Charles Thomas Keen III (born April 9, 1956) is an American politician, businessman, and former military pilot who is 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 ...

, having won a January 2024 special election. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he represents the 35th district, located in

central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

, southeast of Orlando, and includes parts of the counties of Orange and Osceola.

Early life and education

Keen has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

Career

Keen served as a naval flight officer for 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 ...

for 21 years, and worked as a manager at

Collins Aerospace Collins Aerospace is an American technology corporation that is one of the world's largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. History On No ...

at the time of his election to the state legislature. After an unsuccessful campaign for the 35th district of the

in 2022, in which he lost the primary by a mere 57 votes, in May 2023, Keen announced his candidacy for a special election to succeed State Representative

Fred Hawkins Fred Hawkins (September 3, 1923 – December 6, 2014) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. Hawkins was born in Antioch, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois and the Tex ...

, who resigned to become president of South Florida State College. On November 7, 2023, he won the Democratic primary in what was considered an upset, as he had been outraised by his two opponents. Both parties heavily invested into winning the special election, due to Hawkins's 11-point re-election win in 2022, while

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Joe Biden had won the district by five points in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. Keen received the endorsement of the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' during the campaign. In the special election on January 16, 2024, Keen defeated Republican nominee Erika Booth by roughly 2.6 percentage points, in a flip for his party.

Personal life

Keen and his wife, Laura, have two adult children, and reside in

Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida Lake Nona is a 17-square-mile master-planned community in Orlando, Florida recognized as a model for “How to build a great American City”. The community is known for focused initiatives on community, technology, mobility, and wellbeing. It is ...

Electoral history

References

1956 births 21st-century American legislators Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Living people Politicians from Orlando, Florida United States Naval Flight Officers University of Cincinnati alumni 21st-century Florida politicians {{Florida-politician-stub