Jennifer Sandra Carroll (née Johnson, August 27, 1959) is a Trinidadian–American Republican politician and retired naval officer who served as the 18th

lieutenant governor of Florida The lieutenant governor of Florida is a statewide elected office in the government of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the Florida Constitution, the lieutenant governor is elected to a four-year term congruent with that of the governor of ...

from January 4, 2011 to March 12, 2013. Carroll is the first black person, woman and Trinidadian-American elected to the office; she also is the first black person elected to statewide office in Florida since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

.The Orlando Sentinel
retrieved September 1, 2012 Carroll previously served as a Republican 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 ...

. She is the bestselling author of an autobiography entitled ''When You Get There.'' While lieutenant governor, Carroll came under scrutiny for public relations work for a charity that involved itself in gambling and for $24,000 in income that she failed to report on financial disclosures and tax returns. At the request of Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

, Carroll resigned her post as lieutenant governor on March 12, 2013. The

Florida Department of Law Enforcement The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities and ...

subsequently concluded that she had not broken any laws.

Early life, education, and career

Carroll was born in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

, Trinidad and Tobago. She moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the age of eight, and graduated from

Uniondale High School Uniondale High School is a public high school located in Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, U.S.A., and is the only high school operated by the Uniondale Union Free School District. As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of ...

in Uniondale, Long Island New York in 1977. She enlisted in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1979. After serving as an aviation machinist's mate (jet engine mechanic), she was selected for the Enlisted Commissioning Program, becoming an Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer in 1985. She retired from the U.S. Navy in 1999 as a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. In 1981, she received an Associate of Arts degree from

Leeward Community College Leeward Community College is a public community college in Pearl City, Hawaii. It is one of 10 campuses of the University of Hawaii system and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Leeward's open admiss ...

. She followed this in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

. She moved to Florida in 1986. She received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from unaccredited and now defunct

Kensington University Kensington University was an unaccredited distance education institution that was based at different times in California and Hawaii. Kensington University was eventually shut down by state authorities in both states. History The school was found ...

in 1995. Carroll resigned her position on the National Commission of Presidential Scholars to accept a presidential appointment to the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission. She then returned to school to earn an accredited

degree online from

St. Leo University Saint Leo University is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a Benedictine monaste ...

in 2008. Following the 2000 elections, Carroll was appointed Executive Director of the

Florida Department of Veterans Affairs The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs (FDVA) is a government agency of the state of Florida under the authority of the Governor of Florida charged with helping veterans and their families to receive all benefits they are legally entitled to. ...

by Republican Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

and served in that post until July 2002. Republican President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

appointed Carroll to the Commission on

Presidential Scholars The United States Presidential Scholars Program is a program of the United States Department of Education. It is described as "one of the Nation's highest honors for students" in the United States, United States of America and the globe. The pr ...

from 2001 to 2004, and then a seat on the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission from 2004 to 2007.

Political career

Carroll is a member of the

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

Republican Executive Committee. In 2000, she ran for a seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in the

Florida's 3rd congressional district Florida's 3rd congressional district is an electoral district of the United States House of Representatives located in Florida. It presently comprises a large section of northern Florida, including the entire counties of Alachua, Clay, Putnam, ...

. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Congresswoman

Corrine Brown Corrine Brown (born November 11, 1946) is an American former politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1993 to 2017 and a convicted felon. She is a member of the Democratic Party. After a court-order ...

defeated Carroll 58%–42%. After redistricting, she ran for a rematch against Brown in the newly redrawn 3rd district in 2002. Brown defeated her 59%–41%. Carroll is one of the founders of

Maggie's List Maggie's List is a United States federal political action committee founded in Florida in 2010 to "raise awareness and funds to increase the number of conservative women elected to federal public office." It is named after Margaret Chase Smith ...

, a federal PAC that supports conservative female candidates.

Florida House of Representatives

Carroll ran for a seat

in the 13th state House district after incumbent State Representative Mike Hogan, also a Republican, resigned in 2003. In the April 2003

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

, she won the Republican primary with 65.5 percent of the vote, defeating Linda Sparks, who won 34.5 percent of the vote. She became the first Black female Republican ever elected to the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

. She won unopposed in 2004, 2006, and 2008. Carroll was appointed Deputy Majority Leader from 2003–2004, and served as Majority Whip in 2004–2006. She was Vice Chair of the Transportation and Economic Development Committee (2003–2004), Chair of the Finance Committee (2006–2008) and Chair of the Economic and Development Council (2008–2010).

Lieutenant Governor of Florida

On November 2, 2010, the Republican ticket of

and Jennifer Carroll defeated the Democratic ticket of

Alex Sink Adelaide Alexander Sink (born June 5, 1948) is an American politician and financier. A member of the Democratic Party, Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State Bo ...

and Rod Smith, 48.9%–47.7%. The first black person, the first woman, and the first Trinidadian American elected to the position, she assumed the office on January 4, 2011. Carroll was the first black Republican elected to statewide office in Florida since

. She had a troubled relationship with Governor Scott concerning various charges of office mismanagement, which included retaliation on staff, tax improprieties and lesbianism. Carroll came under further scrutiny for public relations work for a charity that involved itself in illegal online gambling and for $24,000 in income which she failed to report on disclosures and tax returns. Though the Ethics Committee found no evidence of wrongdoing, at the request of Governor

, Carroll resigned her post as lieutenant governor on March 12, 2013. The

subsequently concluded that she did not break any laws.

Later political career

Carroll served as a surrogate for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

during his 2016 presidential campaign, speaking at his rallies and serving on his National Diversity Council. In December 2017, President Trump appointed Carroll as a Commissioner on the

American Battle Monuments Commission The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments primarily outside the United States. ...

. Carroll served on the Commission from April 2018 until January 2021.

Personal life

Carroll's husband is Nolan Carroll, a retired senior master sergeant in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Together, the Carrolls have three children. Carroll's son, Nolan Carroll II, has played football at the collegiate and professional levels.

References

External links

*
Project Vote Smart profileProfile
Florida House of Representatives website; accessed November 6, 2014. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Jennifer 1959 births Living people Lieutenant Governors of Florida Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives State cabinet secretaries of Florida Kensington University alumni Women state legislators in Florida Saint Leo University alumni University of New Mexico alumni People from Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States Female United States Navy officers People from Uniondale, New York People from Clay County, Florida Military personnel from Florida Writers from Florida Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American female military personnel African-American state legislators in Florida African-American women in politics 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women African-American United States Navy personnel Black conservatism in the United States