Joe Saunders (Florida politician)
| Joe Saunders | |
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| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 49th district |
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In office November 20, 2012 – November 18, 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Darren Soto |
| Succeeded by | Rene Plasencia |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 12, 1983 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Central Florida (BA) |
| Profession | Community organizer |
Joe Saunders (born April 12, 1983) is an American community activist and politician. He was a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 49th District, including northern Orange County and the main campus of the University of Central Florida, from 2012 to 2014.
Saunders was born in Fort Lauderdale and attended the University of Central Florida, from which he graduated with a degree in political science in 2005. While in his undergraduate career, he was active on campus, serving as the President of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Student Union and the co-chair of the UCF Progressive Council. Upon graduation, Saunders took a job as a field organizer with Equality Florida, an LGBT rights organizations. From 2005 - 2015 Saunders held senior level positions at the organization including Statewide Field Director, Director of Civic Engagement and program director of Equality Means Business, the country's first state-level corporate equality coalition.
Following the reconfiguration of state legislative districts in 2012, the 49th District was created, centered around the University of Central Florida campus, and Saunders ran in the open seat. In the Democratic primary, he easily defeated Shayan Elahi, winning the nomination of his party with 65% of the vote. Advancing to the general election, Saunders faced Marco Peña, a development officer for Florida Hospital and the Republican nominee. During the campaign, the Republican Party of Florida targeted the district, referring to Saunders as "Special Interest Joe" due to his work with Equality Florida and claiming that he was "new to the neighborhood," to which Saunders responded by noting that "he has lived in Orlando for more than a decade and attended UCF at the same time as Peña." The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Peña over Saunders, noting that voters had to choose between "two smart, successful candidates" and praising Saunders as a candidate who "knows state issues and has good ideas about many of them," but eventually recommending Peña. In the end, Saunders defeated Peña by a fairly wide margin, winning his first term in the legislature with 56% of the vote.
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