Daniel Webster (Florida politician)

Daniel Alan Webster (born April 27, 1949) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 11th congressional district since 2017.

He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was student government chaplain from 1970 to 1971 and a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.

Upon graduation, Webster's Vietnam War student deferment expired and he became eligible for conscription into the U.S. military, but was not drafted, because he failed the physical exam due to lifelong foot problems that prevent him from standing for long periods.

Since college, Webster has worked in the family air conditioning and heating business; he presently owns and operates it.

Webster lives in Clermont, Florida.

Webster said he and his wife faced health issues in 2021, which forced him to miss some votes.

He said his wife had cancer surgery, and he had a pacemaker installed.

Webster first ran for the Florida House in 1979 at age 30.

He had been working on a project with his church to convert a residential house into a place for Sunday school to be conducted.

When the Orange County commissioners rejected the church's request for a zoning exception, Webster investigated and found that the county commission had rejected every zoning exemption request brought before them by a church or religious organization.

Seeking to rectify what he thought an injustice, Webster decided to run for public office after finding no politician who shared his displeasure with local and statewide government.

In the Republican primary, Webster ranked first with 38%, short of the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff election.

In the runoff, he defeated Barbara Owens, 54%–46%.

In the general election, he defeated Democratic State Representative Henry Swanson 51%–49%, a difference of just 2,070 votes.

The race came down to one precinct, Webster's own Pine Hills, which he won.

First elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1980 and the Florida Senate in 1998, Webster is the longest-serving legislator in Florida history.

He ran unopposed in all of his elections for the state legislature except for the first three: 1980, 1982 and 1984.

Webster was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1980.

There, he served as Minority Floor Leader, and then Minority Whip.

After redistricting, Webster ran in Florida's newly redrawn 41st House District in 1982.

He was reelected, defeating Craig Crawford 58%–42%.

In 1984, he was reelected to a third term over fellow State Representative Dick Batchelor, 54%–46%.

After defeating Batchelor in 1984, Webster never had another opponent in the State House of Representatives, being reelected unopposed every two years.

Webster's first bill to become law was the 1985 Home Education Program Act which legalized homeschooling in Florida.

He became Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (1996–1998) and Florida Senate Majority Leader (2006–2008); he left the legislature after reaching the legal term limits.

In 1996, when the Republicans gained a majority in the House, Webster became the first Republican Speaker of the Florida House in 122 years.

During his tenure as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Webster received recognition and awards from a number of organizations, including the American Heart Association for support of AHA priority issues (1996), the Board of Regents Legislative Award (1995), the Florida Association of State Troopers Leadership Award for Excellence in Legislative Leadership (1996), the Florida Banking Association Award (1995), the Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislator of the Year (1995), the Florida Farm Bureau Legislative Award (1995), the Florida Hotel and Motel Association Special Recognition Award (1995), the Florida League of Cities Quality Floridian (1995), the Florida Medical Association recognition award (1996), and the Republican Party of Florida Statesman of the Year award (1995).

He remained Speaker until 1998 when term limits made him ineligible to run for reelection.

Webster was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2010.

A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2011.

He represented FL's 10th congressional district from 2011 to 2017 (numbered as the 8th district during his first term).

Before his congressional service, he served 28 years in the Florida legislature, and was the first Republican Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives since Reconstruction.

After receiving his engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Webster worked in the family air conditioning and heating business that he now owns and operates.

He has been a resident of Florida since the age of seven and resides in Clermont.

In the 115th United States Congress, Webster sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Natural Resources Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Webster was born in Charleston, West Virginia, the son of Mildred Rada (Schoolcraft), a nurse, and Dennis Webster.

He was raised in Orlando, Florida, where his family moved when Webster was seven, upon a doctor's recommendation that a change of climate might cure Webster's sinus problems.

He is reportedly a distant relative of the antebellum politician and orator Daniel Webster.

He has since run three times for Speaker of the House: in January 2015, he received 12 votes; in October 2015, he received 9 votes; in 2017, he received one vote.