Loranne Ausley (born October 16, 1963) is an American attorney and Democratic politician from

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. She served as a member of the

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

from 2020 until her defeat in 2022, representing

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois * Calhoun, Kansas * Calhoun, Kentuc ...

, Franklin, Gadsden,

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Jefferson,

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

, and Wakulla Counties. Previously, she represented the Tallahassee area in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and then again from 2016 to 2020. Ausley was defeated for re-election in 2022 by

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 ...

Corey Simon Corey Jermaine Simon Sr. (born March 2, 1977) is an American politician and former professional football player. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the Florida State Senator from the 3rd district since 2022. He previously played ...

Early life and education

Ausley was born to a politically active family in Florida. Her great-great-grandfather was Alexander McSwain, a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 1891. Her grandfather, Charles Ausley, served in the

. Ausley's father DuBose Ausley is a noted Tallahassee attorney who formally served as chair of the State University System of Florida DuBose Ausley. Her mother, Sallie Ausley, was co-founder of the Red Hills Horse Trials. Ausley graduated from

Randolph-Macon Woman's College Randolph College is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1891 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, it was renamed on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational. The college offers 32 majors; 42 minors; � ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1985. She then attended

Washington & Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexing ...

where she received her J.D. in 1990.

Political career

With over 20 years of public service at the state and federal level, Ausley was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008. Her district then included the northern half Leon County, including most of

, and the northwest part of adjoining Jefferson County. Ausley was the ranking Democratic member on the House Health Care Council from 2007 to 2008.

2010 Chief Financial Officer campaign

In the 2010 election, Ausley ran for

Florida Chief Financial Officer The chief financial officer of Florida is an elected statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet. The CFO is a combination of the former offices of comptroller and ...

(CFO). She became the Democratic nominee by default when no other candidates filed for the election, then went on to lose to State Senate President

Jeff Atwater Jeffrey Hardee Atwater (born April 8, 1958) is an American financier who served as the 3rd Chief Financial Officer of Florida from 2011 to 2017, and currently serves as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Financial Officer at Flo ...

, the Republican nominee, in the general election. After eight years out of elected office, Ausley returned to the Florida House in 2016, again representing the 9th district. In 2020, Ausley ran for the Florida Senate in the 3rd district and succeeded term-limited incumbent

Bill Montford William Jonas Montford III (born August 22, 1947) is an American Democratic politician from Florida. He served in the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020, representing parts of the Florida Panhandle around Tallahassee. Previously, he served on t ...

. After a competitive race, she defeated

Marva Preston in the 2020 general election by a margin of 53.4–46.6%. She voted nay against the controversial Senate Bill 86 in 2021. In 2022, Ausley questioned the need for a special session on the

Reedy Creek Improvement Act The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, otherwise known as House Bill No. 486, was a law introduced and passed in the U.S. state of Florida in 1967, which established the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort, the Reedy Creek Improvement Distri ...

, claiming it adds "insult to injury" and goes "after a private business." She also argued that Disney has made Florida "what it is."

Personal

Loranne is married to Bill Hollimon and their children are John Hollimon (Stepson), William DuBose Ausley Hollimon. She is a marathon runner and

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

. Loranne's father is Tallahassee attorney DuBose Ausley of the 33-partner, 75-year-old law firm of Ausley & McMullen, P.A. She is a senior advisor to the

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...

Foundation and board chair of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ausley, Loranne 1963 births Living people Florida lawyers Women state legislators in Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Randolph College alumni Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Leon High School alumni