Jeffrey P. Brandes (born February 12, 1976) is an American politician who served as the Florida State Senator from the 24th district from 2016 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he has been elected from the

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

area to the Florida Senate since 2012, representing the 22nd district from 2012 to 2016. Brandes previously served as the Florida State Representative for the 52nd district from 2010 to 2012.

Early life and education

A native of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

, Brandes served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

as a transportation officer from 1996 to 2007 following his graduation from the

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mi ...

Marion, Alabama Marion is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolut ...

in 1996 and while he attended Carson-Newman College, from which he graduated in 1999 with a degree in business administration. From 2003 to 2004, Brandes served in 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 ...

, for which he earned a

Combat Action Badge The Combat Action Badge (CAB) is a United States military Badges of the United States Army, award given to soldiers of the U.S. Army of any rank and who are not members of an infantry, special forces, or medical MOS, for being "present and active ...

Political career

In 2010, Brandes ran for 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 52nd district, which was based in

, challenging incumbent Democratic State Representative

Bill Heller Harold William Heller (September 3, 1935 – September 11, 2020) was an American politician and educator. He served as the Dean of the College of Education and Director of the Wally and Louise Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership and Civic Eng ...

. In a good year for Republicans nationwide and statewide, Brandes narrowly defeated Heller, winning over him with 51% of the vote. Following the reconfiguration of

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

districts in 2012, Brandes opted to run in the 22nd district, which encompassed the southern part of Pinellas County and

South Tampa South Tampa is a region in the city of Tampa that includes the neighborhoods of Beach Park, Ballast Point, Bayshore Beautiful, Bayshore Gardens, Bayside West, Belmar Shore, Davis Islands, Port Tampa, Fair Oaks-Manhattan Manor, Golfview, ...

, rather than seek a second term in the House. In the Republican primary, he faced fellow State Representative James Frishe. Brandes was endorsed by former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

; he defeated Frishe with 56% of the vote. He was unopposed in the general election. In 2016, he ran unopposed in both the primary and general election in the 24th district. During the 2018 general election, Jeff Brandes defeated Lindsay Cross for his reelection in the 24th district. While serving in the Senate, Brandes, an opponent of red-light cameras, attached a provision onto highway safety legislation that would "require the cities and counties hat have camerasto create an administrative appeals process for motorists who contest the initial red-light camera violations." Additionally, he sponsored legislation that was signed into law 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 ...

dealing with the "pension plans that cover public safety workers"; the legislation was strongly opposed by police and firefighter unions, who warned that it would "cause a spike in pension costs." Brandes received a 114.3% (A+) score from

Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a Libertarian conservatism, libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States affiliated with brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch. As the Koch family's primary pol ...

, a conservative advocacy group funded by the billionaire

Koch Brothers The Koch family ( ) is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities in the Koch network and their control of Koch Inc, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2019 revenues of $ ...

. He was the #1 rated legislator by far for AFP in Florida. Brandes's district was reconfigured and renumbered after court-ordered redistricting in 2016. It now includes only portions of the southern part of Pinellas County. On March 3, 2018, Brandes rejected a two-year moratorium on the sale of AR-15s. He voted yea for controversial Senate Bill 86 in 2021. Brandes opposed a 2022 bill that would repeal no-fault auto insurance, describing support for the bill as "legislative malpractice". He also voted with Democrats on the repeal of the

Reedy Creek Improvement Act The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, otherwise known as House Bill No. 486, was a law enacted in the U.S. state of Florida in 1967 establishing the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort (the Reedy Creek Improvement District) as its own coun ...

, meaning he voted against the repeal measure. In March 2022, Brandes voted for HB 5, which prohibits abortion after 15 weeks. The bill was later signed into law. Brandes was unable to run for reelection in 2022 due to term-limits.

References

External links

Florida State Senate - Jeff Brandes

Florida House of Representatives - Jeff Brandes

Brandes for Senate
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandes, Jeff Republican Party Florida state senators Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1976 births Living people Marion Military Institute alumni 2020 United States presidential electors United States Army officers United States Army reservists Carson–Newman University alumni Politicians from St. Petersburg, Florida 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature