Adam Roger Hattersley (born March 24, 1978) is an American politician and author who was a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from the 59th district in Hillsborough County from 2018 to 2020. He ran for

Chief Financial Officer of Florida The chief financial officer of Florida is an elected statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet. The CFO is a combination of the former offices of comptroller and ...

in the 2022 election. He is an engineer, small business owner, and internationally certified men's gymnastics judge and he earned a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for his service in the U.S. Navy during the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Education

Hattersley received his

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

and

Master of Science in Engineering A Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) is an academic graduate degree awarded by universities in many countries. It is differentiated from a Master of Engineering (a professional degree). A MSE can require completion of a thesis and qualifi ...

in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan. He was a member of the men's gymnastics team at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and was on Michigan's 1999 NCAA national championship team. Today, Hattersley is an internationally certified judge for men's gymnastics.

Military service

After receiving his master's degree in engineering, Hattersley joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as an officer in the year 2000. He served as a nuclear submarine officer on the USS Columbus, and then as an electrical engineering instructor at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. In 2006, he deployed for

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, and received a

for his service.

Political career

Florida House of Representatives

Hattersley was elected to the 59th district of the

in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

on November 6, 2018, winning 51 percent of the vote to Republican candidate Joe Wicker's 49 percent. He was the first Democrat to win in Florida's 59th state house district since the seat was drawn in 2012. He is the author of the book ''Accidental Politician'', published June 2021, an autobiographical account of his 2018 campaign.

U.S. House of Representatives campaign

In July 2019, Hattersley announced that he would not seek reelection in the Florida State Legislature, and would instead challenge Congressman Ross Spano in Florida's 15th congressional district. Earning 33 percent of the vote, Hattersley placed second in the primary election out of three total candidates, with Alan Cohn advancing to the general election.

Chief Financial Officer of Florida campaign

Hattersley ran for

in 2022. He campaigned on addressing the property insurance crisis, holding elected officials accountable, and making the CFO's role less political. Hattersley lost the election to incumbent Republican

Jimmy Patronis Jimmy Theo Patronis Jr. ( ; born April 13, 1972) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since April 2025. A member of the United States Republi ...

Political positions

Hattersley supports a public health insurance option to lower health insurance costs. He calls for action to address

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

. He has proposals for improving educational opportunities for veterans.

References

External links

Government websiteCampaign website

Accidental Politician bookThe Interview (Democrat for CFO) Adam Hattersley on CW34
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hattersley, Adam 1978 births Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections Florida independents Living people Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Michigan Wolverines men's gymnasts 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature