Tallahassee Trend
Florida's Freshman Lawmakers
Meet Florida's new crop of senators and house representatives. Each profile includes party, district, net worth and notable news.
House (continued)
 Jake Raburn |
Jake Raburn (R), 27, marketing director, Hinton Farms Produce
District 57 — part of Hillsborough County
Net Worth: (-$51,564)
Notable: After graduating from the University of Florida, Raburn worked for two years as a marketing specialist at the Florida Department of Citrus before joining his wife’s family farming operation.
 Kevin Rader |
Kevin Rader (D), 44, insurance agent
District 81 — part of Palm Beach County
Net Worth: $913,975
Notable: Rader served in the House from 2008-10.
 Ricardo Rangel |
Ricardo Rangel (D), 35, business consultant
District 43 — part of Osceola County
Net Worth: (-$25,000)
Notable: Rangel, a 12-year Army veteran, is a former Osceola County organizer who helped organize Osceola and drum up support in the Puerto Rican community for John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004.
 Holly Raschein |
Holly Raschein (R), 32, consultant/former senior legislative aide
District 120 — Monroe County and part of Miami-Dade County
Net Worth: $4,000
Notable: Raschein assumes the seat of her former boss, former House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders, who lost his bid for the Florida Senate in 2012.
 Dan Raulerson |
Dan Raulerson (R), 55, certified public accountant
District 58 — part of Hillsborough County
Net Worth: $1.2 million
Notable: Raulerson is a former Plant City commissioner and served two years as the mayor of Plant City until June, when he stepped down to focus on his House bid.
 David Richardson |
David Richardson (D), 55, accountant
District 113 — part of Miami-Dade County
Net Worth: $3.5 million
Notable: Richardson, who faced no opposition after winning his Democratic primary, is one of Florida’s first two openly gay state legislators, both elected in 2012.
 Ray Rodrigues |
Ray Rodrigues (R), 42, budget manager, Florida Gulf Coast University
District 76 — part of Lee County
Net Worth: $14,927
Notable: Rodrigues, who serves as vice chairman of the Lee County Republican Party, faced no challengers on the November general election ballot.
 Jose Javier Rodriguez |
Jose Javier Rodriguez (D), 34, attorney
District 112 — part of Miami-Dade County
Net Worth: (-$22,543)
Notable: Rodriguez, a Harvard Law School graduate who served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, defeated veteran Republican lawmaker Alex Diaz de la Portilla.
 David Santiago |
David Santiago (R), 41, financial adviser/Army veteran
District 27 — part of Volusia County
Net Worth: $92,724
Notable: Santiago served as a Deltona city commissioner from 2003-07.
 Joe Saunders |
Joe Saunders (D), 29, community organizer
District 49 — part of Orange County
Net Worth: $21,727
Notable: Saunders, a graduate of the University of Central Florida, is one of Florida’s first two openly gay state legislators, both elected in 2012. As a field director with Equality Florida, Saunders worked on the unsuccessful campaign to defeat Florida’s anti-gay “Marriage Protection Amendment” and more recently served as campaign manager for Equality is Gainesville’s Business, a successful campaign to defeat an anti-gay charter amendment in Gainesville.
Next page, meet more new members of Florida's House.
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