Johnnie B. Byrd Jr. (born February 8, 1951) is a former member of the Florida House of Representatives from District 62 representing Eastern Hillsborough County from 1996 through 2004. He was speaker of the House from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, Byrd made an unsuccessful run for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat vacated by retiring Senator Bob Graham as a

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 ...

candidate. He was fourth in a field of six with 68,982 votes, 5.9 percent of the vote. Mel Martinez won the primary and the general election. Prior public service included a spell as a

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

member of the Brewton City School System in Brewton, Alabama.

Personal life

Byrd moved to Florida in 1988, and joined the law firm Trinkle, Redman, Moody, Swanson and Byrd. Byrd is currently the managing partner in Byrd & Barnhill, P.L., in

Plant City Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite many thinking it was named for flora ...

. He holds a BS in business administration from Auburn University and a JD from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

School of Law. Byrd is the founder and a member of the board of the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Institute at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

. He is a past president of the Plant City Chamber of Commerce, a trustee of Evangelical University and Seminary and a member of the Plant City Rotary Club. In 2012, Byrd ran for Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge, but lost to Mark R. Wolfe. Wolfe received 63.3% of the vote to Byrd's 36.7%.

Electoral history

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives-Johnnie Byrd

Byrd & Barnhill, P.L. Attorneys at Law

USF Byrd Alzheimer's Institute

2004 campaign website
* , - 1951 births Living people People from Brewton, Alabama Auburn University alumni University of Alabama alumni People from Plant City, Florida Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives {{Florida-politician-stub