Matt Willhite (born July 23, 1971) is a Democratic politician from

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 ...

who has served as 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 ...

since 2016. He represents the 86th District, which includes

Greenacres Greenacres can refer to: *Greenacres, California, a town in the Central Valley (United States) *Harold Lloyd Estate, 'Greenacres', the legendary 1920s Harold Lloyd Estate in Beverly Hills, California (United States) *Greenacres, Florida, town in th ...

, Haverhill,

Loxahatchee Groves Loxahatchee Groves is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 3,180. Loxahatchee Groves was incorporated November 1, 2006, as the 38th municipality in Palm Beach County. The first el ...

, Royal Palm Beach,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and parts of unincorporated Palm Beach County. Willhite currently works as a Captain for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, making him the first active duty first responder serving in the history of 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 ...

History

Matt Willhite was born in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

and moved to

Palm Beach County, Florida Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

in 1980 at the age of 9. He graduated from Lake Worth High School. In 1999, Willhite enlisted in the

United States 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 ...

and served 8 years as a

Corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS) ...

, serving with the 4th

ANGLICO Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) is an Airborne forces, airborne fire support and liaison unit of the United States Marine Corps. The mission of ANGLICO is "To provide Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Commanders a liaison capabili ...

of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Florida House of Representatives

When incumbent State Representative

Mark Pafford Mark S. Pafford (born April 11, 1966) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 88 (2008–2012) and District 86 (2012–2016) which included Haverhill, Loxahatc ...

was unable to seek re-election in 2016 due to term limits, Willhite ran to succeed him in the 86th District, which included Haverhill,

, Royal Palm Beach,

, and parts of

and West Palm Beach. Willhite faced Tinu Pena in the Democratic primary. He placed first in the primary, winning 56.29% of the vote. Willhite then went on to defeat Republican challenger Laurel Bennett, with 57.59% of the vote. In 2017 Matt Willhite helped revive the non-partisan Veteran's caucus in the Florida Legislature and was elected chair. Willhite was reelected in the November 6, 2018 general election, again defeating Bennett, this time with 59.82% of the vote. During his second year in office, Willhite was elected as Vice Chair of the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation, a group on 13 lawmakers who represent districts in Palm Beach County. In 2018, Willhite was elected as Chair of the Legislative Delegation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willhite, Matt Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Living people 21st-century American politicians Palm Beach State College alumni People from Pontiac, Michigan 1971 births