Tom Lee (politician)
| Tom Lee | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the Florida Senate from the 24th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Thad Altman |
| Member of the Florida Senate from the 10th district |
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| In office 2002–2006 |
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| Preceded by | Ginny Brown-Waite |
| Succeeded by | Ronda Storms |
| Member of the Florida Senate from the 23rd district |
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| In office 1996–2002 |
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| Preceded by | Malcolm E. Beard |
| Succeeded by | Lisa Carlton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 21, 1962 San Antonio, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Laurel Moore Lee |
| Children | Regan, Brandon, Faith |
| Alma mater | Hillsborough Community College (A.A.) University of Tampa (B.S.) |
| Profession | Construction |
| Religion | Catholicism |
Tom Lee is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 24th district since 2012.
Lee was born in San Antonio, Texas, and moved to Florida in 1969, and he attended Hillsborough County Public Schools. He attended Hillsborough Community College for two years, graduated with his Associate degree, and then attended the University of Tampa, from which he graduated with a degree in business in 1984. Lee then worked for Sabal Homes, the family construction business and participated in local government. In 1996, Lee was elected to the Florida Senate as a Republican over Plant City Mayor John Dicks, and he was re-elected in 2000 and 2002 without opposition.
Lee served as the President of the Florida Senate from 2004 to 2006. Barred from seeking another term in the Senate, Lee opted to run for Chief Financial Officer of Florida in 2006. In the Republican primary, he emerged victorious over State Representative Randy Johnson and Milton Bauguess and moved on to the general election, where he faced off against NationsBank President Alex Sink, the Democratic nominee; Lee was the first Republican state Cabinet candidate to not win since 1998.
In 2012, Lee staged a political comeback in the 24th Senate district, which was similar to the district he represented years prior. He defeated State Representative Rachel Burgin in the Republican primary, and he defeated her by a comfortable margin to win his party's nomination once again. In the general election, Lee battled Democratic nominee Elizabeth Belcher, a retired Internal Revenue Service investigator. Armed with the endorsements of the Tampa Bay Times, which called him "a reasonable voice in the Florida Senate,"[1] and the The Tampa Tribune, which praised him as a "consistent supporter of thoughtful tax cuts,"[2] Lee won a convincing victory over Belcher and returned to the Senate.
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