Steve Rayburn

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Revision as of 00:20, 13 February 2008

Steve Rayburn (born 20 May 1960) is an American politician currently serving as a United States Senator representing the State of Florida. He is a member of the Republican Party.

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Steven Matthew Rayburn
Vice Chairman of the Republican National Committee
In Office: 2017 - Present Served under: Halfhyde
Preceded by	Tim Kent
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Senator from Florida
In Office: 2017 - Present Served alongside: Gurlakis
Preceded by	Jaime Elzar-Toledo
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	20 May 1960 Ocala, Florida
Political Party	Republican
Spouse	Carol Rayburn
Religion	Methodist

Biography

Steven Matthew Rayburn was born on 20 May 1960 in Ocala, Florida. He went to high school in Marion County and in was admitted to the University of Florida in Gainesville, just a half hour's drive from home. He graduated from UF in 1983 with an M.A. in Business and a B.A in Political Science. He then enrolled at the Florida State University College of Law in Tallahassee and earned his J.D in Constitutional Law in 1987. After passing the state bar exam in late 1987, Rayburn joined the constitutional law firm of Peters, McLauglin and Devereaux in Tallahassee and practiced with that firm until 1994, when he opened the firm of Rayburn, Martin and Thomas. His firm became one of the more successful litigants at the Supreme Court of Florida, and was noted for an amicus brief it filed in Bush v. Gore (2000) in favor of Gore, but chastising SCOFLA and the Legislature for failing to address the failings of the state Clemency Board in restoring voting rights to black ex-convicts, inaction which likely threw the state of Florida into George W. Bush's column.

In 2009, Rayburn sold his stake in the firm and settled down at a ranch in southern Alachua County just outside of Gainesville. He made a small fortune with his sale as well as personal investments in gold and silver, and gave regular speeches at the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida in addition to part-time legal advocacy. In early 2014, at the request of friend Congressman Cliff Stearns, Rayburn decided to run for the open Congressional seat in Florida's 6th District. He survived a tough Republican primary, but won the general election rather easily in the heavily-Republican district.

2016 Senate Campaign

In Washington, Rayburn quickly gained a reputation as a charismatic and effective lawmaker, and after the surprising defeat of Constantine Gurlakis in the U.S. Senate election of 2014, quickly gained internal support for running against Senator Jaime Elzar-Toledo in his upcoming election for a full term in the Senate. He declared to run against Toledo in late 2015 and ran a surprisingly successful insurgent campaign, and by the halfway point of the campaign was in a statistical dead heat with Toledo. Helped by an infusion of cash from the national Republican Party, Rayburn delivered a knockout blow to the incumbent Toledo with two strong last-minute advertisements along with a strong finish to his campaigning. Late on election night, Rayburn was declared the winner of the race by just over 100,000 votes out of about 5.5 million cast by Floridians, for a total of 50.95%.

Senate Career

Steve Rayburn was sworn into the United States Senate on January 3, 2017. In his time in the Senate, he has become known as an extreme fiscal conservative; he has proposed a variety of tax credits as well as a bill to end federal taxes on tips. He has also shown a commitment to cutting federal spending; in his first session as a Senator, the Senate passed amendments proposed by Rayburn to eliminate federal tobacco subsidies and to repeal the No Child Left Behind Act. He was one of Senator Peter Vandenberg's strongest supporters following his strong backing of Israel in the Syrian conflict, and the two have become a tag team when attacking bills they feel are unconstitutional. He has expanded on his record from the House as a 2nd Amendment supporter with bills to roll back a number of federal restrictions on firearm ownership, including a repeal of the Gun Free School Zones Act and Homeland Security prohibitions on the arming of flight crews on American airliners.

2020 Presidential Campaign

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Personal Life

Senator Rayburn has been married to Carol Silvers since 1982. They have three children, Martin (b. 1985), Sarah (b. 1987) and Samuel (b. 1992). Martin is an elected member of the Gainesville City Commission, while Sarah is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Florida. Sam currently serves as a faculty assistant at the Ludwig Von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.

When not working in Washington, Rayburn lives with his wife at his ranch near Micanopy, Florida.