Politician/Mateo García

Mateo Carlos García is an American politician and former journalist serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, having been first elected to that office in 2022. A Republican, he was the 46th Governor of Florida from 2015 to 2023. García unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2016, 2020, and 2028.

García is a Cuban American from Naples, Florida. After graduating from the University of Florida in 2003, and working as a journalist for four years, he was elected to the Naples City Council in 2007. He served on the City Council until his election to an open seat in the House of Representatives in 2010. García received national attention for his keynote address to the 2012 Republican National Convention, and following the loss of Nancy Wilson to the incumbent Democratic president, he was frequently mentioned as a frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

García challenged incumbent Republican Florida Governor Taylor Klimchenko in 2014. Klimchenko, who had been caught in a corruption scandal, was unpopular among both Democrats and Republicans, and trailed García in most polls. García won the May 13 primary, and easily won the general election. Soon after taking office, he declared his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, officially launching his campaign on May 7, 2015. García led the polls for most of the year, but began to lose ground in later months to Utah Senator Christopher Fulton. In an unexpected upset, García won just 14% of the vote in the Iowa caucus, coming in third behind Fulton and Oklahoma Senator Mike McCabe. García came in second place in most Super Tuesday primaries, and won the Florida on March 15 with 62% of the vote. He withdrew on April 28 after a poor result in the Pennsylvania and Rhode Island primaries, endorsing Fulton. He was strongly considered as a potential running mate for Fulton, due to his position as the governor of a crucial swing state, and the fact that he was one of very few prominent Hispanic Republicans, but was ultimately not selected.