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 primary on March 15 with 62% of the vote. He withdrew on April 28 after poor results in the Connecticut; Delaware; Maryland; Pennsylvania; and Rhode Island primaries, endorsing Fulton.

Following his loss in the presidential primary, García was re-elected as Governor of Florida in 2018. He ran again unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2020, but withdrew in May, placing second overall. Due to term limits, García was unable to run for Governor again in 2022. Instead, he successfully ran against incumbent Democratic senator Everett Kipling, winning with 54% of the vote. García ran for president a third time in 2028, but withdrew following a poor result in the Iowa caucus.

Early life, education, and entry into politics
Mateo Carlos García was born in Naples, Florida. He was the third child and first son of Anton García and Sofia (née Álvarez) García. His parents were born in Havana, but had immigrated to the United States in 1962, following the Cuban Revolution, moving first to Miami, and later to Naples. His father graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1968, beginning a career as a corporate lawyer, while his mother became a real estate agent.

In 1990, his father, a staunch Republican, ran for Collier County attorney. The incumbent was retiring, and his father was elected, despite low name recognition at the beginning of the race. This was García's first experience with politics, at the age of 9. The campaign had a low budget, and was run from the family's house. The staff consisted of his father, his mother, and two older sisters. García himself knocked on doors for his father during the campaign. Anton García served as Collier County attorney from 1991 until his retirement in 2003.

García graduated from the University of Florida in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, and began working as a reporter for the Naples Daily News, covering both local and national politics. He became well-known in much of southwestern Florida after he published an article in 2006 exposing corruption in the Naples city government. This scandal led to the resignation of several members of the Naples City Council, including the one representing García's district. García announced that he would run for the seat in the 2007 election, publishing an opinion collumn titled "Naples needs young new leadership". He won the November 2007 election, becoming the youngest member of the city council.

Naples City Council
García took his seat on the council on January 7, 2008. He immediately introduced legislation which would lower the property tax, as well as legislation which would increase minimum sentences for violent criminals. He achieved high popularity among Republicans in the city, and became one of the most prominent members of the council, speaking out on local television and social media about his views on policies being discussed by the council.

García served on the city council until he assumed office as a member of the House of Representatives in 2011.