Eric Eisnaugle (born February 6, 1977) is an American politician and judge from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. A Republican, he has served as a judge on Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal since 2017. Previously, he 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 ...

, representing parts of western Orange County from April 2014 until his appointment to the bench. He served a prior stint in the Florida House from 2008 to 2012.

Early life

Eisnaugle was born in Arcadia, Florida on February 6, 1977. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 2000 from

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as VLS) is the law school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each ...

in 2003. His wife, originally from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, is attorney Carrie Eisnaugle, the President of Florida Right to Life.

Florida House of Representatives

2008-2012

When incumbent State Representative Andy Gardiner was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, Eisnaugle ran to succeed him in the 40th District, which stretched from Azalea Park to Lake Butler and Hunters Creek in central Orange County. He faced Joe Mantilla in the Republican primary, whom he was able to defeat with ease, winning 68% of the vote to Mantilla's 32%. In the general election, Eisnaugle faced Todd Christian, the Democratic nominee. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'', though noting "discomfort with some of Mr. Eisnaugle's positions," endorsed him over Christian, praised him as an "engaging candidate" with "some good ideas." In the end, Eisnaugle managed to defeat Christian by a slim margin to earn his first term in the legislature, receiving 52% of the vote to Christian's 48%. Running for re-election in 2010, Eisnaugle faced Christian once again, and Tea Party candidate Darin Dunmire; Eisnaugle once again received the endorsement of the ''Sentinel'', which praised him as "one of the Legislature's more thoughtful workhorses," and singled him out for bucking those in his party who wanted to abolish the State Department of Community Affairs. Once again, Eisnaugle defeated Christian, but this time by a more comfortable margin, receiving 60% of the vote to Christian's 36% and Dunmire's 4%. In 2012, following the reconfiguration of state legislative districts, Eisnaugle was moved into the 44th District, where fellow State Representative Steve Precourt was running for re-election to his fourth and final term. With the knowledge that Precourt would be unable to run again in 2014, Eisnaugle stepped aside, and began campaigning to run as Precourt's successor.

2014-2017

Following his departure from the legislature, Eisnaugle joined the law offices of Rumberger, Kirk and Caldwell, practicing commercial litigation and appellate law. With an eye on running for the legislature in the 44th District in 2014, Eisnaugle continued his fundraising and campaigning efforts, predicting that his "conservative message" about reducing the size of government and cutting taxes would resonate with the voters. In 2014, when Precourt resigned to accept a job with the Orlando–Orange County Expressway Authority, a special election was held and Eisnaugle ran to succeed him. In the Republican primary, he defeated former Orange County School Board Member Vicky Bell with 85% of the vote and advanced to the general election, where he faced Shaun Raja, a businessman and the Democratic nominee. Owing to the conservative nature of the district, Eisnaugle defeated Raja in a landslide, winning his return to the legislature with 74% of the vote. Even before he returned to the legislature, Eisnaugle donated tens of thousands of dollars to fellow Republicans running for the legislature, with the implicit aim of lining up supporters for his bid for the Speakership of the

for the 2020-2022 legislative session. Former

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Toni Jennings criticized Eisnaugle's plan, noting that he was getting ahead of himself and declaring, "Talk about the tail wagging the dog. This tail is so far ahead of itself, it can't even see the dog anymore." Eisnaugle won reelection to his seat in the 2014 elections, defeating Independent Matthew Falconer. He was subsequently re-elected unopposed in 2016.

Fifth District Court of Appeal

After Judge C. Alan Lawson was appointed by 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 ...

to the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

, Eisnaugle applied for Lawson's vacant seat on the Fifth District Court of Appeal. He was one of six finalists forwarded by the Judicial Nominating Commission to Scott, and on May 8, 2017, Scott appointed him to the court.

Sources

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Representative Eric EisnaugleEisnaugle for State House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisnaugle, Eric Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1977 births Living people Florida lawyers People from Arcadia, Florida Florida Southern College alumni Vanderbilt University Law School alumni 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature