need to be addressed.

[24] On January 13, 2009, Meek announced he would run for the seat in the United States Senate that would be vacated upon the retirement of Republican Mel Martinez in 2010, saying, "I want to be a fighter for Florida with a strong voice that won't let the special interests stand in the way of what's right.

[26] On November 2, 2010, Meek lost in a three-way-race against Governor Charlie Crist, and former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, receiving only 20% of the vote.

[27] In 2016, Meek joined King & Spalding LLP as a senior advisor, where he provides strategic counsel to a wide range of Fortune 500 companies.