Cord Byrd (born April 19, 1971) is an American attorney and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician serving as the

secretary of state of Florida The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...

. Previously, he was a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, representing Nassau County and part of Duval County from 2016 until his appointment as secretary of state.

Early life and education

Byrd was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. He attended the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

for one year before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sch ...

. In 1997, he earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

St. Thomas University School of Law Benjamin L. Crump College of Law is one of the graduate schools of St. Thomas University located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The College of Law was founded in 1984. According to its 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 54.7% of the Class of 2017 obta ...

Career

Byrd worked as an attorney at Leal & Ring, P.A from 1997 to 2004 and Gonzalez & Porcher from 2004 to 2007. Since 2007, he has operated an independent legal practice. Byrd was elected to the

in 2016. During his tenure, Byrd served as vice chair of the Public Integrity & Elections Committee during the 2019–2020 legislative session and vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in the 2021–2022 legislative session. In 2019, Byrd sponsored a bill banning

sanctuary cities Sanctuary city (; ) refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deport ...

in Florida. In April of that year the Florida House passed the bill with 69–47 nearly along party lines. In May 2022, Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...

selected Byrd to succeed

Laurel Lee Laurel Frances Lee (née Moore; born March 26, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representatives for Florida's 15th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was a judge on Florida's ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Cord 1971 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Jacksonville, Florida Secretaries of State of Florida St. Thomas University (Florida) alumni University of North Florida alumni