Gayle Harrell
| Gayle Harrell | |
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| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 83rd district |
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Assumed office November 20, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Patrick Rooney, Jr. |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 81st district |
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In office November 16, 2010 – November 20, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Adam Fetterman |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Rader |
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In office November 21, 2000 – November 18, 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Ken Pruitt |
| Succeeded by | Adam Fetterman |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 21, 1943 Nashville, Tennessee |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | James E. "Jim" Harrell |
| Children | Stephanie; Jennifer; James, Jr.; Melinda |
| Alma mater | University of Florida (B.A.) (M.A.) |
| Profession | Health information technology consultant |
Gayle Harrell (born July 21, 1943) is a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 83rd District, which includes Port St. Lucie and Stuart in northern Martin County and southern St. Lucie County, since 2012, previously representing the 81st District from 2000 to 2008 and again from 2010 to 2012.
Harrell was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and moved to the state of Florida, where she attended the University of Florida. She graduated from the University of Florida in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in Spanish, and again in 1971, with a masters degree in Latin American studies and history. After graduation, she worked as a technology consultant on health information.
In 2000, incumbent State Representative Ken Pruitt successfully ran for a seat in the Florida Senate rather than seek re-election, which created an open seat in the 81st District, which included parts of Martin County and St. Lucie County. Harrell ran to succeed Pruitt, and defeated Genny Jackson in the Republican primary with 68% of the vote, advancing to the general election, where she faced Walter Sawyer, the Democratic nominee, whom she was able to easily defeat, winning 59% of the vote to his 41%. She ran for re-election in 2002, and faced only Libertarian candidate John Roszman. Harrell defeated Roszman overwhelmingly, scoring 76% of the vote to his 24%. She was challenged in the Republican primary in 2004 by Charles Winn, but she turned back the challenge easily, winning renomination with 75% of the vote. In the general election, she faced only write-in opposition, and won nearly 100% of the vote. She faced a serious challenge to her re-election in 2006, when Bill Ramos, a mortgage broker and the Democratic nominee, who campaigned on "eliminating unfunded mandates from the state to the local level." During the campaign, Ramos was endorsed over Harrell by The Palm Beach Post, which criticized Harrell for "too obediently" voting the party line and for having "so little clout in Tallahassee that she can't protect her well-intentioned legislation from harmful amendments." Ultimately, however, the conservative nature of the district proved too much for Ramos to overcome, and Harrell won re-election over him, scoring 54% of the vote to her opponent's 46%.
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