Valdez Venita Demings (née Butler; born March 12, 1957) is an American politician and former police officer serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from since 2017. The district covers most of the western half of

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

and includes much of the area around Orlando's resort parks. It includes many of Orlando's western suburbs, including

Apopka Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

and

Winter Garden A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime. History The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility would construct large conservatories that would house tropical and subtro ...

. From 2007 to 2011, Demings was chief of the

Orlando Police Department The Orlando Police Department (OPD) is responsible for law enforcement within the city limits of Orlando, Florida. The OPD employs over 800 sworn officers and over 150 civilian employees serving the citizens of Orlando through crime prevention ...

, its first female chief, capping a 27-year career with the department. She has also been

first lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Orange County, Florida Orange County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,429,908, making it Florida's fifth most populous county. The county seat is Orlando. Orange County is the central county ...

, since December 4, 2018, when her husband

Jerry Demings Jerry L. Demings (born June 12, 1959) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer serving as Mayor of Orange County, Florida, in office since 2018. A Democrat, he previously served as Sheriff of Orange County, Florida, from 200 ...

was sworn in as the mayor. Demings was the Democratic nominee to represent Florida's 10th congressional district in Congress in both 2012 and 2016. After losing in 2012 to Republican incumbent

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...

, she won in 2016 after the State Supreme Court mandated redistricting statewide. On January 15, 2020, House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

selected Demings to serve as a

House impeachment manager An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...

in the first Senate trial of President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. In early August 2020, Demings was said to be one of the top contenders to be Joe Biden's vice-presidential running mate in the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

, along with

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

and Susan Rice. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Florida, losing to Republican incumbent Marco Rubio.

Early life and education

Valdez Venita Butler was born on March 12, 1957, one of seven children born to a poor family; her father worked as a janitor, her mother as a maid. They lived in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, a neighborhood in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. She attended

segregated schools Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

in the 1960s and graduated from

Wolfson High School Samuel W. Wolfson High School (or simply Wolfson) is a magnet high school located in the Duval County Public School district. As an academic magnet and college preparatory school, Wolfson specializes in Advanced Placement and International Bacc ...

in 1975. Demings became interested in a career in law enforcement after serving in the "school patrol" at Dupont Junior High School. She attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, graduating with a degree in

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

in 1979. In 1996, Demings earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in public administration from Webster University Orlando.

Early career

After graduating from college, Demings worked as a state

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

er in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

for 18 months. In 1983, Demings applied for a job with the

(OPD); her first assignment was on patrol on Orlando's west side. Demings was appointed chief of the Orlando Police Department in 2007, becoming the first woman to lead the department. From 2007 to 2011, she oversaw a 40% decrease in violent crime. According to a 2015 article in ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', the Orlando Police Department "has a long record of excessive-force allegations, and a lack of transparency on the subject, dating back at least as far as Demings's time as chief." A 2008 '' Orlando Weekly'' exposé described the Orlando Police Department as "a place where rogue cops operate with impunity, and there's nothing anybody who finds himself at the wrong end of their short fuse can do about it." Demings responded with an op-ed in 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 ...

'', writing, "Looking for a negative story in a police department is like looking for a prayer at church", adding, "It won't take long to find one." In the same op-ed, she cast doubt on video evidence that conflicts with officers' statements in excessive force cases, writing, "a few seconds (even of video) rarely capture the entire set of circumstances." In 2009, she had her firearm, a Sig Sauer P226R, stolen from her department vehicle while parked at her home; she was issued a written censure. The firearm has not been recovered. Demings retired from her position as chief of OPD effective June 1, 2011, after serving with the OPD for 27 years.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2016

Demings was the Democratic nominee for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Florida's 10th congressional district Florida's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. It was reassigned in 2012, effective January 3, 2013, from the Gulf Coast to inland Central Florida. Before 2017, the district included parts of wes ...

in the 2012 elections. She faced freshman

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 ...

in a district that had been made slightly more Republican than its predecessor in 2010. Demings narrowly lost, taking 48% of the vote to Webster's 51%. Democrats attempted to recruit Demings to run against Webster again in 2014. She decided to run for

mayor of Orange County, Florida Mayor of Orange County, Florida is the chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. The mayor is elected countywide. Duties and powers The mayor is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the county governmen ...

, against

Teresa Jacobs Teresa Jacobs (born April 6, 1958 in Baltimore, Maryland) is the current chairwoman of the Orange County Public School Board. Jacobs previously served as Mayor of Orange County from 2011 until taking office as school board chair in November 201 ...

, instead, but dropped out of the mayoral race on May 20, 2014. In 2015, Demings announced her candidacy for the 10th district seat after a court-ordered redistricting made the 10th significantly more Democratic ahead of the 2016 elections. Webster concluded the new 10th was unwinnable, and ran for reelection in the nearby 11th district. Demings won the Democratic nomination on August 30 and the general election in November with 65% of the vote. She is the third Democrat to win this Orlando-based district since its creation in 1973 (it was numbered as the 5th from 1973 to 1993, the 8th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 10th since 2013).

2018

In her 2018 reelection campaign, Demings was unopposed for a second term.

2020

On May 21, 2020, Demings confirmed she was on "the shortlist" to be Joe Biden's vice presidential nominee for the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

. She said she would accept the role if offered. Some critics, including

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

activists, criticized her record as Orlando police chief.

was announced as Biden's running mate on August 11, 2020. In November 2020, Demings was named a candidate for

United States Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

Tenure

Demings was sworn in on January 3, 2017. She is a member of the

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

and the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

. As of March 2022, Demings had voted in line with Biden's stated position 100% of the time.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Homeland Security ** Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security *

Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary may mean: * United States House Committee on the Judiciary * United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standi ...

** Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations (Vice Chair) **

Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust is a subcommittee within the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, House Committee on the Judiciary. The Subcommittee's equivalent in ...

Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committ ...

** Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support ** Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness

Caucus memberships

*Congressional Black Caucus

2022 U.S. Senate campaign

In June 2021, Demings announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in Florida's 2022 U.S. Senate election. The incumbent U.S. Senator, Republican

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

, ran for reelection in 2022. In March 2022, PolitiFact reported that Demings falsely claimed that Rubio supported tax hikes. She lost to Rubio in the November 8, 2022, general election.

Political positions

Abortion

Demings received a 100% voting score from

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

for 2017, 2018, and 2019. She received a 100% rating from

Planned Parenthood Action Fund The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reven ...

for 2020. She has an F rating from the anti-abortion

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

Civil liberties

Demings received a 100% rating from the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

for the 117th Congress.

Climate and environment

Demings received a 97% lifetime rating from the

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...

based on scores from 2017 to 2021.

Filibuster

Demings supports eliminating the

filibuster in the United States Senate A filibuster is a tactic used in the U.S. Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate; in general, if no other senator is speaking, a senator who seeks ...

Gun policy

Demings has said that she seeks to keep firearms out of the hands of "people who seek to do harm", saying that the gun control legislation she supports "isn’t about taking guns away from responsible, law-abiding people." She supported the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act of 2017, which would have provided a lawful method of temporarily confiscating firearms from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. Of the act, Demings said, "We must do what we can to make sure law enforcement has the tools it needs to more effectively perform the ever more challenging job of keeping us a safe nation. The Gun Violence Restraining Order Act is a major step to doing just that." After the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

in 2018, Demings opposed arming teachers, calling the idea "ridiculous" and saying it would "only shift the responsibility from lawmakers to others. It shifts the pain, the hurt, and the guilt to school staff who will find themselves outskilled and outgunned in active shooter situations." Demings has an "F" rating from the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(NRA). She has accused the NRA of "hijacking" conversations after

mass shootings in the United States Mass shootings are incidents involving multiple victims of Gun violence in the United States, firearm-related violence. Definitions vary, with no single, broadly accepted definition. One definition is an act of public firearm violence—excludi ...

to make them about the

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

Healthcare

Demings supports and has vowed to defend the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

. In June 2019 Demings released a congressional report on insulin prices, criticizing manufacturers for raising prices well beyond manufacturing costs, and said it was "inexcusable that American families are dying for the sake of corporate profit."

Impeachments of President Donald Trump

On December 18, 2019, Demings voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. She was selected as one of seven

House impeachment managers An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...

who presented the impeachment case against Trump during his trial before the

United States 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 ...

. On January 13, 2021, Demings voted for the single article of impeachment in the second impeachment of President Donald Trump.

2021 U.S. Electoral College vote count

Citing the unusually contested 2021 United States Electoral College vote count and the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Demings joined

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

Cori Bush Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of ...

in sponsoring House Resolution 25 on January 11, 2021, seeking to expel the 138 Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

s who voted to object to the electoral college certification.

Personal life

Demings's husband,

, is mayor of

, and the former Orange County Sheriff. He served as the chief of the Orlando Police Department, the first African American to do so, from 1999 to 2002. The two met on patrol in the OPD; they married in 1988 and have three children. Demings is a member of

The Links The Links is an American invitation-only social and service organization of prominent Black women in the United States. Founded in 1946, it is the largest nationwide organization of Black women in the USA. Members include multiple prominent wome ...

an
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc

References

External links

Congresswoman Val Demings
official U.S. House website
Val Demings for U.S. Senate
campaign website * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Demings, Val 1957 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American people in Florida politics African-American police officers American women police officers Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections Chiefs of the Orlando Police Department Delta Sigma Theta members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Female members of the United States House of Representatives Florida State University alumni Living people Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida Women in Florida politics Webster University alumni 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women House managers for the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump