Carlos Miguel Beruff (born January 1, 1958) is an American real estate developer and a Republican politician and donor. On March 1, 2017, Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

appointed him chair of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a body that meets once every 20 years to propose amendments to the

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

. Beruff was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016, losing the Republican primary to

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

. He was a gubernatorial appointee to the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport Authority, the Southwest Florida West Management Board, and the

State College of Florida State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

board. Beruff was born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban-immigrant parents.

Early life and education

Beruff was born on January 1, 1958. His parents, Sylvia Vilarello and Marco Tulio Beruff, were Cuban refugees. He attended a boarding school in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. He later attended

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

, and later the University of South Florida.

Career

In 1984, Beruff founded Medallion Home, a home builder located in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

Political career

In 2009, then-Florida Governor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

appointed Beruff to the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport Authority, the Southwest Florida Water Management board, and the

board. The next governor,

, reappointed Beruff to all three positions. In the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Florida, Beruff supported Crist, who was running as an independent and later became a Democrat, over Republican Marco Rubio.

Resignation from Southwest Florida Water Management District board

In August 2015, Beruff resigned from the Southwest Florida Water Management District board after voting to approve a friend's plan to destroy an acre of wetlands for a development. An administrative law judge recommended against issuing the permit, which allowed developer Pat Neal to remove mangroves and fill wetlands in order to build a family compound on Perico Island.

2016 U.S. Senate campaign

Beruff ran for the U.S. Senate seat in Florida, mounting a primary challenge to Republican incumbent

in the 2016 election. Beruff has proposed temporarily halting immigration to the United States from Middle Eastern countries. In May 2016, Beruff was criticized for referring to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

as "an animal". Beruff declined to issue an apology for the comments. He lost the August 30 primary, getting 18.49% of the vote and 264,427 votes.

References

External links

Carlos Beruff for Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beruff, Carlos 1958 births 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American politicians of Cuban descent American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Miami Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections Florida Republicans Living people Stetson University alumni University of South Florida alumni