Jesse Scheckner
House Democrats are set to again confirm Tampa Rep. Fentrice Driskell as their leader on Monday.
The party has a ceremony scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday in the House Chamber to designate Driskell as House Democratic Leader for the 2024-26 term.
Driskell’s confirmation is especially notable, since she will be the first House member elected to serve consecutive leadership terms since 1992, when voters overwhelmingly approved a term limits amendment to the Florida Constitution.
As such, Driskell will “make herstory once again,” a House Democratic Office press note said. In May 2022, she broke a glass ceiling by becoming the first Black woman to lead a House party caucus.
“I’m just really very honored that my colleagues instilled their trust in me today and their confidence as we try to chart a path forward as a caucus,” Driskell told reporters at the time. “We may be a smaller caucus — we are diminutive in number — but I think we serve an important role in terms of fighting for the people of Florida, pushing for the responsibility and transparency that we need.”
Driskell won re-election on Nov. 5, defeating Republican Ronrico Smith by 9 percentage points.
Her successor as House Democratic Leader, if she remains in office, is Parkland Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, who defeated Rep. Kelly Skidmore of Boca Raton in a secret ballot among caucus members on Feb. 23.
The 2025 Regular Session begins on March 4.
