Loranne Ausley (born October 16, 1963) is an American attorney and Democratic politician from

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

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 ...

. She served as a member of the

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 ...

from 2020 until her defeat in 2022, representing

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia * Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kentucky * Calhoun, Louis ...

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

, Gadsden,

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Jefferson,

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

, and Wakulla Counties. Previously, she represented the Tallahassee area in 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 2000 to 2008 and then again from 2016 to 2020. Ausley was defeated for re-election in 2022 by Republican

Corey Simon Corey Jermaine Simon Sr. (born March 2, 1977) is an American politician and former professional football player. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the Florida State Senator from the 3rd district since 2022. He played as a def ...

Early life and education

Ausley was born to a politically active family in Florida. Her great-great-grandfather was Alexander McSwain, a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 1891. Her grandfather, Charles Ausley, served in the

. Ausley's father DuBose Ausley is a noted Tallahassee attorney who formally served as chair of the

State University System of Florida The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College Sy ...

DuBose Ausley. Her mother, Sallie Ausley, was co-founder of the

Red Hills Horse Trials The Red Hills Horse Trials is held in Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee, in the U.S. state of Florida and is one of the equestrianism, equestrian world's top events. It is an annual major eventing competition held by the United States Eventing Ass ...

. Ausley graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1985. She then attended

Washington & Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

where she received her J.D. in 1990.

Political career

With over 20 years of public service at the state and federal level, Ausley was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008. Her district then included the northern half Leon County, including most of

, and the northwest part of adjoining Jefferson County. Ausley was the ranking Democratic member on the House Health Care Council from 2007 to 2008.

2010 Chief Financial Officer campaign

In the 2010 election, Ausley ran for

Florida Chief Financial Officer 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 ...

(CFO). She became the Democratic nominee by default when no other candidates filed for the election, then went on to lose to State Senate President

Jeff Atwater Jeffrey Hardee Atwater (born April 8, 1958) is an American financier who served as the 3rd Chief Financial Officer of Florida from 2011 to 2017, and currently serves as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Financial Officer at Flor ...

, the Republican nominee, in the general election. After eight years out of elected office, Ausley returned to the Florida House in 2016, again representing the 9th district. In 2020, Ausley ran for the Florida Senate in the 3rd district and succeeded term-limited incumbent

Bill Montford William Jonas Montford III (born August 22, 1947) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Florida. He served in the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020, representing parts of the Florida Panhandle around Tallaha ...

. After a competitive race, she defeated Republican Marva Preston in the 2020 general election by a margin of 53.4–46.6%. She voted nay against the controversial Senate Bill 86 in 2021. In 2022, Ausley questioned the need for a special session on 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 ...

, claiming it adds "insult to injury" and goes "after a private business." She also argued that Disney has made Florida "what it is."

Personal life

Loranne is married to Bill Hollimon and their children are John Hollimon (Stepson) and William DuBose Ausley Hollimon. She is a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner and

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

. Loranne's father is Tallahassee attorney DuBose Ausley of the 33-partner, 75-year-old

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

of Ausley & McMullen, P.A. She is a senior advisor to the

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician and military officer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator fr ...

Foundation and board chair of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation. On November 3, 2024, Ausley was involved in a serious bike accident while participating in a triathlon. She underwent surgery on her neck following the crash.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ausley, Loranne 1963 births Living people Florida lawyers Politicians from Tallahassee, Florida Women state legislators in Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Randolph College alumni Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Leon High School alumni 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature