Sherrod Scott Kelly (September 20, 1927 – April 3, 2005) was an American politician. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he served in 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 ...

from 1957 to 1963, representing the seventh district. Born in

Madison, Florida Madison is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Florida, Madison County, on the central northern border of Florida, United States. The population was 2,912 at the 2020 census. History The territory now known as Madison County was ruled ...

, on September 20, 1927, Kelly was raised in

Gadsden County Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...

and graduated from what became

Gadsden County High School Gadsden County High School, known as East Gadsden High School (EGHS) until 2016, was a public high school in unincorporated Gadsden County, Florida, operated by Gadsden County School District. It is between Havana and Quincy, and it has a "Havana ...

. Kelly played for the

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

team, before leaving the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

to join the military. Kelly moved from Quincy to Lakeland in 1949, and four years later, was elected to the city commission. Kelly won two terms as mayor of Lakeland before unseating Republican state senator Harry King in 1956. Kelly left the state senate in 1963, and began campaigning for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, which he lost to

Haydon Burns William Haydon Burns (March 17, 1912 – November 22, 1987) was an American politician. He was List of mayors of Jacksonville, Florida, Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 1949 to 1965, and served as the 35th Governor of Florida from 1965 to 19 ...

. In 1966, Kelly contested the nomination again, and finished third. Kelly ran in the Florida primary of the

1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries From March 12 to June 11, 1968, Democratic Party voters of several states elected delegates to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey was selected as the nominee in the 1968 Democratic National Convention ...

, placing third behind Senator

George Smathers George Armistead Smathers (November 14, 1913 – January 20, 2007) was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Florida in the United States Senate from 1951 until 1969 and in the United States House from 1947 to 1951, as ...

, who was running as a stand-in candidate for Vice President

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

, and Senator

Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...

. Kelly represented the unpledged delegates who did not want to be pledged to a candidate at the

1968 Democratic National Convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...

. He died at home in Lakeland of cancer on April 3, 2005, aged 77.

References

1927 births 2005 deaths Democratic Party Florida state senators Florida Gators football players People from Lakeland, Florida People from Madison, Florida People from Quincy, Florida Mayors of places in Florida Deaths from cancer in Florida Players of American football from Florida 20th-century American politicians {{Florida-mayor-stub