Jeanette Marie Nuñez (born June 6, 1972) is an American businesswoman and politician serving as the 20th
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 ...
since 2019. A member of the
Republican Party, she represented
Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
in 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 ...
from 2010 to 2018, also serving as speaker pro tempore for her final two years in the office. Nuñez is the first
Latina
Latina or Latinas most often refers to:
* Latinas, a demographic group in the United States
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America.
*Latin Americans
Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
to serve as Florida lieutenant governor.
Early life and education
Nuñez was born in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
to a
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
father Victor C. Sanchez and Teresita Sanchez and is one of three daughters. In 1994, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and international relations from
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
(FIU). In 1998, Nuñez completed her
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...
at FIU.
Career
Her first job after completing her undergraduate studies was as an aide to State Senator
Alex Diaz de la Portilla
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...
.
Nuñez later entered the health care industry, working as the vice-president of government affairs at
Jackson Health System
Jackson Health System in Miami, Florida is a nonprofit academic medical system in Miami, Florida. Governed by the Public Health Trust, a team of citizen volunteers acting on behalf of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, Jackson Health S ...
. Nuñez also worked for Florida International University as an adjunct professor and advisor. She also served as the vice-president of external affairs at Kendall Regional Medical Center and Aventura Hospital & Medical Center, until becoming the lieutenant governor of Florida.
Florida House of Representatives
When incumbent
state representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
David Rivera
David Mauricio Rivera (born September 16, 1965) is an American Republican politician from Florida. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for one term, representing parts of South Florida from 2011 to 2013.
Rivera was arrested on D ...
was unable to seek re-election in 2010 due to term limits, Nuñez ran to succeed him in the
112th District, which included parts of
Broward,
Collier, and
Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
counties, stretching from
Doral to
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. In the
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 ...
primary, she faced Juan D'Arce and James Patrick Guerrero, and campaigned on working to pass legislation to "improve the economy" and to "reform the Medicaid program in order to contain the ever-growing costs that affect taxpayers." Ultimately, Nuñez won the primary over her opponents, receiving 66% of the vote to D'Arce's 19% and Guerrero's 15%. Advancing to the general election, she faced Sandra Ruiz, the
Democratic nominee and a Doral City councilwoman, and Robert Van Name, an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate. Nuñez campaigned on job creation, noting, "For me, the most important issue for District 112 and in fact for the entire state of Florida is creating jobs, improving the economy and lowering the tax burden for businesses and property owners." The ''
Naples Daily News
The ''Naples Daily News'' is the main daily newspaper of Naples, Florida, and Collier County. It is owned by Gannett and has a circulation of more than 40,000.
It was previously owned by Milwaukee-based Journal Media Group, which was formed by a ...
'' criticized the nature of the district, noting, "If there is a textbook reason for redistricting reform, this race...would be it," and opined that "there is little sense of Collier connection from either Miami-based candidate." Despite this, they endorsed Nuñez over Ruiz because Nuñez met with the editorial board and Ruiz did not, which they noted was "a dreadful measuring stick for picking such a high-ranking public servant." Ultimately, Nuñez won out over her opponents by a comfortable margin, scoring 56% of the vote to Ruiz's 39% and Van Name's 5%.
When the state's legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Nuñez was drawn into the
119th District, where she opted to seek re-election. She was challenged in the Republican primary by Libby Perez, but easily won renomination with 73% of the vote. Nuñez only faced write-in opposition in the general election and easily won re-election.
During the 2014 legislative session, Nuñez worked with
state senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
Jack Latvala
Jack Latvala (born November 3, 1951) is a Republican politician from Florida. He represented the Pinellas County area in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 2002, and again from 2010 to 2018.
Latvala was also a candidate for Governor of Florida ...
to sponsor legislation that "would allow the children of undocumented immigrants to pay the same in-state tuition rates for college as other Floridians," which ended up passing the legislature.
As reported by ''
The Hill'' in 2018, Jeanette Nuñez introduced legislation in Florida "to standardize daylight saving time for the entire calendar year". To make the "
Sunshine Protection Act
The Sunshine Protection Act is a proposed United States federal law that would make U.S. daylight saving time permanent, meaning the time would no longer change twice per year.
Background
Time zones were first introduced in the United State ...
" nationwide, Senator
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...
sponsored a bill in the Senate since the state bill cannot take effect until the federal government makes the change. This is because the "provision would shift the state into a different time zone permanently", something which requires a federal regulatory action or an act of Congress.
Lieutenant governor of Florida
Selection
On September 5, 2018, then-congressman
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 Nuñez to be his running mate in the
2018 Florida gubernatorial election, facing off against
Andrew Gillum
Andrew Demetric Gillum (born July 26, 1979) is an American former politician who served as the 126th mayor of Tallahassee from 2014 to 2018. He served as a Tallahassee city commissioner from 2003 until 2014, first elected at the age of 23. He i ...
and running mate Chris King. DeSantis and Nuñez would go on to win the election by a margin of less than half of a percentage point. Nuñez is the first Latina woman to serve as lieutenant governor of Florida.
Tenure
Nuñez was sworn in as lieutenant governor on January 8, 2019, succeeding
Carlos Lopez-Cantera
Carlos Lopez-Cantera (born December 29, 1973) is an American politician who served as the 19th lieutenant governor of Florida from 2014 to 2019.
A member of the Republican Party, Lopez-Cantera represented the 113th district in the Florida House ...
. During her time in office, she has hosted various roundtables and events in support of exiles from Venezuela.
Personal life
Jeanette Nuñez married Adrian Nuñez in 1997. They have three children.
References
External links
Florida House of Representatives - Jeanette Núñez*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Jeanette
1972 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
American politicians of Cuban descent
Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida
Florida International University alumni
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Lieutenant Governors of Florida
Living people
Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
Politicians from Miami
Women state legislators in Florida
Latino conservatism in the United States