Gwen Graham, a former U.S. representative and daughter of the late Gov. Bob Graham, is running for lieutenant governor alongside Democrat David Jolly in the Nov. 3 general election.

Jolly named Graham as his running mate on June 10, and the pair filed qualifying paperwork in Tallahassee the same day, according to WUSF. In a questionnaire submitted to the Amelia Island Signal, Graham said she and Jolly align on housing, healthcare, education and "no data centers." Amelia Island voters will see the lieutenant governor race on their Nov. 3 ballots.

Other candidates for lieutenant governor include Bryan Avila (Republican), Nicole Skelly (Libertarian), Benjiman Rojas, Joe Van Vactor, Juan Santana, Rachel Rodriguez and Ruben A. Coto, all listed with no party preference, according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

  • Full name: Gwen Graham (born Gwendolyn Graham, Jan. 31, 1963, in Miami Lakes)
  • Party: Democratic
  • Residence: Tallahassee, according to ClickOrlando/WKMG, where she lives with her husband, Steve Hurm
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1984); law degree from American University Washington College of Law (1988); graduate of Leon High School in Tallahassee
  • Family: Daughter of the late Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator, who died in 2024, according to WUSF

Experience and public service

Graham represented Florida's 2nd Congressional District after winning election in 2014. She defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, one of only two Democrats nationally to unseat an incumbent Republican that year.

In Congress, Graham said in her questionnaire that she focused on public education, veterans issues and the environment. She served on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees, according to her questionnaire. Graham said she co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Bill Nelson and opposed oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico alongside Jolly.

Graham served as assistant secretary for legislation and congressional affairs at the U.S. Department of Education from October 2021 to January 2025. Before entering politics, she worked as director of employee relations at Leon County Schools and as an associate attorney at Andrews & Kurth in Washington, D.C.

She ran for Florida governor in 2018. She finished second in a seven-person Democratic primary with 31.3% of the vote, losing to Andrew Gillum by 47,289 votes.

Graham continues a tradition called "Workdays" established by her father, spending full shifts working alongside Floridians at their jobs. She performed more than 50 Workdays during her campaigns for Congress and governor.

On the issues

Housing and insurance: Graham said in her questionnaire that the Jolly-Graham administration would work to lower homeowners insurance costs by creating a state catastrophic fund that removes hurricane coverage from the private market. She said they would fully fund the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund to expand workforce and affordable housing.

Healthcare: Graham said she would work with legislative leaders to expand Medicaid and access to primary care through community health clinics, nonprofits and federally qualified health centers, according to her questionnaire.

Public education and teacher pay: Graham said on her campaign website that Florida pays its teachers the least in the country. "That breaks my heart. And it's the wrong direction for Florida's future," Graham said. The Jolly-Graham administration would pursue what her questionnaire describes as a 10-year renaissance in public education by raising teacher pay and ensuring all publicly funded choice schools meet the same academic and service standards.

Congressional redistricting: Graham said she would be open to exploring an independent redistricting commission to draw political boundaries, according to NBC Miami. She said voters should have more meaningful choices in general elections rather than having many races effectively decided during party primaries.

Florida's general election is Nov. 3, 2026.