The Florida House Speaker race is a rigged process that has long been shrouded in secrecy.
The 2025 legislative session ended after 105 days, and for freshmen, it is now all about who will be their class leader in 2030. However, their votes aren’t necessarily based on who they want for the job.
Florida Jolt has spoken to prominent Republicans in and out of the process. Some are on the record, and for some, we’ve honored their request for anonymity to protect them from political revenge attacks and reprisals.
Speakers are often groomed in advance by special interest groups and consultants long before they run for office. It’s not always the case, but many are handpicked pawns chosen by those in power to carry out agendas or simply as a revenge scheme against someone else.
For most of recent history, House Republican freshmen purport to “designate” a Speaker five and a half years in advance, notwithstanding that many, if not most, of them will have left the chamber by the time their “designate” takes the gavel. In fact, almost all of the persons who will be serving in the chamber under the Speaker who is “designated” so far in advance, have not even filed to run, let alone been elected. This practice, like many other features of the process, helps to concentrate power, rather than disperse it, which is the purpose of a legislature. A Speaker Designate functions like a Crown Prince, using his role to raise and spend large amounts of soft money, and exercising outside influence before he is formally elected Speaker. This is not a criticism of any particular Speaker Designate, or current events, but an observation on how many features of the process act to concentrate power in a branch of government designed to disperse it. ~Former State Representative Mike Beltran
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Most Freshman House Members Are Kept in the Dark
New freshman House members think they’re choosing a peer to be the future Speaker of their class for their senior term, six years later, but they don’t know anything about the member they’re voting for. Newly elected officials are often pressured to decide who to vote for by people who are years ahead of them, who will be termed out of office when their person serves as Speaker. As one source joked,
By the time that new speaker serves, the current speaker will be manager of ACE Hardware.
~Former State Legislator
The vote, which comes down to about a dozen people, is made by newbies, and by the time the chosen speaker-designate becomes acting Speaker, half of that freshman dozen won’t be in office anymore. Most members don’t realize, sometimes for years, that the leadership often selects a speaker well before any of their freshman class wins their election.
The Members Are Pawns
Merit can’t play a part in a process when members haven’t even served one session. Friendship can play a part, but in the political world, loyalty and honesty are a rare commodity. Money and power from special interest groups, consultants, and lobbyists are how the game is won, but you can’t blame these groups, as they’re being entirely transparent about their motives.
It’s rare for a guy to want to run for public service and to improve his community. The norm is the guy who is handpicked to do the bidding of people who are much more powerful than he is. Many don’t know they’re being set up for a long con that’s part of a much bigger game. ~Former State Legislator
The Speaker Runs the Show
The current Speaker carefully curates every position in the House, from who is in leadership, who chairs committees, and what bills get heard. When you hear that a particular bill, such as open carry, wasn’t heard, the Speaker didn’t want to do it. If the Speaker doesn’t want it, it doesn’t happen.
It’s okay to have idiots as chairs because some staffers tell them what to do. No one wants people who know what they’re doing; they want people who do what they’re told. If you’re a teacher, you won’t necessarily become in charge of an education committee, even though it would make sense. Knowledge is power that others can’t control. ~Lobbyist and Former State Legislator
Current Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez .@Daniel_PerezFL has reportedly been identified with leaked information to have paved the way for the inside track to the upcoming 2030 Florida Speaker of the House election.
His hand picked confidant Republican Mike Redondo… pic.twitter.com/mPfDJqX4aN— William Balla (@Rockerxxx1) May 16, 2025
The Biggest Myth is That This is a Member-Driven Process
Currently, the House member who is being pushed by current Speaker Danny Perez, Mike Redondo (R-Miami), is allegedly someone he’s known since law school, who some speculate on social media is married to an anti-Trumper. If this is true, it’s unlikely that current members are aware. On the other hand, Redondo could be the greatest guy in the world. The members don’t know each other, and that’s the problem with voting so early in the process.
The “rules” state that the Speaker’s race will not be discussed during the session. A prominent Republican, currently in office, explained that the Speaker in 2016 enacted this rule. The thinking was that members should work with members for one session before picking their future leader. The problem is that the only members who follow that rule are those who don’t realize that no one follows that rule.
The corrupt lobbyist-run culture of Tallhassee results in a pre-determined speaker’s race; the candidate who is most willing to kiss the asses of the most special interests gets the most money raised upfront.
~County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini (Former State Representative)
The open secret of this session is that members have been pressured to pick South Florida trial attorney Mike Redondo, who wants to overturn tort reform, over business-friendly North Florida member Ryan Chamberlin, who ran for office on property tax relief. The ballot isn’t secret. Everyone knows how everyone votes, making the pressure intense.
Threats and Promises
The Speaker’s race is a big deal. Past members mentioned fellow members caving under pressure, seeing grown men cry in their offices. Some claimed that party leaders threatened them with primaries and bribed them with campaign funds. Some former members reported that others offered them sexual favors to secure their votes for specific bills.
I chose my candidate for speaker and never wavered. In my class, several members supported three candidates.
I did a podcast with Former New Hampshire State Rep Melissa Blasek. She was apoplectic when I told her how far in advance we picked our leaders. No one outside of the state of Florida thinks this is a good idea. How could you know who has leadership potential when you’ve just arrived on the job? In New Hampshire, they pick their speaker a few weeks in advance of session. And everyone votes. That seems to make a lot more sense than our Florida system.
~Former State Representative Joel Rudman
The Process Can Change
Since the Speaker makes the rules, the Speaker must be willing to change the system. In an ideal world, members would gain authority by selecting committee chairs and deciding which bills to hear, rather than the Speaker holding all the power. The Speaker’s race would be much closer to when they would serve, stopping the years of PAC money corrupting the election.
It’s as bad as you think it is. There should always be a group of 10-12 people who can’t be bullied, but we don’t always have that. A rebel is dangerous. If too many buck the system, special interests have no control. The thinking is that if you don’t end up with a legacy of some sort, your name on a building or bills passed, but you walk away making millions of dollars, who cares? ~Former State Legislator
Why Current Speakers & Others Get Involved In Future Races
We need to figure out a system now to break the outside influence from determining our agenda. Speaker Danny Perez said he didn’t have an agenda. I don’t know if future speakers, Sam Garrison or Jennifer Canady, have an agenda. Neither has communicated one. Members don’t see what they’re doing it for.
~Current State Legislator
If you represent special interests and your “help” is why someone becomes a speaker, you have power and the ability to potentially make a ton of money off of future legislation.
As it currently operates, the system is an abuse of political power, but current and future House representatives can do something radical. They can rebel. They can rage against the Tallahassee machine, showing they can’t be bought and paid for.
But real change can come with Floridians whose votes have power. We, the people, are the real kingmakers. We can vote someone in or out, and that’s how we can keep Florida free.
Other stories you may want to read:
Will Florida Rise or Fall? The Speaker Race Could Decide Everything
