Debbie Mayfield

Debbie Mayfield (born December 2, 1956) is a Republican member of the Florida Senate who has represented the 17th district, which includes Indian River and southern Brevard Counties, since 2016. She previously served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives, representing parts of the Treasure Coast from 2008 to 2016.

Debbie Mayfield
Majority Leader of the Florida Senate
Assumed office
November 23, 2020[1]
Preceded byKathleen Passidomo
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 17th district
Assumed office
November 8, 2016
Preceded byRedistricted
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
In office
November 4, 2008  November 8, 2016
Preceded byStan Mayfield
Succeeded byErin Grall
Constituency80th district (2008-2012)
54th district (2012–2016)
Personal details
Born (1956-12-02) December 2, 1956
Pensacola, Florida
Political partyRepublican
EducationSanta Fe Community College
ProfessionBanker

History

Mayfield was born in Pensacola, and grew up there, attending Pensacola High School. She moved to Vero Beach in 1989, and began working for Barnett Bank, eventually rising up to Senior Vice-President of Residential Lending. Mayfield eventually left the bank to start the Mayfield Group, a mortgage brokerage firm that she owned and operated. She now lives in Melbourne.[2]

Florida House of Representatives

When incumbent State Representative Stan Mayfield, her husband, was unable to seek re-election in 2008 due to term limits, she ran to succeed him in the 80th District, which ran along the Treasure Coast, including northern St. Lucie County, eastern Indian River County, and southeastern Brevard County. She won the Republican primary unopposed, and advanced to the general election, where she faced Neal Abarbanell, the Democratic nominee. During the course of the campaign, Mayfield's husband, who was running for Indian River County Tax Collector, died of cancer.[3] Despite this, Mayfield ended up defeating Abarbanell by a wide margin of victory, winning 64% of the vote. In 2010, she was challenged in the Republican primary by Art Argenio and Bradley Ward, who hammered Mayfield for being insufficiently conservative, despite the fact that she voted "consistently with the GOP majority."[4] Mayfield ended defeating both of them handily, winning 52% of the vote to Argenio's 34% and Ward's 15%, and in the general election, she only faced write-in opposition, winning easily.

In 2012, when state legislative districts were redrawn, Mayfield was moved into the 54th District, which included much of the territory that she had previously represented in the 80th District. She won both the primary and general election entirely unopposed.

Florida Senate

In 2016, Mayfield ran for the Florida Senate seat vacated by Thad Altman, who was term limited. She defeated fellow state representative Ritch Workman in the Republican primary, 42 to 35%, and Democrat Amy Tidd in the general election, 62 to 38%.[5][6]

In 2020, President of the Senate Wilton Simpson appointed Mayfield as Majority Leader.[1]

References

  1. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/23/brevards-debbie-mayfield-named-florida-senate-majority-leader/6390286002/
  2. Mayfield, Debbie (2020-10-28). "Donald Trump Helped Florida's Economy During the COVID-19 Pandemic". Florida Daily. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  3. Bierschenk, Ed (September 30, 2008). "State Rep. Stan Mayfield, 52, dies of cancer". TCPalm.com. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  4. Ward, Kenric (June 2, 2010). "Running to the Right in House District 80". Sunshine State News. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  5. Neale, Rick (August 31, 2016). "Debbie Mayfield defeats Ritch Workman in Senate GOP primary". Florida Today. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  6. Price, Wayne (November 8, 2016). "Republicans sweep Brevard legislative races". Florida Today. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
Florida House of Representatives
Preceded by
Stan Mayfield
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 80th district

2008–2012
Succeeded by
Matt Hudson
Preceded by
James Frishe
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 54th district

2012–2016
Succeeded by
Erin Grall
Florida Senate
Preceded by
John Legg
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 17th district

2016–present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Kathleen Passidomo
Majority Leader of the Florida Senate
2020–present
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