Gray Rohrer
Ahead of the organizational session next week, House Speaker-designate Paul Renner has named Reps. Chuck Clemons and Michael Grant to his leadership team. Clemons will be Speaker Pro Tempore and Grant will be Majority Leader.
Grant, a Port Charlotte Republican, has served two different stints in the House, the first from 2004 to 2008, and the current one since 2016. He’ll now be responsible for corralling the GOP’s 85 members — the most for Republicans since Reconstruction.
“The best leaders in our process excel at guiding members through the challenges and opportunities they face during their time of service in Tallahassee,” Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, said of Grant’s appointment. “Rep. Grant’s skill in moving bills through the legislative process and management of floor debate positions our 85-member supermajority for success.”
The large advantage for Republicans, who have a more than two-thirds majority and outnumber Democrats 85-35 in the chamber, means even the speed bumps House Democrats often use to slow down the House GOP agenda are now gone.
“Speaker-designate Renner has assembled the largest Republican Conference ever elected and I am honored to join his team as Majority Leader,” Grant said. “I look forward to championing his vision to seize this historic moment for Florida and leave our state better off than we found it.”
Clemons is a Newberry Republican who has served in the House since 2016 and in the General Election earlier this month won re-election 56%-44% over Democrat Brandon Peters.
“I am honored that Speaker-designate Renner would nominate me to serve on his leadership team as Speaker pro tempore,” Clemons said. “Speaker-designate Renner will be leading us through a historic moment where all eyes are on the Sunshine State. I am grateful for his friendship, his leadership, and his commitment to leading the Florida House with courage and principle.”
Renner will be formally installed as Speaker during the organizational session on Tuesday.
